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Father’s Day 2022

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This past Sunday, my family celebrated me for the sixth time since becoming a dad in 2017. Father’s Day is always special, especially when you are blessed enough to hold one of the best jobs ever created. Yep, out of everything that forms my identity, I am most proud to be a dad.

As usual, my wife and children spoiled me. I got to sleep in and after I took a shower they were waiting in the living room for me with gifts. My wife gave me new shoes (watch out Hoopfest!), my daughter made me a special glass (perfect for a cold one), and my son gave me my favorite candy (going to wait to indulge until after my dentist appointment on Friday).

Sid took this photo of Beau, Sloan, and I on Father’s Day morning.

We then headed off to 9 a.m. mass at St. Mary. Let me tell you, nothing makes you feel more like a dad than when you perform your fatherly duty and get your entire family to mass. It was the Feast of Corpus Christi and the ending procession stopped was beautiful.

This was the Father’s Day cup that Sloan designed for me. On the other side it reads “Cool Dad.” Can you spot a couple cuties in the background?

After mass we came home for a bit. Sid went to run errands and as Beau slept, Sloan and I played board games. It wasn’t lost on me that I was spending special time with the little person who first made me a dad.

As Sloan and I played board games on Sunday, it wasn’t lost on me that she made me a dad.

Once Sidney returned and Beau woke up, we headed out to my parents’ house for a Father’s Day celebration. My sister’s family and my brother and his wife were all in attendance. The sun came out and we had a terrific afternoon of playing basketball, eating steak, and visiting.

During our Father’s Day celebration, we made it a point to take a photo of my dad with his grandchildren. Dad, father-in-law, and papa….my father is a pro at all three!

Thanks be to God for allowing me to be a dad and for giving me such incredible children. I am truly blessed. Don’t Blink.

Friends For Life

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When you get a text message notification from your parish priest, it is natural to tense up a bit. Did something bad happen? Did I do something wrong? Is he summoning me to confession? Those thoughts quickly ran through my head a few months ago when Sidney and I received a text from Fr. Jeff Lewis, our pastor at St. Mary Catholic Church in Spokane Valley. But before my thoughts could get too out of control, I simply ripped the band-aid off and opened the text.

Hey, good afternoon. So, do you two still want to be mentors to an engaged couple?

You bet!!

By saying “yes” to Fr. Jeff, we would end up meeting this very special couple.

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Nearly seven years ago, Sidney and I wrapped up our Pre-Cana program with our sponsor couple, Tim and Kathy McCormick. The McCormicks embody what a beautiful, fruitful marriage is all about and they provided us invaluable guidance as we prepared to get married in the Catholic Church.

The experience with Tim and Kathy was inspiring and faith filled. Beyond instilling in us the magnitude and beauty of marriage in the Church, it was also the beginning of a special relationship that Sidney and I hold extremely dear with them to this day.

I have always hoped that Sid and I would get the chance to give back and help prepare a couple for the sacrament of marriage in the same loving way that the McCormicks did for us.

Sidney and I with our sponsor couple, Tim and Kathy McCormick.

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In early April, we had the blessing of meeting Kailey and Corbin, a young engaged couple who will enter into holy matrimony in August. Fr. Jeff placed his trust in Sid and I to serve as their sponsor couple. With our pastor’s vote of confidence came our promise that we would do our best to help prepare Kailey and Corbin for their lifelong commitment. Over the course of six different lessons, my wife and I vowed to give an honest perspective on the joys and challenges of marriage.

Before we jumped headfirst into the heavy stuff, we invited Kailey and Corbin over to the house for dinner. Over pizza and wine we got to know each other. It was immediately apparent that we were in the presence of a very mature and humble couple. The evening was delightful and a seed was planted for future growth!

The marriage prep program we did was the Beloved series presented by Formed, a Catholic digital content apostolate. As I mentioned, this particular program had six different lessons, all delivered via video. The weekly lessons explained holy matrimony through its relevance, history, self-sacrifice, reliance on the Cross, and sacramental bond that it establishes. Each of these themes would address certain specific aspects of marriage such as conflict management, hardships, children/family planning, past baggage, traditions, sexual intimacy, and more.

The marriage prep program that we did with Kailey and Corbin was called “Beloved.”

Kailey and Corbin would watch the video together while Sid and I would watch the video together as well. After we had viewed that particular week’s video with our respective partner, Sid and I would send reflection questions to Kailey and Corbin to consider. The four of us would then gather and discuss the questions. These discussions were always deep, honest, and thoughtful. Although these conversations were designed to primarily benefit Kailey and Corbin, I can unequivocally say that they were such a blessing to Sid and I as well.

Our fruitful meetings didn’t always take place on the same day of the week nor at the same location. Although most did occur at our home, we also incorporated one lesson into a couple’s date night in Post Falls and another lesson we did entirely over Facetime. But perhaps the final lesson was the best of all. We met at a Mexican deli for dinner and a special guest joined us—Fr. Jeff!

What a joy the evening was. Fr. Jeff sat at the head of the table but basically allowed the four of us to navigate the lesson ourselves, waiting to offer his incredible insight and guidance as we came to an end of a discussion question. As we concluded that final lesson, we asked Fr. Jeff what themes he usually preaches about during his wedding homilies. He told us that he underscores the value that God places on marriage. Not only was marriage instituted very, very early on with the creation of Eve, but it went from important to sacramental by Jesus Christ himself. Jesus didn’t just sanctify marriage with his teachings, he did it with his actions as well. Christ’s death on the cross is the ultimate model of self-sacrificial love, the same self-sacrificial love that we must embrace and give in marriage.

After our final marriage prep lesson, the five of us, Fr. Jeff included, took this picture inside De Leon’s Foods.

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During that final lesson, Sid and I gave a resounding recommendation to Fr. Jeff that Kailey and Corbin are ready for marriage. On all levels—including spiritual and emotional—those two are ready to be joined as one. They are an impressive couple who will no doubt accept God’s grace throughout the course of their marriage and enjoy many years of happiness together.

What makes that positive outlook even more exciting, at least from the perspective of Sid and I, is that we plan to be part of those many blissful years. Just in the same way that we have a special relationship with our own sponsor couple, all signs point to a similar bond with Kailey and Corbin. We grew close during our marriage prep sessions and as Kailey mentioned in a Facebook post, that time together has resulted in us becoming “friends for life.”

It is an understatement to say that we are excited to be part of Kailey and Corbin’s special day when they are married this August in Hawaii. It will be a joyous and holy occasion.

Corbin and Kailey with Fr. Jeff at the end of their marriage prep program. What a blessing it was to get to know them!

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There is only one final thing to say and that is thank you. We extend our gratitude to Fr. Jeff for allowing us to be a sponsor couple and to Kailey and Corbin for letting us mentor them. As we stood outside the deli, Kailey explained that Pre-Cana has been her favorite part of the wedding planning/preparation process.  But for any good that our time together did for Kailey and Corbin, it did just as much for Sid and I. To dive deeper into the awesomeness of what makes a marriage rooted in the Church so holy made us appreciate our own vows even more. What a blessing that we were able to come to this realization while journeying with the future Mr. and Mrs. Schafer. Thanks be to God!

Please pray for Kailey and Corbin as they inch closer and closer to their wedding date. Don’t Blink.

Hustle Thursday Rundown

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The days continue to get longer as we approach the first day of summer on June 21. So guess what that means? This is the last Thursday Rundown of the spring. Dang, talk about pressure. Here are tonight’s five topics…

Resemblance – Earlier this week, my dad texted Sidney and I the photo on the left and wrote You know anybody who looks like this guy? Of course, the photo was of me, and my dad was implying that Beau and I looked alike when we were both at that age. To be completely honest, I don’t really see it. However, both my wife and dad think there is a striking resemblance. What do you think?

I honestly don’t think there is much of a resemblance, at least not a striking one. What do you think?

Hustle – I never thought I would use the word “inspiring” to describe an Adam Sandler movie but here I am in 2022 doing so. Critics are calling “Hustle” the best movie of Sandler’s career and I would be hard pressed to argue. I watched the film from start to finish on Friday night and really enjoyed it. Sandler plays a Philadelphia 76ers scout who discovers a foreign prodigy and coaches him to NBA readiness. The creative basketball scenes, the celebrity cameos, and the underdog story all make this movie enjoyable to watch. But Sandler truly does steal the show with his motivational performance. You can watch “Hustle” on Netflix.

“Hustle” with Adam Sandler was really good.

Sloan Graduation – Yesterday, Sloan graduated from preschool. After spending a year in the Pre K-3 class followed by this year in the Pre K-4 class, Sloan is ready for her next challenge: Kindergarten. Wednesday’s ceremony was joyful and cute as Sloan and her classmates were celebrated inside the church. We are excited to watch our daughter and her cohort grow together as they advance through St. Mary Catholic School. Although she graduated yesterday, Sloan will attend one final day tomorrow in Ms. Lunsford’s Pre K-4 class before beginning her summer vacation.

Sloan graduated preschool from St. Mary Catholic School in Spokane Valley on June 15, 2022. She is pictured in the top right corner with her teacher, Ms. Emily Lunsford.

That One Club Experience – Sidney and I are the last people you will find in a club but six years ago on this date we made an exception. While on our honeymoon, we found ourselves at Coco Bongo in Cancun. We were entertained all night with celebrity impersonator musicians, side acts, and confetti showers. It was such a fun and memorable experience! If you ever get the chance the go, even if you cringe when you think about clubbing, you won’t be disappointed.

I only took a couple photos when we were in Coco Bongo and they are all grainy. However, this is one of Sid and I. The club was insane.

National Sea Turtle Day – When Sidney and I visited Baltimore in 2014, we visited the renowned National Baltimore Aquarium. When you enter the aquarium you come face-to-face with a gigantic tank full of fish and sharks. But what really stood out when we visited eight years ago was the enormous 500-pound sea turtle that also inhabited the tank. Her name was Calypso and she swam in the National Baltimore Aquarium waters for 20 years before passing away in 2020. She was quite the site. Happy National Sea Turtle Day, my friends.

This was the main tank that the National Aquarium is designed around. You can see Calypso swimming front and center.

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Let us pray incessantly for the end of violence both in our country and the world. Thanks for reading my blog and I hope you have a terrific weekend. Don’t Blink.

Salvage

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Just yesterday I read a story on The Atlantic website about a practice I knew very little about. At the beginning of the article I felt a little queasy and at its conclusion, quite frankly, I felt the same way—but at least I wasn’t ignorant to it.

Have you heard about the concept of salvage? It is the practice of eating roadkill. For people who don’t know better, like myself, we might question why the “l” is in the word to begin with. To be honest, when I think of roadkill, the visions of racoon carcasses discarded on the side of a dusty road swarming with birds and bugs on a hot July day come to mind. You mean people want to eat that? Bon appétit.

This photo, which was taken by Ryan Bell of Biographic, shows a man dragging a roadkill deer across the street to his car.

But that’s not really how it is. Most people who take advantage of salvage are harvesting freshly dead deer that meet an untimely demise shortly after coming into contact with an automobile. It has become a sought-after food source. Here in our state of Washington, salvage has been legal since 2016 and apparently you would think there was a five-second rule from the point that a deer drops dead because they don’t stay on the side of the road for long.

It all still is a little tough for me to stomach. I don’t particularly like deer meat to begin with and now you are going to tell me that my venison made it to my plate courtesy of blunt force trauma from an SUV? I guess I am just conditioned to think the deer I eat must have suffered acute led poisoning before falling over in the woods.

Roadkill just has a negative connotation. Seriously, can a word be more appalling? But kudos to the many people who can look past preconceived notions and embrace salvage. Sure, I might poke jokes, but these state programs really do serve multiple valuable purposes. They get carcasses off the road and provide food to folks who need it. No matter whether my stomach turns or not, I can’t argue with that win-win. Don’t Blink.

A Surprise Reunion

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On Saturday, my mom came over to watch the kids so Sid and I could celebrate our anniversary with a date night. We started at the Millwood Brewing Company and enjoyed a beer in the cozy atmosphere. While sipping on our brews, we debated where to go for dinner. After our deliberation and out of all the restaurants in the area, we decided on a place we had never been before. Little did we know the mother of all consequences was about to unfold.

My wife at Millwood Brewing Company, the watering hole we went to prior to heading out to Craft & Gather on our sixth anniversary.

We selected a place called Craft & Gather. It is nestled away on Dishman-Mica Rd., near a defunct golf course. It is a little out of the way, on the smaller side, and not necessarily a place I would expect to see anyone I know. The latter held true for me. But for Sid? That’s a different story.

Upon entering the restaurant, we spoke to the hostess about seating preferences. Because we were focused on answering her questions about the number of people in our party (just 2) and whether we opposed sitting in the bar area (of course not), we didn’t pay too much attention to the large table within eyeshot of the lobby area.

I snapped this photo of Craft & Gather in the Spokane Valley on Saturday night. We had no idea the crazy coincidence that would transpire within these walls.

As the hostess led us to our table, a voice cried out.

“Sidney!”
“Oh my gosh!” my wife responded.

It may have taken a moment for Sid to rub her eyes and trust that they were registering reality before confirming who was standing in front of her. It was Sid’s high school friend, Casey, who took a full slate of AP classes with my wife. During school they developed a friendship and it even extended into young adulthood as Casey was invited to my wife’s baby shower for Sloan. After the shock of this crazy chance meeting subsided just a tad, Sidney asked the obvious question.

What are you doing here?

Casey was there for the baby shower of her sister, Lindsay. Wait, in Spokane for a baby shower? For her sister? That must mean that Lindsay, who was a year younger than Sid but shared the same lunch group of friends during high school, must have some connection to Spokane. Lindsay was at the table and entered the discussion to add this tidbit: She had lived in Spokane for the past five years!

Oh, and it gets better! The mom of Casey and Lindsay was at the table too. She was visiting from South Carolina with Casey and it just so happens that she is a dear friend of Sid’s mom. The two worked in the same school district and—just like Casey—was also extended an invitation to Sidney’s baby shower nearly six years ago.

There was so much excitement and many more questions to be asked, but we had to move to our table that the hostess had already set and abandoned. Throughout our anniversary dinner we talked about how insane it was that we had crossed paths with Casey, Lindsay, and her mom. A split-second decision to dine at Craft & Gather had resulted in such an incredible surprise. Speaking of surprises…

After we finished and paid our tab, Casey’s party was still at their table. This gave Sidney the opportunity to uncover one more coincidence. My wife asked Lindsay where at in Spokane she lived. She responded by saying that they lived right off a certain street in the Valley. Sidney answered by asking if it happened to be a certain neighborhood that my brother and sister-in-law live in. Lindsay said YES. After a couple more questions, we narrowed it down that Lindsay and her husband not only live in the same neighborhood as my brother and sister-in-law but on the same STREET.

Upon exiting the restaurant, Sid and Lindsay pledged to keep in touch, especially after Lindsay has her baby and might need an extra hand. As we drove home, we still couldn’t believe the good fortune and uncanny timing that graced us during the night.

As unlikely as it might seem, this was actually the second “east meets west” coincidence that has centered on Sidney and I. In a future blog post I might share that equally amazing tale as well. But for tonight’s blog post, I want to simply recognize the “right place, right time” scenario that transpired for us on Saturday. Don’t Blink.

Our Sixth Wedding Anniversary

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My mom is really good at remembering anniversary dates. The number of years the anniversary is commemorating? Perhaps not so much.

A couple weeks ago, she was chatting with me about Sidney’s and my upcoming wedding anniversary.

“How many years will it be?” she asked.
“Six years, mom,” I answered.
“Wow! Already?” she replied.

To use the cliché, time flies when you are having fun and I think that definitely applies to Sidney and I. On June 11, 2016, we tied the knot at St. Andrew Catholic Church in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, and since that moment it has been an exhilarating road paved with the joy of children, the adventure of a cross country move, and the countless blessings from God.

It was a beautiful feeling walking back up the aisle with Sidney after we were married.

As I personally look back on the past six years, what jumps out to me is progress. As the days turn to weeks, the weeks turn to months, and the months turn to years, the foundation of our marriage continues to grow stronger. To reference an analogy I used in our fourth anniversary reflection (and a Maren Morris song), we have good bones.

The reason for our strengthening bond and healthy bones is pretty simple: God. When we stood at the altar and received the sacrament of holy matrimony, we were blessed with God’s grace. That grace has been with us from Day #1 through Day #2,190—the only difference is that as time goes on we have become better at embracing humility and tapping into it.

Thanks Be To God, it has been a fruitful year of marriage (photo courtesy of Nicole Lynn Photography)

I will remember this past year of marriage for several reasons but for the sake of brevity I will offer just three: Sid and I took our first real vacation together since our honeymoon. We dealt with the loss of a loved one for the first time since saying “I do.” We had the incredible blessing of preparing another couple for holy matrimony.

As we journeyed through the above experiences—one really fun, one sad, one beautiful—we did it against a backdrop of inspiration. Sidney and I have no shortage of successful marriages to glean from, such as the rock solid 40+ year marriages of our parents. But we also admire the marriages of some of our closest peers, namely those couples who are part of our Young Adult Catholic Group. To walk with like-minded husbands and wives, who are also parents, is such a big advantage when it comes to cultivating a marriage that is fruitful.

Sidney and I at our first dinner while on vacation.

Although a faith-based marriage that centers on grace and draws from the experiences of others is bound to be successful, there is one other reason for our past six years of happiness: I have the best wife ever. Seriously. Sidney, thanks for all you do! I love you and feel so blessed to be your best friend. As you would say today, six years down, forever to go. Don’t Blink.

Jump Thursday Rundown

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Who else is enjoying these loooong June days? In this part of the country the sun begins to rise at 4 a.m. and sets after 9 p.m. I always advocate to take advantage of this surplus daylight as much as possible. I also advocate that you take advantage of my excellent Thursday Rundowns (sarcasm). I present to you tonight’s five topics…

Star Wars Merchandise – At last weekend’s yard sale, my brother-in-law was selling some of his collectible items, including these Star Wars Lego kits. Although they were the subject of much interest from our sale’s customers, they didn’t fly off the shelves. But that is a good thing because that means these rare editions can be yours. If you are interested in some Star Wars stuff, just let me know and I will put you into contact with my brother-in-law.

A look at my brother’s Star Wars Lego setup at last weekend’s garage sale.

White Men Can’t Jump – The movie that Sidney and I watched together this week was “White Men Can’t Jump.” I had seen bits and pieces on TV before but never viewed the film from start to finish. Let me tell you, it is early 1990s cinema at its finest. We enjoyed the humor, hustling tactics, and the Jeopardy angle that was worked in. You want to know a fun fact? Woody Harrelson and Wesley Snipes did all of their own basketball scenes and the coach that was hired to develop their skills said both men could have had collegiate basketball careers if that acting thing never worked out. “White Men Can’t Jump” can be streamed on Peacock.

We were very entertained by “White Men Can’t Jump.”

Dude Night – Yesterday evening, our family split off. Sidney hung out with Sloan and I paired up with Beau. The girls crawled into our bed and watched shows. I took Beau for a bike ride around the neighborhood followed by play time at the park capped off with some ice cream. Lately I have realized that I haven’t spent a lot of one-on-one time with Beau so it was nice to just have a “guys’ night.”

Beau and I finished our night together with ice cream.

Gas Price Insanity – Three months ago I addressed surging gas prices. At that time, I didn’t think it could get much worse than the $4.39 per gallon that my local gas station was charging. Boy, was I wrong. Today, a gallon of gas at most places in Spokane is $5.29…yes, I said $5.29. I think most of us are fed up with the madness at the pumps and the stark reality is that relief won’t be coming any time soon. How crazy to think that in 2016 we were paying $1.79 per gallon?

I took this photo at our local Maverik gas station in Spokane Valley.

Bachelor Party – On this date six years ago, I had my “bachelor party.” I use the quotes because I didn’t necessarily have a stereotypical, wild bachelor party that is now common in today’s culture. My dad, father-in-law, and groomsmen went on an Intracoastal Waterway boat cruise and stopped at one of the restaurants just off the water for lunch and cornhole. Although it wasn’t an out of control bender, we all had a lot of fun.

My bachelor party was relaxing, low key, and fun. In this photo my father-in-law is driving the boat and is seated next to my dad. I am in the back pointing, my friend Kenny is in the middle, and my brother is in the red.

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That will do it for me tonight. I am looking forward to a pretty significant date this Saturday and I hope your weekend is significant in some way too. Don’t Blink.

A Proposal Ruined By Disney

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I literally thought it was a joke.

After all, most of what you see on TikTok is one, right? As I scrolled through my feed, the video of the Disney worker slicing into the screen and intercepting the ring box from the dude proposing to his girlfriend caused me to pause. I watched it over and over.

I thought this who Disneyland Paris deal was staged. Unfortunately I was mistaken.

There is a text message thread with my wife, sister, and I that is set up solely so we can send TikTok videos to each other. I copied the link of the ring snatcher video and sent it to Miranda and Sid. Right after sending it, I followed with a short text that read Haha. That has to be fake though.

Yesterday morning I learned that it wasn’t fake. While at the gym, one of the televisions tuned to a cable news station was replaying the same TikTok video I saw with a lower third that read something to the effect of Disney Worker Ruins Marriage Proposal.

Get out of town.

It actually happened. An employee at Disneyland Paris took it upon himself to swoop in the middle of a proposal and swipe the ring box in defense of “company policy.” The team member carried the ring off the platform the couple was on and attempted to re-position them in a new spot by quipping in a happy/sarcastic voice, “Over here will be even better.” It was mortifying.

After snatching the ring, the Disneyland Paris employee pointed to a spot off the platform for the guy to propose. What a mess.

This time, Disney, you have gone way too far.

But I guess I need to be fair. It turns out that Disney could at least admit how outrageous and disrespectful the employee’s actions were. The company said, “We regret how this was handled. We have apologized to the couple involved and offered to make it right.”

I sure hope Disney’s attempt to “make it right” is giving the couple a Mickey Mouse wedding inside Cinderella’s Castle plus free Disneyland passes for life.

Seriously though, what was going through the employee’s mind? Even if they were breaking a Disneyland rule (which they actually weren’t), why not just let the proposal play out and perhaps issue a rebuke after the woman was able to at least slip the ringer on her finger? What is wrong with some basic human decency.

I can’t help but remember my proposal to Sidney. I did it in a high-trafficked, public spot as well. But everyone around us was respectful and supportive. There was no rogue employee who had to steal the show and ruin a once-in-a-lifetime moment. I feel bad that the guy and his new fiancée didn’t get the same courtesy that was given to me.

Let us never let the perceived power we think we have while doing our day jobs go to our heads. When we allow that to happen, shameful scenes like the one we saw in Disneyland Paris will occur. Don’t Blink.

Moving A Couch

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The neighborhood I grew up in had an annual community yard sale the same weekend every year. The only way to describe it was epic. Most of the houses in the ‘hood would participate and thousands of people from the Spokane area would converge on our streets to find that certain hidden treasure. It was like a carnival atmosphere. Outside vendors would come in to sell elephant ears, driving down the street would be near impossible, and music would boom from the garages of each participating house.

Well, guess what?…

1. My parents still live in the same neighborhood that they did 20 years ago.
2. The community yard sale was last weekend.
3. And Sidney had stuff to sell.

So there we were on Saturday and Sunday, selling tons of little kids clothes and toys, just trying to make an honest buck. Soggy weather on Saturday made it a wet affair but by Sunday the sun decided to poke through. But it didn’t matter if the weather was damp or warm because our merchandise seemed to fly off our tables. Sales were strong on Saturday and on Sunday we were able to clear out most of our remaining inventory but one thing remained…

On Saturday morning the rain was falling so we had to confine all our items to my parents’ garage. Luckily we had our marketing team, which consisted of my kids and my sister’s kids, to let people know that we were selling.

A couch.

Although most of our items were sold by Sunday afternoon, that couch you see just under the garage was still for sale.

The first “big” item that Sid and I ever bought together was a $688 couch we purchased from a furniture store in Myrtle Beach in April 2016. We wouldn’t live together until after we were married in June of that year but we wanted to start preparing. I still remember the salesperson and how comfortable the couch felt inside the store. I also remember the small shot of adrenaline that circulated through my veins as we made the joint purchase.

This was our couch when it was brand new and inside a Myrtle Beach furniture store.

Let me tell you, that couch was just as comfortable in the furniture store as it was in our living room…all four of them. Yep, that piece of furniture followed us to four different houses in South Carolina and Washington. It had a great run but last year we upgraded to a new couch and our first ever piece of furniture was regulated to the garage. It sat with our vehicle until this past weekend.

Sid and I took a photo after we made our first big purchase together because why not?

Unlike Sloan’s old jackets and Beau’s sleep sacks, the couch didn’t move during yard sale weekend. We didn’t price it and just asked for a best offer. Unfortunately, there wasn’t a bidding war let alone a single inquiry. As Sunday afternoon rolled in, I was starting to get nervous. The couch was still in my parents’ driveway and not selling it was out of the question. I had to take action.

Once Sunday afternoon came around we were selling the last of our items but the couch was still hanging around in my parents’ garage.

I threw up a photo of the couch on Facebook Marketplace and hoped for the best. I didn’t have to “hope” long. Within 10 minutes I already had someone message me to say they would gladly pay the $125 for the piece of furniture. It only took 30 minutes from my correspondence with the prospective buyer for my dad and I to have the couch in his (my father’s) truck and en route to its new owner. For the first time in nearly 3,000 days, the couch spent the night under the roof of a residence not inhabited by Sid and I.

It only took 10 minutes on Facebook Marketplace for us to sell the couch. We then loaded it on my dad’s truck and we delivered the piece of furniture to its new owner.

It’s funny. Sometimes a method you think will be a sure-fire way to get something done ends up not working out. However, once you make an adjustment and do something different, you sometimes see immediate results. It’s okay, Camelot Yard Sale, I won’t hold the couch against you. Don’t Blink.

Daly Thursday Rundown

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Wow, I can’t believe it is already Thursday evening. I hope everyone is doing awesome tonight, thank you for giving me another chance to throw five random topics at you. Let’s get started…

Evening With the Bishop – On multiple occasions in this blog, I have mentioned the Young Adult Catholic group Sid and I are part of. Well, this past weekend something pretty special happened. Our group had the opportunity to host the bishop of the Diocese of Spokane, the Most Reverend Thomas Daly. Our friends, Brian and Hailey, opened the doors of their home for the gathering and Bishop Daly brought the energy right when he walked in. It was so neat to be in such an intimate audience with him and to hear his thoughts and guidance. I even had the chance to speak with him one-on-one not long after he arrived. We were so honored that Bishop Daly made time for us and I can confidently say that our diocese is in great hands!

Our Young Adult Catholic group surrounds Bishop Thomas Daly (center, with hands in pockets). Also pictured is Fr. Jeff Lewis (back row, tallest person in photo), the leader of our Young Adult group and the man responsible for making our visit with the Bishop happen.

Luau Across the Miles – Yesterday was the fifth birthday of my nephew, Henry. He was having a Hawaiian-themed party at his house in Myrtle Beach and we wanted to join too. So Sid went out and purchased leis, a Hawaii backdrop, and a cake. We decked ourselves out in the leis, hung up the backdrop, and then FaceTimed Henry. After singing to him, Henry “blew out” the five candles on the cake from thousands of miles away. Sidney went out of her way to make Henry’s birthday special and she definitely succeeded.

Beau, Sloan, and Sid finish up their call with Henry on Wednesday.

Lake Mead Discoveries – Because of massive drought in the southwest, water levels in lakes and rivers are depleting. An example of this is at Lake Mead where the water level is lowering so much that “discoveries” are being made. Last month a barrel was revealed that happened to have a body stuffed inside. Law enforcement was able to estimate the date of the man’s death to the late 1970s or early 1980s because of the shoe style he was wearing. The violence was most likely inflicted by the Mob. As the surface continues to drop, it is expected that more and more remains will be found.

This is a barrel (not the one that the dead man was stuffed in) that is no longer underwater at Lake Mead.

Kind of True – When I saw this meme that my friend Lindsi posted today I knew I had to include it in my Thursday Rundown. Does anyone have doubts about it? The retro Chuck E. Cheese does look downright creepy, in fact it reminds me of the animatronic creatures from Dimes N’ Critters, a wild place I blogged about a few months ago. If Chuck E. Cheese still looked the same way he did on the left panel of this photo, I don’t think I would take Sloan as much as I do. Actually, that’s a lie…I still would.

Chuck E. Cheese has undergone quite the transformation over the years.

Educational Books – We have been introducing these “start to finish” books into Sloan’s nightly reading. They provide an educational break from the narrative stories we typically read to her. They are a little old school but it is fun to trace the many steps it takes to produce a product such as peanut butter or chocolate. Other books in the series include “From Wax to Crayon,” “From Clay to Bricks,” and “From Tree to House.”

These “Start to Finish” books are perfect for curious kids. We just finished reading the ones about chocolate and peanut butter.

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I am calling it a night, folks. Thanks for listening and I hope you have a great weekend. Don’t Blink.