"Parent Markers"

It's been awhile since I wrote about our boys. In the Spring of 2010, I started my own solar company. As the famous line goes, "they were the best of time, they were the worst of times." Since it was my company, I had infinitely flexibility in my schedule. I attended all the boys basketball and baseball games as well as any other parent activities around school. I volunteered to be on the school district sustainability committee and even helped to co-chair their campaign to raise funds for local schools. On the startup end, the economy continued to take its tool and there just was not enough funds or revenue to sustain our business. I finally went back to my telecom roots and started working for "the man," which at the end is fine. I'm thankful for the job and the good people at the company.

Today was the last day of Christmas vacation. We slept in until 9am everyday! It's going to be hard to get up tomorrow and get back to the old routine. The boys are growing up so fast. Our 4 year old has begun to draw and write his name on everything. As I am writing this blog, he is coloring and autographing an Amazon box that just arrived. The young mind is a wondrous thing to behold. Riley even has a system for the types of pens he uses. He has his set of "washable" markers that he can use everywhere (sort of) and the other set he calls "parent" markers, because he can't say "permanent" just yet. Those are the markers only parents can use, because whenever he tries to use them, all of the adults in the room get very excited and run to his aid. Parent markers is such a good name for them and would only come out of the mind of a 4 year old.

As my schedule is much more busy with work these days, I appreciate every moment (most every moment) that I have with the boys. Riley has also begun to sleep in his own room and I am now out of the Thomas The Tank Engine bed. Yes!

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Just a day at the beach

We were able to go to Hawaii for Spring Break last week. Traveling with 4 boy is always a challenge, but we are getting a lot better having learned from our mistakes. For example, pay a little more and rent a mini-van vs. a sedan. Boys do not like to sit right next to each other for long and you end up with a lot of yelling during the car ride. The mini-van we rented this year gave each one their own seat with good separation and minimized the touching and shoving we experienced with the cheaper sedan rental. We found a lot of beaches in the North Shore area of Oahu that were just beautiful and minimally crowded.

We packed some molasadas (Hawaiian/Portugues danish), some chips, oranges and bananas and we were set for a half day just playing at the beach. Wading in the waves and building sand castles (digging holes mainly) surprisingly can fill up many hours. The older boys love to do "diving catches" when I try to throw a baseball just within their reach and they need to dive into the sand in order to make the catch. We had a lot of fun and enjoyed some wonderful local foods from shave ice (Hawaiian's snow cone), lunch plates (a lot of food), and, of course, the breakfast buffet.

We reviewed our photos last night and had a lot of fun reliving our recent North Shore vacation. It's a real blessing for us to be able to take such a great trip in the midst of an economic downturn. We watched our budget, but had a great time. So many good memories.

A Belated Happy New Year - 2010

Time does go by faster and faster as we age. The New Year, a new decade, came and went so quickly that when I looked up it was March already. The boys are transitioning from basketball season to baseball season and this is overlap time. Overlapping practices and games and lots of schedule juggling on the calendar. Our lives are filled with teacher conferences, practices, carpools, games, play-dates, homework, field trips, making lunches, washing an endless file of laundry, walking to school, picking up after school, and then squeezing in work every no and then.

I have made being at the boys' events a priority, but of course, there is a cost to what I can do professionally. With 4 boys eventually going to college, I have resolved to the fact that I will be working way beyond any plans for early retirement. That is okay. I just feel so blessed by our 4 boys and I am grateful to God for the privilege of raising boys. I am continuing to volunteer at school and sports teams even with our busy schedule as a way to stay close to the boys and influence their lives. In the midst of this chaos I am trying to start a new company and it has been quite a challenge. No one said it was going to be easy. Nevertheless, I get up every morning and thank the good Lord for our health. Everything else I can deal with as long as the family is healthy.

I am just rambling down my many thoughts, but I figured that I should write something before more months go by in 2010. Happy New Year!

The Future In My Rear View Mirror

My wife and I spend quite a bit of time in our Honda Odyssey. When we had our 4th child, no single sedan could hold our family, so the minivan was our only option. In the many miles that have since traversed, I am always reminded of the future that I see in my rear view mirror. I look back and I see our youngest buckled in safely in his baby car seat, our next youngest in his booster seat, the two older boys getting so tall that I can hardly fit them in the same view. What a blessing I feel as I start up the engine each time, realizing how precious a cargo I hold. Every time I get in the minivan with my boys, I realize that the future sits behind me. What will these boys do? All of them will effect so many lives during the decades that stretch before them. I cherish every moment with them and I hope to see them in my rear view mirror for just a little longer time. No matter what speed I drive, I know that the time will go by fast.

30 Year Reunion

A couple weeks ago I attended my 30 year high school reunion. It brought back so many good memories of growing up in Santa Clara. Back in the 60's and 70's it seemed like life was so much simpler and less stressful. Of course there was just as much stress back then, but I was in elementary school and my parents kept us sheltered from the stress. That's really what a parent's role is - to create a nurturing environment for the children to learn, grow, and thrive. It's like a farmer that tends the soil, removes the rocks, prays for rain, provides water/fertilizer, and watches out for bugs. My parents immigrated to the US from Taiwan in their mid-age, so that us children would have a better life. My father was a professor, while my mother baby-sat to provide for the family.

At the reunion, the old friends have less hair, more weight, and poor eyesight. They gave us name tags with small fonts, so everyone was leaning in and squinting to read the name on the name tags. "Oh my - it's Mark!" as someone finally recognizes the person in front of them. We laughed, we shared about our families, we cried for the ones that had already passed away. Yes, I guess we are getting old enough when some friends are beginning to pass away. Lots of mid-life crisis with divorces and career changes. I have had my share of losses with my brother and parents passing away since the last reunion. It's true that no one is immune to calamities and each life has its share of good as well as bad times. It was great to see old friends, because we know now how special childhood can be when your parents create a nurturing environment for you to grow. We have our own children now so we know that life isn't stress free, but we also work hard to provide a safe place for our children to grow.

The Buchser High School Class of '79 will always have a special place in my heart. It was great to see old friends and laugh.