Catching Up

This weekend was wonderful in many ways. First, the weather was glorious. I've never been in a city where you can actually feel the overall city-wide mood just raise up because of better weather. This winter and spring have been some of the worst on record for Chicago. Second, some friends from my undergraduate college, UNT, came to town. Although 10 years have passed since I've hung out with them, it was indeed fun to pick up where we left. Plus, there were two new additions and one on the way. I'll send picts of the "reunion" when I get them.

Way Over Due!

Everyone's doing great! Wife got a job at UT Southwestern hospital and will start in Sept or Oct. We'll probably live in Las Colinas or Irving, renting for the first year and then maybe buying. Last Saturday, we bought a new car! We traded in the Jeep and bought a Prius hybrid which gets 48 miles per gallon in the city....which is key since gas here is $4.50/g and expected to go up to over $5 by the end of the summer. Also, the car has very low emissions so the environmental impact is not so bad. As we get older, esp now with a child, we're more and more concious of the environment and way small role we can play in decreasing our consumption and pollution output. The car was a little more expensive than we had planned but after 3 years or less, it'll pay for itself with the savings in gas.

Lastly, Papito or from this point, aka "The Bear," had his first swimming experience yesterday. A bunch of Wife's co-workers who also have babies, got together to have baby swimming lessons. The Bear did not cry but it seemed he didn't know quite what to do with it all. It was fun and he did well over all. Here are some pictures.

Back from Texas

Wife, Papito, and I went to Texas for a quick 3 day trip for Wife's interview and my 33rd birthday. It was a wonderful time and we got to introduce Papito to his cousins. Wife's interview was very successful and was offered a job at UT Southwestern in Dallas. She'll have to see what Baylor Hospital now says and then we'll make a decision about where she'll end up. On Saturday, my best friends hosted a party at their house in Hastlet and people from both sides of my family came to celebrate. It was a lot of fun.... guitars, drums, beer, pool, swimming, and food. Check out the picts!

Spring Fever

Well, poor lil' Papito did end up getting sick. Yesterday, Wife picked him up from the babysitter's house and he was pretty hot. A rectal temperature reading showed he had a fever just under 101. He remained in Wife's arms for the rest of the day but he was still smiling and responsive. We called the pediatrician to let them know and they just said to monitor it. Poor little guy. This morning, thank God, he did show a fever and although he was a little fussy, seemed back to normal. We'll see...

Just the Boys

Wife is flying out today for a job interview at Baylor Hospital in the DFW area. She'll be there overnight so Papito and me will be hanging out. Thankfully, my fever is gone but still have residual effects of flu. Wife is complaining of a scratchy throat and feeling achy, just in time for her interview. She's picking up some hospital "surgery" masks so I can interact with Papito without having to breathe on him. Pray for Wife that she can get through the interview okay and that Papito does not get sick, that's the biggest issue. Otherwise, things are just fine. It's opening day in Cubs land with most of the area bars opening at 6 am!! Can you imagine? The picture above is my current favorite. Look at the desperation as he's about to eat mushy carrots for the second time.

Not passing it on

So I've been sick with a fever, cough, runny nose, etc since Tuesday. I haven't hugged Papito or anything and it's been really hard!! I am really grateful for Wife's hard work because she's taken on all of his caretaking and taking care of me. But now she's starting to feel bad....

So I don't know how we're going to juggle this one. If she starts to go down, I'll have to scrub up like going into surgery so I can handle Papito and decrease the him getting sick with what might be the flu. Wish us luck!

Good Friday, 2008

Right now outside my Chicago window, it is snowing outside when it "should" be warm and sunny this time of the year. I am not working today, Catholic Charities has the day off, and so I "should" be cleaning. I "should have been" more strict on myself during Lent, perhaps. I am profoundly mindful today of my failings and shortcomings today. Have I grown any during Lent this year? I don't know...I realize that there are a lot of "shoulds" in my life and in the world at large. There "should" be a better economy. There "should not" be war in Iraq. There "should" be better recycling in Chicago (and I "should" do a better job a recycling). I feel this tension between where I am and where I want to be, the "should." But that's not where God is. God is located in the here and now embracing me where I am and lovingly inviting me to become more and more who I really am. It's precicely in the struggle of the "shoulds", the tension of the now, when my soul is torn open to receive the mercy of God. Señor, ayúdame ser quien realmente soy. Dame la sabiduría y el poder de vivir en el momento presente, en el ahoríta. Dame la forteleza hacer lo que debo y la sabiduría a dejar las cosas cuando debo. Amen.