Fall has Fell

Day 298:

A day of travel proved to be eventful today, Conor.  Simple enough, we started the day with a big group breakfast at local Southern eatery just outside Columbia.  After heading back to the house to gather our things and get on the road we still had a good hour to the airport.  For each mile North we drove toward Charlotte, the sky got just a little bit darker and the air got just a little bit cooler.

To make things more interesting we were arriving at the airport several hours early in the hopes of finding a table in a restaurant to kind of set up shop and watch the Redskins ahead of our departure.  Well, they lost (again), but more than that, after you had a full belly of food, up it came.  All of it.  Fortunately your mother was holding you when you started to let on signs of the impending vomit and we managed to get a burp cloth underneath of you to catch it all.  More over, you were feverish and fussy, right up until you puked.  Then, back to normal! A happy and smiling Conor, just going about your day as though it'd never happened.  Still, precautions needed to be had and so, with a little child Advil and a smidgeon of a hope and a prayer, the effort became about getting you home to Virginia with no more incidents.

Fortunately the bottle seemed to agree with you and so we were pleased with being able to get you fed with SOMETHING and then get you home.  As is y9our way, you slept on the plane and when you weren't sleeping, smiled at everyone.  Your quite a kid, Conor.

When we finally arrived in DC it was cold, overcast, and raining.  The first real cold snap of the season...  Of course, none of us were prepared for that and so we bundled you in blankets like a swaddle just to get you to the car!  Regardless, we made it home without incident and set to doing a couple of chores.  One of those would be to feed you to which your mother would gladly oblige, only this time, with even blander foods than before, you once again threw the whole thing up...

The bottle seemed to work well enough to get you to bed, but tomorrow will be interesting as far as your breakfast is concerned.  It's all a matter of wait and see, and so that's the plan... For now.

I'm worn out Boy'O, off to bed.  But know that I love you, Son.  And that no matter what, I'm always thinking about you and what's best for you.  Always...

Love,
-Dad

Feelin' Fine in Caroline

Day 297:

Well Boy'O, today was as fine a football game as any I've ever seen.  Coming into the game, the number 6 Carolina Gamecocks were facing the number 5 Georgia Bulldogs at Williams Bryce Stadium in South Carolina.  It was a beating, Son.  And to be sure, I'm an objective college football fan.  I like the game, but I don't typically have a dog in the fight - pardon the pun.  But tonights game was an absolute dismantling of a very good Georgia team.  And as somebody who was there to support the Cocks, it was as much fun as anything I'd ever been apart of.

It was a long day, Conor, and we were fortunate enough to be able to leave you with a sitter for the day and evening with Porter and Bowman.  As exciting as it was to get out to a game this season, the thought of taking you to a game was never far from my thoughts as it's a day I can't wait for...  That will be as much fun as anything I could imagine, Boy'O.  Truly.

Otherwise, it was jut a great day with good friends and fantastic football.  Southern style.  No better way to do it, and really feel as though I've seen it all - in the world of football anyway...  Though now I'm just tired and ready for bed, Boy'O.

Good night, Conor.  Sweet dreams, Son.  In fact, just dream about a day of football someday soon and I promise you, I'll be dreaming the same...

I love you.
-Dad

Conor Up and Away

Day 296:

Here we go again, Conor.  Back on the road, Son...  Only this time we'd take a much shorter flight than the one we took in April... If you recall, back then we loaded up this traveling show and headed off to California, Boy'O.  The home of bright sunshine and big red wine...  Well, this trip would be a bit different.

Today we loaded up and headed South by way of Washington Reagan airport into Charlotte, rented a nice car, and kept on South to Columbia, South Carolina; home of the Carolina Gamecocks!  We made this journey to stay with folks Mommy's known for literally her whole life.  Friends so close, they're family.

So here we are, Boy'O, at your Uncle Craig and Aunt Winky's with Grandpa Bud and Grandma MiMi, Porter and Bowman, and even their 5 month old Welsh Corgi named Mazy.  A few cocktails, some laughs over your interactions with the poor unsuspecting dog, and a lot of talk about what's around the corner for you, Son.

There are some good times in store for tomorrow Son as I'll be headed to my 1st ever Carolina Gamecoks football game, live at Williams Bryce Stadium.. And moreover what's so exciting is that the Gamecocks are playing their arch rival division opponents, the Georgia Bulldogs.  What's more, both teams are ranked in to the top 10 IN THE COUNTRY!  If you're a football fan, and I am, this game is epic, Boy'O.

As for our travels, you're the perfect traveling partner, Son.  A good omen for things to come, 'cuz we're gonna see the World, Son.  We're gonna see it all...  And good traveling partners are hard to find...

That's all for tonight, Conor.  Time to get back to the fiesta.  But thanks for being such a good little travel buddy.  Each and every trip will be something to look forward to.

I love you-
Dad

The Rarest of Occasions

Day 295:

You know Conor, there's much to say with respect to the balance of maintaining relationships of those you'll meet in this life.  Some you'll know for a passing glance, others a lifetime.  Regardless of who they are and to what end you know them there's work that goes into each and every one.  Some of those relationships are easy, others take considerably more work.  And while I subscribe to the belief that marriage is forged in love, it takes a fair amount of work to sustain the fundamentals of the relationship over time, and that shouldn't be lost on anybody who's never walked down that isle.  For those that have, they know this all to well...

Tomorrow your Mother and I will be celebrating 10 years of marriage, Son.  And while the most of it has been balanced and understood, there have been times of trouble and difficulty as well.  Some time ago in this very blog I'd mentioned something similar in so far as what it takes to manage your life while being respectful of others.  Every one of us have decisions to make each and every day and those decisions are what brings you to the juxtaposition of life.  When evaluating your choices and the decisions you make, what could have been the outcome if you'd gone the other way.  And those are the lessons that last.

In the case of me and your Mom we've decided to fight through the hard times in the understanding that the good times are far more frequent.  And to be sure we've crossed rivers that have challenged our marriage.  Still, the decision was made, both collectively and individually, that what we have in this life together is worth fighting for, and so we have.  The reward in that has been the most wonderful thing either of us could have ever imagined... You.

While sitting here relaxing after a nice night out to dinner with friends, I'm reminded of all of what has gotten us to this very point and I take account...  The decisions to stay and fight when times have gotten tough have led us both to this very point, and neither of us could have ever imagined the bounty that is the birth, life, and experiences of knowing and loving our baby boy; Conor Daniel Yerkes.

Being a parent is an honor, Son.  Being your parent is a winning lottery number that all the money in the world could never buy.  And this 10 year wedding anniversary, for all it encompasses, has given us those winning numbers, Son.  For this, I'm so very grateful.  Your Mom too...

So let's wish your Mother a happy anniversary, Conor!  Because everything we are is in thanks to her.  Well, almost everything...

I love you, Son.  WE love you, Son.  So very, very much...
-Dad

There's No Debate... The Lion Heart Rules

Day 294:

Today was a day of firsts, Son.  For example, the first of several debates for who'll be the President of the United States in 2013 and beyond, the Washington Nationals were the victors in their final game of the 2012 Major League Baseball season making them the best team in all of baseball and assuring them home field advantage throughout the playoffs; not to mention the first time the Nationals have been in the playoffs since 1933!  But the big first for me, Son?  After feeding you dinner, giving you a bath, getting you changed and ready for bed, and finally getting to your last bottle of the day, you quite literally puked up your whole dinner AND your whole bottle all over both of us!  It was NASTY!

Not knowing what to do at first though eventually laughing it off, I stood up, covered in vomit, and made my way to the bathroom placing you back in the tub and running the water while you were in your bed-clothes, your diaper, the whole nine... Meanwhile, what did you do?  You started CRACKING UP!  You just though that throwing up all over yourself and all over me was SOOOOOO funny!  So there we were, two dudes covered in puke, laughing like idiots.  Gotta say, it felt great!  Maybe not my fondest memory of your young life, but certainly a lasting one.

A good day at work and a great, fun filled night, AND the Nationals are the best team in baseball!!!  (In the regular season... Now the REAL season starts, Son.)

Great day, Boy'O.  I love you, Son...
-Dad

Torrential Tuesday

Day 293:

This day started with a down pouring of rain, Conor.  It was a torrential downpour and it made getting you to daycare an absolute bear...  In fact it took us 45 minutes to go 7 miles and then another 45 minutes to go 7 more to work.  Just brutal... The rain persisted all day long with no breaks.  Just a dreary day.

Normally I don't mind the rain.  Especially if I'm home and more than that, if I'm home with you...  But at work the gray day just saps the energy out of you!  I drank maybe a little more coffee than I otherwise would today, Son... But coffee to me is one of those elixirs that can cure a soggy gray day...

Otherwise, there's really not much to talk about!  It's just a kind of "blah" day and so with that, I'm off to bed, Boy'O.  But no matter the weather, know this; I love you always, Boy'O!  You make each day better than the last.

Love you, Conor...
-Dad

A Break in the Action

Day 292:

As I've mentioned more than once in the last several weeks (months?), Conor, work has been treating me about as well as you treat a diaper.  That's not a pretty visual, is it?  Well, having finally gotten one of the several deals I've been working closed last week in Nashville, and now that we're in a new quarter, I decided to take a much needed day to do a little something I just don't do enough of anymore, Son; play golf.

The day was nothing short of perfect, Conor.  With a high temperature of 71 degrees, partly cloudy skies, and a nice easy breeze, me, Mommy, Aunt Jennifer, and Uncle Paul would all play a bit of hooky to get a round in on the golf course.  Though this was not just any round of golf, Son.

Several years ago, long before your arrival in fact, your mother learned of a little boy who was battling a form of cancer.  That cancer would eventually get the better of this little spirited warrior, and he lost his battle only days before his first birthday.  His name was Declan Carmical.

While Declan was in the throws of his fight your Mommy reached out to his Mommy and Daddy and offered to help in any way possible.  Perfect strangers though under extraordinary circumstances and simply put, they needed our help.  Thankfully your mother is nothing is not giving, and so she started talking to the family and we brainstormed as to how we may be able to help...  With my connection to the motorcycle community, and Mommy's expertise in managing both processes and people, we were able to throw together a nice little motorcycle event in an effort to raise a little money because, at the end of it all, that's really all we had to offer...  Still, it wasn't enough in so far as what they needed to get them over them hump with regard to mounting medical bills and expenses, but it was enough of an effort that the not for profit memorial foundation and pediatric cancer awareness group now known as "Journey for a Cure" was interested in seeking out your mother's time and experience in assisting them by asking her to sit on their board of directors, and so a few times a year Mommy meets with this group to assist them with really anything they need.

In this case it was simply a matter of time and donation, and thankfully your Aunt Jennifer and her company was all to happy to not only sponsor a hole on the golf tournament, but also pay for our round... And all in the name of one of the more worthwhile charities I could ever imagine.

Declan and the Carmical family aren't ever to far from our thoughts, Son.  In fact, while on the course today I had to take a moment to catch my breath, for I couldn't possibly imagine what they went through and wouldn't even let the thought creep into my head as to what I would do should something, anything, happen to you.  No parent should ever know that pain, Boy'O.  Ever.

Rest in peace, Declan.  You'll forever be in our thoughts...

As for you, Son, your life is testament to how all people should live in a perfect world.  Happy, healthy, and loving.  It's all I could wish for anybody with children of their own.

I love you, Conor.
-Dad