Inklings

Author: thorens

  • A “Mean” Santa?

    It’s surprising that not everyone’s childhood recollection of Santa Claus is that of a jovial plump elf. Apparently some remember the patron saint of Christmas to be an old curmudgeonly prig who teased the children with bags of stockpiled goodies. If a child reached for a bagful of the sweet temptations, Santa would sting the eager young hand with his switch. That impression of Santa Claus would likely leave children frightened to thoughts of poisoning the milk and cookies or keeping the fireplace roaring all night in an effort to “off” the chubby fellow during his visit on Christmas Eve.

    I remember the annual tradition of waiting for Santa to arrive by train (apparently it was safer than flying) into the pivotal Christmas hub of Mandan. Once the “Polar Express” braked to a halt, he jumped off the caboose, shook hands with hundreds of freezing children and then summoned his red-and-green-clad army of helpers to methodically dispense the traditional brown sandwich bag of goodies. My memory of Santa was far more favorable but I’m afraid his paper sack offering on Christmas Eve morning did nothing to improve my attitude toward unsalted, unshelled peanuts, candy canes, bruised, mealy apples or ribbon hard candy.

  • Carrying the Load

    I admit that I’m guilty of trying to carry too much. Like Atlas, I often feel like I have the whole world on my shoulders. The worst part is, the heavy load is usually my own doing. My wife reminds me that I need to just say “no” to some of the projects I take on (easier said than done). She’s right though. With all the self-imposed deadlines, I get stressed, and the only one I have to blame is myself. Sadly, the copious amounts of work and effort I end up pouring into what I want to get done seems worth that feeling of accomplishment in the end. It’s a high for me, so I keep doing it. I’m grateful that she’s in my life providing some balance. She’ll pull me away from work to appreciate what I’m missing in life, but she also supports me when I need help by reminding me to lift with my knees.

  • Puddin’ Head

    I think it’s safe to say that grading projects and finals has turned my brain to mush. I wish I was done doing everything necessary to close out the year, but there’s still a few things left. My job may be trying at times, but the fact that there is extended respites on the horizon makes the turmoil bearable. I’m looking forward to the break!

  • On the Bright Side

    Hey, compared to last year we’ve been pretty fortunate. We may have had sub-zero temps lately but at least we don’t have mountains of snow… yet. Winter hit us on the first of December and now it feels like late January. Maybe this means that the entire winter will be accelerated. With any luck we’ll be able to mow our lawns in early March.

  • Teamwork

    So ends another fall semester – my tenth, actually. There were ups and downs, like most semesters, and challenges I’ve never before experienced. It certainly had its moments, yet through all of it I have to say that I am very grateful for the people I get to work with. Having colleagues that share the same vision, passion and energy makes all the difference. It’s a privilege to be part of a good team. Thanks, Tom and Jason!

  • Cold Enough For Ya?

    Okay, so it’s winter. Nothing like being officially reminded with highs still cold enough to freeze your shadow to the sidewalk. Let’s hope this isn’t punishment for all the complaints about last year’s record snowfall. At least shoveling the stuff made you warm.

  • ‘Tis better to give…

    We’ve heard the saying a trillion times and we know what it means, but the emphasis today seems to be more about receiving – not giving. For the past several years we’ve really tried to stress the importance of giving at Christmas-time to our boys. There are so many that have far less than we do and it would take very little to improve their Christmas. Every year they help buy gifts for children they don’t know, and I know they try really hard to get the lesson but sometimes I think witnessing the actual transaction would make more of a difference for them. I like Mr. Kurt Warner’s (Cardinal’s QB) idea – whenever he dines out with his family, he chooses one family and anonymously pays their tab. I think being able to witness an act of abundant generosity and the feeling that accompanies it would be a powerful lesson in giving.

  • Making Friends

    We can learn a lot from kids. I marvel at their ability to make friends so easily. It’s not uncommon for either of our boys to start playing with other kids for hours and not even know their names. For whatever reason this carefree and nondiscriminatory attitude towards relationships becomes more conditional as we age. Judgment of character is important to protect ourselves from being hurt but accepting others for who they are is something I want our kids to practice. I know there will be trials in their lives when they choose their peers, but we try to encourage them to be leaders and good examples to others. Will they fail? Certainly (we all do), but I hope that they can be the friend they’d want for themselves. Friends are a blessing I often take for granted and I am certainly grateful to have them in my life.

  • Inflation

    What’s a dollar worth these days? Just Tuesday, we met with our new financial adviser (for the record – we didn’t fire our last one, he quit the firm) and looked over some of our retirement accounts and investments. It’s crazy to see what the past year of recession economics has done to our portfolio. We were assured that as a nation we’re on the way out, but we still have a ways to go. The president was quoted recently stating that the answer is to “spend our way out” of this downturn. I wasn’t an economics major, but I realize that when times are tough people tend to spend LESS and save MORE. I even heard that because so many people are saving, it’s destroying the credit card industry (I find it ironic that this is viewed as a problem, but then I’m not in the credit card business). So, do we spend money we don’t have to get out of debt? It’s an interesting premise. I’ll let the econ geniuses wrestle with that one.

  • Lucky 7

    Today, our youngest boy, Chase, turns seven! We’ve been hounding him for quite some time about what he’d like to do that’s special for his birthday. So far, Mom and Dad will be making a guest appearance in his class to read his favorite books. He wants to have a party some weekend with some friends, and then the next day he doesn’t. Then he does, but with different people. He’s our introvert, I guess (our older son, Mason, has actually tried to encourage him and even goes so far as to suggest which classmates he should invite). He doesn’t like big group events and doesn’t require a lot of attention to be happy. I can relate. One thing he likes to do is draw, so I figured I’d let the kid post a guest inkling (or penciling) on the blog for his birthday. Either his cartoon is a little too sophisticated for me or maybe it’s even funnier than I probably realize. I think he inherited my dry sense of humor, so again, I should be able to relate.