We bought a house!

After seven years of nomadic living, we decided to establish some roots and secure something a little more long term. The Resers are now the owners of a four bedroom/three bathroom house in the Spokane Valley.

This is our new home by D.R. Horton.

Because of our careers and family on both coasts, renting made sense for us. In fact, I have nothing bad to say about renting—I loved the flexibility! But after living in four different houses since we tied the knot coupled with what we have established here in Spokane, making the big investment seemed like the right thing to do at this point.

We landed in a brand new development in the southern part of Spokane Valley. We are one of the first families to move into a neighborhood that currently has about 20 completed houses built but will eventually boast more than 300! To be one of the “originals” is kind of cool.

The “location, location, location” real estate cliché proved true for me. Sid made sure that we were taken care of house-wise while I focused on where exactly the foundation would sit. I wanted to live in a bustling neighborhood near school, church, and work. We checked the boxes on all three of those items. Sloan and Beau will each attend St. Mary this fall and instead of a nearly 20-minute drive, it won’t even be a 10-minute drive. We confirmed that yesterday when we drove to mass and realized how “early” (relatively speaking) we were when our car entered the parking lot. I also now have easy access to the highway that will lead me to Pullman on those days I work on campus.

All credit for our new status as homeowners goes directly to Sidney. She had the drive to buy our own place while I continued to sing the praises of renting. My wife flipped me and then took the lead to find our dream home. Many of you know that purchasing a home is a wild roller coaster and Sidney was in that front seat navigating the whole ride.

We can’t wait to start inviting our family and friends over as we begin the process of making memories under this roof. What an opportunity! Don’t Blink.

August is here and I have strong feelings about this month. In fact, a year ago on this date I wrote an ode of sorts to the eighth month of the year. I explained that for so long August was a transitional month for me—leisure and summer the first half and then back to business and autumn the second half. It doesn’t hurt my feelings that over the past few years the month of August is no longer split between the two extremes but rather a complete extension of summer.

Stock up on your ice cream this month and savor every scoop!

Boy, I sure am glad that the “extension of summer” August will once again be in effect this year. Why? Because it is safe to say that this month will be unlike any other August I have ever experienced. In fact, the month will forever be immortalized starting TODAY. More on the event that will shape this August like no other in a future blog post (sorry for the tease). But besides the “big” event, our family has so much to look forward to this month including a wedding, baseball, vacation, and much more.

But enough about my August. I want to encourage all of you to enjoy this month as much as possible. I understand that for many, as my father-in-law would say, “the party is over” this month. If that is the case for you, I hope you can enjoy the remaining days of leisure before your responsibilities heat up. Savor these sweet days of summer, my friends!

In closing, I do want to extend heartfelt sympathy to all the children I know in South Carolina and other states who must return to school in the coming weeks (yuck). But as I have already alluded to in this post, don’t find yourself dreading the beginning of the school year so much that you can’t enjoy what you have left. Happy August to everyone—make it memorable! Don’t Blink.

I am working out at a new gym this week and I received quite the surprise this morning. As I was about to march off to the cardio section of this particular north Spokane gym, I heard someone call out my name.

“Hey, Brent Reser?”

My direction turned to the man who said my name. We had entered the gym around the same time and I had definitely noticed him but didn’t think there was any connection as he was wearing a hat and we were both focused on our workouts. But as I gazed over at him with a slightly puzzled look, he ended the mystery by quickly identifying himself. It was my high school assistant principal!

We took just a couple minutes to catch up but it was really nice to see him after so many years. It also helped that he told me I didn’t look much older since the day I graduated high school (yeah right! 😂).

Since moving back to my hometown three years ago, I can say that it has been such a joy re-connecting with people from my childhood and teen years. To be honest, when I returned to Spokane in 2020 after 15 years away, I thought it might be awkward to see people who I last saw a decade and a half ago. However, I couldn’t have been more wrong.

Over the past few years, I have run into old friends and acquaintances at the store, community events, and the park. I have also bumped into blasts from the past under more unique circumstances. For example, on Halloween when I was passing out candy at my parents’ house, an old classmate brought his child to the door. Last weekend at the wedding I attended, the photographer was an old elementary school friend. And then of course this morning I chatted with my high school principal as we pumped iron.

Each time I have engaged with someone after not seeing them for 15 years or more, I have walked away feeling energized. It hasn’t been weird or uncomfortable but rather interesting and a little inspiring. No matter how small the role we had played in each other’s lives, we were able to recognize that history and celebrate it.

I didn’t attend my 10-year high school reunion because I was living on the east coast at the time. But even if geographic limitations didn’t factor into my absence, I don’t know if I would have attended. With my 20-year reunion just a couple years away, I am actually looking forward to it.

I feel fortunate to live in the area where I grew up and I have appreciated re-uniting with some of those people who I knew from my original/first stint in Spokane. It is important to embrace, not avoid, these opportunities. Don’t Blink.

On Friday night, Sloan ran into the house full of excitement.

“Can I pet the snake?!”

After she blurted out the question in a winded and enthusiastic tone, she managed to add a couple of sentences of context. Some neighbors had a snake in their yard and they wanted to make sure Sloan had permission to touch it. Sidney and I looked at each other.

“You go!” my wife commanded.

You bet I will, I thought. I was as excited to be around this snake as Sloan was.

These neighbors live right off the street that we do. Because there is a little bit of distance separating us, it was the first time I had met them. What a way for us to become acquainted! I only needed to take a couple steps off my property before I could already see the snake.

The reptile was wrapped around the neck of my neighbor, Justin. Sally—the snake—was much larger than I had imagined. Sloan’s cul-de-sac friends and Beau were all standing around Justin as he taught the children about Sally in a very age appropriate and animated way.

Justin introduces Sally to the neighbor children.

Justin’s wife, Allie, was standing by with hand sanitizer for the kids. Sally originally belonged solely to Allie! When her and Justin started dating and later married, Sally was part of the deal. Although a little hesitant of Sally at first, Justin has completely warmed up to her.

Despite the very controlled situation, Sid couldn’t bring herself to meet Sally. If there is one fear that is most prevalent in my wife’s life, it is the fear of snakes. She has a tough enough time if one comes on the TV or if a snake is depicted in one of the books I read to Sloan and Beau.

In South Carolina, wild snakes slither freely. Our house in Myrtle Beach backed up to some woods and it was a haven for snakes. It wasn’t uncommon that they would come into our backyard. Sidney, who enjoys doing yard work, delegated all the lawn maintenance to me while we lived there 😊

We all have things that make us squirm. Bugs bring about the same reaction in me as snakes do for Sid. But snakes? I think they are cool and it was a treat to meet Sally on Friday. Don’t Blink.

There is a shopping center in the Spokane area that we frequent often. For those familiar with these parts, the Argonne Village is home to a Yoke’s supermarket, Pizza Hut, a hardware store, and even our gym. And, like most other shopping centers in Spokane, it also boasts a Dollar Tree.

Beau and Sloan navigate the candy aisle at Dollar Tree this past Saturday.

The past couple of times we have visited this particular Dollar Tree we have witnessed shoplifting. Each instance, a person gathered their items and made a bolt for the door. These individuals knew the significance of clearing the threshold of the entrance/exit door in context of Dollar Tree’s no-pursuit policy. The company mandates that the moment a customer steps foot on the pavement outside of the store, employees are prohibited from following or attempting to retrieve the stolen inventory.

Of course the policy doesn’t prevent the employees from telling the shoplifters off. The last time this escapade occurred my kids watched as the two gentlemen working the registers that day told the woman as she marched through the parking lot, in less than diplomatic terms, not to come back.

These recent episodes are very explicit and raw ways for Sloan and Beau to see what stealing is and how it is wrong. At the same time, it is my hope that we can convey to them that stealing isn’t always so obvious.

I think most of us can admit that we have stolen too. No, it might not be a brazen shoplifting attempt but perhaps in moments of weakness we have taken more than we were supposed to, cheated our employer of time, or pocketed something that we should have turned in.

Although not proud of it at all, I have a personal theft story. While in college, some friends and I thought it would be a good idea to “take” a souvenir from a couple of the bars we would frequent. Perhaps motivated by liquid courage and the erroneous thought that the glassware supply was endless, we each managed to swipe a pint glass from two Missoula bars after we drank the beer that was in them.

Oh, they will never miss a couple pint glasses, I rationalized. This is so far removed from “real” stealing, I told myself. Wrong and wrong.

I look back now on my act of stealing with disgust and embarrassment. Those two pint glasses? They stayed with me throughout my time in Missoula but when I moved to South Carolina my parents took my collection of pint glasses (both honestly obtained and the two that I swiped) back to their house. When we moved back to Spokane, the two that I stole from the bars still had spots in my mom’s cupboard.

I refuse to drink out of them.

It is important that my children know what stealing is, the specificity with which it is addressed in the Ten Commandments, and, eventually, the many forms it takes. Although they are at a young age where I feel they just need to be aware of the broad concept of stealing, I will have a humbling example (and the actual evidence) to share with them down the road. Don’t Blink.