Monthly Archives: March 2024

Ranking My State Flags

Posted on by
Reply

Last night, I read a book to the kids called “Stars and Stripes: The Story of the American Flag.” It told the story of how our country’s flag eventually came to be after many different iterations.

This book eventually led us to a conversation about state flags. We looked at an online poster of the 50 different flags and made sure to point out the one that represents the state we currently live in. Doing this was actually eye-opening to me. There are numerous bold and creative state flags that I had little idea about.

For this evening’s brief blog post, I wanted to rank the flags of the three states I have lived in during the course of my life.

This book was informative for the kids and it encouraged additional discussion.

#1. Washington – The state that I have lived in two different times in my life just stands out. There isn’t another green state flag in the nation. And let me tell you, the vibrant green hue of the Washington flag isn’t one that blends it. Classified as “Irish green,” Washington’s flag is just really…um…green? Ha! And then of course in the middle of that vast green landscape you have George Washington’s portrait, giving the banner of my state another distinction: the only state flag with a historical figure on it. It might not be aesthetically pleasing but I love my state flag!

Perhaps it is bias, but I like the obnoxious green color of the Washington flag.

#2. South Carolina – I really like the South Carolina flag for two reasons. First, I like its simplicity. You have the crescent and the palmetto tree against a blue background. No state seal, no scenic artwork, no words. Second, I appreciate its marketability. The crescent and palmetto tree are placed on everything in South Carolina and there is no doubt that when you see them, you think immediately of the state they represent. I sure enjoy drinking out of the pint glass I have in my cupboard that is adorned with the palmetto tree.

I like the simplicity and marketability of the South Carolina flag.

#3. Montana – Although I have it ranked at the bottom, the Montana flag isn’t bad, it just doesn’t stand out like Washington and South Carolina. I think it is neat that there is a nature depiction that characterizes Montana’s beauty but it is tough to see and other states have similar artwork. Also, whereas the Washington and South Carolina flags don’t need the name of their states spelled out in large letters to convey who they are, Montana obviously feels the need.

I admire the effort, but the Montana state flag isn’t my favorite.

————-

Have you lived in a state that you feel knocks it out of the park when it comes to the state flag? Full disclosure, my favorite state flag besides the one listed above is California. Another random thought: One of these days I think it would be cool for Sidney and I to have something made that combines both the Washington and South Carolina flags. Okay, I think I am done for tonight. I hope you have plenty of pride for the state flag that represents the state you hold most dear. Don’t Blink.

Safeway Thursday Rundown

Posted on by
1

Another week has seemed to speed by! Before it is gone for good, I want to tackle the Thursday Rundown. Here are my latest five topics…

Daddy/Daughter Official Photo – On Tuesday, Sloan was holding a manilla envelope when I picked her up. Inside that envelope was our photo from the St. Mary Daddy/Daughter Dance. Sloan looks beautiful! As for the other character in the picture? Ummm…not so much.

Our official St. Mary Catholic School Daddy/Daughter Dance photo.

Get In My Belly – I would try this in a heartbeat. Lucky Charms ice cream with Lucky Charms marshmallows infused with whipped topping and gold glitter? Yes please! I think I need to make a stop at Cold Stone at the end of the month. I always like to tell the story about my friend from high school who worked at Cold Stone and would occasionally bring me home the free ice cream she would get each shift. The friend knew I loved the peanut butter cup perfection creation and would go overboard loading it with toppings. Man, those were the days.

I want some of this!

National Cereal Day – If I don’t blink an eye when it comes to putting cereal on my ice cream, you can probably figure that I really enjoy it out of the bowl. To use the cliché, I am a “cereal killer” and I definitely have my favorites. A dozen years ago I named Rice Krispie Treats Cereal as my all-time favorite unhealthy cereal. In 2016 I wrote about my top healthy(ish) cereals as granola, Honey Bunches of Oats, and Cracklin’ Oat Bran made my shortlist. Last year to commemorate National Cereal Day, I thought “outside the bowl” by listing my top ways of consuming cereal when spoon and milk aren’t involved. However you happen to celebrate cereal, I hope you are able to do it today.

I love cereal and these cereal bowls we own!

Easter Pop-Its – I could hardly contain my excitement earlier this year when I discovered that TNT made “Exploding Hearts” for Valentine’s Day. Well, now they have Exploding Bunny Poop too. I love how TNT is expanding its trademark Pop-Its product beyond just Independence Day. Although I passed on actually buying the Exploding Hearts, I think I might have to give in with the Easter version; after all, they are just right across the street from me at Safeway.

I found Exploding Bunny Poop at Safeway.

Monopoly Birthday – Monopoly was created 91 years ago today. I played the game a lot as a kid but have not “rolled the Monopoly dice” in quite some time. As I brought up in a blog post from 2.5 years ago, I have the distinction of never testing my board game prowess on a specialized Monopoly set (i.e. WAZZU-Opoly, Spokane-Opoly, Cat-Opoly, etc.). If you are more adventurous than me, what specialized Monopoly game have you played?

Have you ever played a specialized Monopoly game before?

———————–

Okay, that will do it for tonight. Thanks for your readership and have a fabulous weekend. Don’t Blink.

JoAnna Dalton: Mentor and Friend

Posted on by
Reply

Upon going to work at Coastal Carolina University, I was asked to author a social media blog on coastal.edu. I am all over this, I thought. After all, I already had my own personal blog and undoubtedly knew everything there was to know about writing. Such a humble mid-20s young professional I was 😂.

But my self-assumed command of the written word was tested when I received the edits to the first draft of my initial entry. The paper was covered in red ink. There must be some mistake. This person must not know “new age” writing, I reasoned.

“This person” was JoAnna Dalton, the university editor who worked in our University Marketing and Communication suite in an office right across from mine. I think JoAnna knew I would be a little shocked to discover I wasn’t as good at writing as I thought I was. So, after the initial surprise of a marked up paper wore off, she went over the edits with me. I polished the draft up and eventually published it on the website.

Joanna Dalton was a special person who meant a lot to me both professionally and personally.

Ensuing blog entries would come back heavily marked up as well—but with a little less red ink than the entry before. After getting over my ego, I realized that I was very fortunate to have JoAnna helping me out. I had never had a professional editor look over my writing before and I learned to embrace the incredible expertise that JoAnna possessed.

My arrogance turned to appreciation as JoAnna and I became great friends. She constantly filled my pen holder with Dum-Dum suckers, introduced me to Bo-Berry biscuits, and helped me navigate life in the South. We talked a lot about our lives outside of work. I became familiar with her daughter and I openly shared with JoAnna about the sweet girl I had started to date.

JoAnna was one of the office “moms” who looked after me during my first year in South Carolina. She reminded me to wear sunscreen, advised me on who I could trust, and always stopped at my desk to say “hello” at the beginning of the day. To know JoAnna was to know someone who was honest, funny, and caring.

We had a great team at CCU in the mid 2010s. Joanna is the third person lined up against the wall on the right half of the photo.

Under JoAnna’s tutelage, my writing improved immensely. I learned more about mechanics and AP Style from her than I could have ever hoped for. One day, I received a draft back from JoAnna that didn’t contain the typical heavy markings that my writing usually generated. Instead, most of the foreign ink was from a message she wrote at the top of the page: You are a really good writer.

That meant a lot.

JoAnna Dalton passed away on Feb. 27, 2024. I will surely cherish the memories I have of JoAnna and be forever thankful for the professional development she provided me. May eternal rest grant unto JoAnna, O’Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon her. Don’t Blink.

The Servant Song

Posted on by
Reply

Do you ever have an epiphany when it comes to the lyrics of a song? Hmm, let me ask a more pointed question. Have you ever thought you liked a song only to like it even more once you actually understood the lyrics?

As I mentioned in last night’s blog post, Sidney and I had the blessing of presenting at an Engaged Encounter weekend. But it just wasn’t us or our partner couple doing all the talking. A priest is always assigned to the weekend retreat team and plays a major role in conveying lessons and Catholic doctrine. We had the great fortune of having Fr. Pat Kerst on our squad.

At one point on Saturday, Fr. Pat passed out half sheets to all the couples. Copied on each sheet was a Catholic hymn called The Servant Song. Fr. Pat explained that the hymn wasn’t made with marriage specifically in mind but that he didn’t know of a better resource that so accurately depicted the essence and vocation of marriage.

The lyrics to “The Servant Song” are profound.

I was very familiar with The Servant Song, having heard it at mass on random Sundays throughout most of my life. But I had not taken the initiative to take a deep dive into the actual lyrics. I am so glad Fr. Pat brought it to my attention.

The song promotes the willingness to assume a Christ-like servant’s role to others over the course of a lifetime. It frames this service in the context of a journey that is filled with empathy, grace, suffering, and companionship. As I read the lyrics and digested them in context with my marriage to Sid, I couldn’t help but shed a tear or two.

After we dismissed the engaged couples to reflect on the lesson that was just completed, I played The Servant Song on my computer. It was even more beautiful than usual as I now knew and understood the profoundness of the lyrics. A couple more tears may have formed in my eyes 😉.

The half sheet with the song that Fr. Pat gave us is now on our refrigerator.

I encourage you tonight to listen to The Servant Song on YouTube. Listen carefully to each lyric and frame it within the context of your own marriage. I guarantee that you will go to bed with a greater conviction to “bear the load” for your spouse.

And, oh yeah, guess what? After Fr. Pat has brought up the song to couples at past retreats, some have actually decided to include The Servant Song in their weddings. I think Sid and I would have too. Don’t Blink.

Presenting With My Wife At Engaged Encounter

Posted on by
1

This past weekend, Sidney and I strengthened our marital vocation in the most blessed way. We presented at our first Engaged Encounter retreat. 🙏

Many of you know that Sid and I prepare engaged couples within our parish for marriage on an individual basis. But in June 2022, we joined another marriage-based ministry—Engaged Encounter. This is an international Catholic organization that stages weekend-long retreats for engaged couples. Our pastor, Fr. Jeff Lewis, invited us to join the Spokane Diocese chapter.

After a year of attending our Engaged Encounter monthly meetings and serving in support roles at the retreats, we timidly told our chapter’s leadership that we wanted to present at one. In June of 2023, Ric and Cindy Gaunt came to our house and planted the seeds for doing so. They ran us through what was expected, highlighted the presentations we would be responsible for, and provided us the materials to start preparing. We circled the March 1-3 retreat on our calendar!

We told our Engaged Encounter leadership that we wanted to present.

The next eight months passed quickly, with the latter half of those months heavily devoted to Engaged Encounter retreat prep. Sidney and I had to write our presentations, build slide decks, and practice! By the time this past Friday rolled around, although nervous, we were chomping at the bit to present.

The retreat took place at the Immaculate Heart Retreat Center in south Spokane. Although the quarters were a little cramped, I sure enjoyed having the time away with Sid.

Engaged Encounter retreats are presented by two couples and a priest at the Immaculate Heart Retreat Center in south Spokane. There is a senior couple and a junior couple. We served as the junior couple and were paired with an incredible senior couple with 38 years of marriage under their belts—Joe and Natalie Schroeder.

Sidney and I at our Engaged Encounter weekend retreat. After months of preparing, we got to present!

Completing our weekend team was a priest who I had looked up to for a long time. Fr. Pat Kerst, who will celebrate his 34th anniversary of ordination in May, sacrificed a busy Lenten weekend at his home parish of St. Thomas More to serve at this retreat. As a boy, I would listen to him say mass at St. Francis of Assisi in Walla Walla while I sat in the pew with my grandparents (a decade later he would preside at my grandma’s funeral). During my last couple years in Myrtle Beach I would listen to a podcast he contributed to. By the time I moved back to Spokane, he was the pastor at my parents’ home parish. Known for his personal and impactful preaching style, Sidney and I knew we would have to bring our “A” games to keep up with him.

We had 13 couples attend our retreat weekend, a healthy number for the current state of the Engaged Encounter ministry in eastern Washington. It was a lot of fun to meet these 26 soon-to-be newlyweds and learn about when and what church they were going to get married in. But after the introductions and the well-wishes concluded, reality set in: We now had to actually provide these couples with something useful.

Sidney and I were responsible for six presentations throughout the weekend. Using specific examples from our own marriage, we delivered talks on understanding oneself, communication, decision-making, unity, conflict resolution, and betrothal. The Schroeders presented on a host of other equally important marital topics while Fr. Pat provided his invaluable insight during each presentation. As a person who can get nervous enough just doing one presentation, doing a half dozen seemed pretty daunting. But with Sidney on my team and God’s abundant grace, it was much more of a blessed experience as opposed to a scary one.

Sidney presenting at the March 1-3 Engaged Encounter weekend while Fr. Pat Kerst and Joe Schroeder look on.

But the weekend wasn’t just about presentations. We watched videos, shared meals, and did activities. Confession was offered and the chapel was always open for prayer. On Saturday night, Fr. Pat offered mass. It was an intimate and beautiful way for our group to come together and celebrate the source and summit of Christian life.

It was gratifying to see the 13 engaged couples respond so well to everything we threw at them. Sidney and I really enjoyed getting to know the couples better as the weekend went on. We admired the overall humility, appreciation, and faith that was displayed. It wasn’t lost on us that they were giving up an entire weekend to sit inside the walls of a 1950s retreat house when they could be doing so many other things. Thanks be to God for their prioritization.

We had an incredible group of committed couples who brought plenty of faith and willingness to learn to the retreat.

Besides becoming acquainted with the couples preparing to be married, it was a complete pleasure to bond with the other members of our team. Collaborating with the Schroeders was extremely rewarding. They supported us immensely through our first weekend and we learned so much from the presentations they gave. The marriage that Joe and Natalie live out is one that Sid and I aspire to emulate. To share the stage with Fr. Pat was a thrill. Like I said, I have spent my whole life watching him and listening to him. But those nearly 34 years in front of congregation after congregation has surely not inflated his ego—Fr. Pat is as humble as they come! It was so special to see that up close.

This was our March 1-3, 2024 Engaged Encounter weekend team. What a pleasure it was to present with the Shroeders and Fr. Pat Kearst.

As I write this after allowing the weekend’s adrenaline to wear off and the significance to sink in, I just feel blessed for the opportunity Sidney and I were given. Thanks to Fr. Jeff for inviting us into the Engaged Encounter community, Ric and Cindy Gaunt for giving us the opportunity to present, Joe and Natalie Schroeder for teaming up with us, Fr. Pat for leading our weekend team, and everyone else in our EE chapter who so warmly welcomed us. Special thanks to my wife for being the best presenting partner ever! And, of course, praise to God for the grace to undertake such an intensive but worthwhile ministry. We can’t wait to present again. Don’t Blink.