Time - not the kind in a bottle. (chad)

It was brought to Alyssa and I's attention that since we share a blog, it is rather difficult to identify who is actually writing each entry - so I figure I'll put my name in the title and that should clear things up.

That old adage, time flies when you're having fun, couldn't be any more true than right now. The newly assembled Duncan clan (later referred to as ACK (Alyssa, Chad, Kiwi)) has a myriad of events, mostly recurring, all week long. We were talking last night about how different our lives are from just a year ago, mainly how much "fuller" our time is and how important quality time has become. When we first started talking / dating, our time was relatively "free." I spent 5-6 nights a week in the woodshop, talked with Alyssa until late at night almost every night, and worked 50 hours a week. I had a few friends that I would hang out with and I wasn't involved with Meridian Point's Education Ministry, Safety and Security Ministry, or the Pre-school Team. Now I'm lucky to see the shop twice a month (which really makes productivity an issue). There are so many wonderful things going on that it just sometimes busy instead of being fun :/ . Between golf and volleyball, Adult Bible Courses (ABCs), dinner with friends, trying to get to the shop once a week, running around with all the church kids 2 Sundays a month....and the most important activity of all....spending time with my wife.....I think I need to take a step back, breathe deeply, and "relax and enjoy the ride."

Most people see the relaxed and stoic Chad - not the Chad who panics when thinking about buying a house or a car. Alyssa gets the privilege of seeing them both and she is so caring that I'm sure she assumes I can do everything and worry about nothing. I worry. Sometimes I worry more than I should. Being a provider and trying to balance all the spinning plates is difficult sometimes, but to be honest, I feel like I give it a pretty good run every day. God knows EXACTLY how much I can take before I crumble.

Moral of the story: Life is great, time is short, and God is in charge of everything.

Motivation

It took everything I had to get up and workout this morning. I always feel great after the first 5 minutes of exercise and can't fathom why I didn't want to do it in the first place. I have always understood the concept of motivation - the Army has a couple very, very successful techniques that I was on both sides of. First formation while in training was at 0500 - dressed, shaved, and ready to run 6 days a week (and missing that formation singled you out for "extra" physical training for as long as you were awake - ALL DAY). I used to open my eyes and be ready to go without feeling groggy or tired. Not sure what happened between then and now, but waking up is rough!! I never touched a snoozed button in the first 25 years of life - and now that's just a normal reaction when the rooster starts crowing (our alarm is so annoying!! that's the point, I guess). I could understand this feeling if we stayed up late and had to get up early....but we don't stay up!! Very rarely do we stay up past 10:30...so waking up at 5am shouldn't be that bad, right?! The worst is on YogaX days when we get up at 0430....*gulp*

Since starting P90X 7 weeks ago, I do feel more energy during the day and I can tell that changes are taking place in my physique and my mind. The 2 year break after separating from the Army really took it's toll and I am anxious to get back to that level of fitness. I don't want to shrug off 60 lbs and go back to high school weight of 140...looking like a bean sprout (not that there is anything wrong with that), I just want to do some core work and get back to 190. I have so much motivation and am trying to channel it during that first 10 seconds of being awake every day. My guess is that after seeing the complete results in 6 more weeks, I won't have any more "mental" issues with jumping out of bed. We'll see.

Where you've been.

My ten year reunion is coming up this summer. Alyssa and I are planning a trip over to Grand Junction so I can show her my "old stompin' grounds" in conjunction with the festivities. I thought for sure that I would never attend one of these things and I guess I'm going to prove myself wrong.

I haven't kept in touch with many people from a decade ago - joining the Army and being away from Colorado for 5 years might have something to do with it. Growing up, getting involved with all kinds of activities, and becoming an adult may be more to blame. As cliche as it sounds, life used to be so easy. So many people complain that high school was so tough, that they struggled with their identity, that their parents didn't understand them, and that they wish they could go back and do things over again. I don't think high school was tough enough, I already had my own identity on lockdown, my parent(s) had their own stuff to deal with and left me to handle my own business, and I don't wish for a second that I could go back and change anything. Tell me that's normal.....

I'm excited to head back down memory lane....and Main street, and White Avenue, and Budlong Street, North Avenue, and Redlands Pkwy. Of all the places I've lived, Grand Junction is the one I have the most memories of and most connections to, even though very few people I still talk to live there. I had a lot of roots put down there - and right before I left, they were all pulled up and moved away. It's taken many years to finally settle down and feel like a place is home. I have that now in Colorado Springs and my restlessness has been put down. My brother and I took a trip to GJ last year for a little over a day. We had fun revisiting childhood landmarks - Lincoln Park, Hastings, Mesa State, Pufferbelly, Orchard Mesa, and of course, Mesa Mall. I'm anxious to walk Alyssa through all of those memories and give her a tour of the place I grew up.

http://www.gjtigers.com/2000/ ---click on Annual, then on Dow. Have yourself a little laugh :)

Blogtastic.....is not a word

Given inspiration by multiple people in my small, diverse social circle, I have decided to follow in the footsteps of my wife and start my own "semi-daily" blogging regimen. We'll see how long it lasts :) I have no problem with making the commitment - it's the quantity of topics that I feel capable of writing about on a daily basis that makes me skeptical. I consider myself fairly stoic and can't imagine blathering ALL of my precious thoughts into a computer and the interwebs for the whole, big world to ingest. Then again, maybe there are some things that I could ramble about. As I said, we'll see how long it lasts and maybe, just maybe....I can keep up with Alyssa - who always has something to say.

Please feel free to comment with topics and if one of them jumps out at me, you might be surprised with a whole paragraph (or more) of my thoughts! (*don't let that deter you.....)

Golf-

I have loved the game since I can remember. My grandfather (dad's dad....Grampe) was a California Senior Pro and played 18 holes almost every day for 30+ years. My grandmother was a golf widow, but knew that he was gifted and loved him all the same. He had a lot of influence on my dad's love of the game and encouraged him to play throughout his youth and helped him become Captain of his High School golf team. If not for traumatic back injuries after joining the Air Force, my dad had unlimited potential. This lead directly into my fascination. I had a golf bag and mini clubs shortly after I was capable of upright, bipedalism. As I grew taller, Grampe would take his older clubs and cut them down to my size. I remember taking rides in his golf cart over to Cameron Park Country Club and him letting me hit some balls around the putting green and chipping green. I remember having to wear tucked-in shirts with a collar and khaki pants or shorts. I remember all of my grandparent's friends who would stop by to say hi while we had Roy Rogers in the clubhouse. I remember a childhood full of golf and golf references.

I only played a couple times throughout high school and it tapered off from there. After joining the Army, there just wasn't time. I took a 5 year hiatus and didn't even hit a golf ball between 2000 and 2005. After my reassignment to Colorado Springs, I finally found some time and a good friend to re-energize my golf game. It started with a gift - a bag full of "decent" clubs that Steve had used for a couple years before upgrading to his current Clevelands. By giving me the tools, everything else just fell into place. I started going to the driving range periodically. We played the Silver Spruce Course @ Peterson a couple times and in 2007, Steve surprised me with a tournament at the Broadmoor. If you think their rooms and their food are expensive, you should ask about their "member's only" green fees. Yikes!! It turned out to be one of my most memorable golfing experiences yet. That course hosted the PGA US Senior Open the following year (2008) and it was tough! I still consider myself an amateur and probably will for years to come...but back then....I was a COMPLETE rookie.

So that's the history -

Starting today, I will be playing every Tuesday for the next 12 weeks in an intramural competition that has over 100 players of varying skill level. We will be matched by handicap and then play head-to-head. I'm nervous and excited to see how this plays out. I've played 4 times in the last 3 weeks and I feel like I get a little better every time I swing - and I still need a TON of work. I'd really like to get lessons down the road - that's what the pro's recommend - PRO instruction. They also recommend PRO gear (which gets really expensive). I have a great set of clubs that I'm comfortable with and probably won't outgrow (skill-wise) for a couple years.

Wish me luck today and hopefully this "first" post didn't bore the tears from your eyes.

To tie in to Alyssa's post about my cadence singing this morning:

"I WENT TO MCDONALDS.......TO GET A BURGER AND FRIES......UP JUMPED THE ENEMY!......I HAD TO TAKE HIS LIFE!....AIRBOoooOOOORNE.....rangEEEeeeeEEER!

Welcome to October!

Another month has blown by and we have survived to October! I'm not sure how, considering the amount of "stuff" going on in our lives right now. Alyssa and I agree that we don't have nearly enough time together and that it's starting to get on our nerves and cause frustration. We just keep plugging along in hopes that someday (SOON!!) we can remove some of these obstacles and time commitments in order to appease our need to spend almost every waking moment together. If anyone knows how to create an extra day or two during the week, PLEASE let us know!!!

In other news, we have started participation in a book, 10 Great Dates Before You Say "I Do". We went on our first date this past Saturday to The Melting Pot (fondue) in Colo. Springs and brought along the homework assignment for date #1. We had a fantastic afternoon / evening discussing where our priorities are at and what we're working towards. The food was incredible . . .but the company was the best part. We haven't set up date #2 yet, but I have no doubt they will just get better and better (and the homework harder and harder!!).

We have also talked with our Lead Pastor at Meridian Point about pre-marital counselling to ensure we have the right conversations and discuss everything we can in the months leading up to the wedding. (We still do not have a date set, but are working diligently to check some things off the list that are impeding us.)

Thanks for the wonderful comments so far.

Chad

So we're bloggers now.....

Hmmm.....I think I understand how this works!! We write all about the things that have happened, that are happening, and things that are going to happen (and how we "feel" about it all!)....what a splendid idea!!!

First and foremost, I'll say that our faith in God is the common thread that brought us together and will keep us that way for the long haul. Everything else is icing, as they say. We met through church, Meridian Point in Falcon, CO, and we started talking through an activity sponsored and set up by the church (Lifegroups). I will call that the launch point for our relationship....and to be honest, that is EXACTLY how it is supposed to work! (my 2 cents :) )

Second and not nearly as important as my first point, we are absolute goofs! Even when we're having frustrating days, we tend to do or say something ridiculous in order to lighten the mood and get back to being mostly relaxed. Yeah, I think goof is the right word (and I'm sure that Alyssa's family thinks it's just her!!!....and I'll keep it that way until they read this!)

Third (and final for the day), we are in love. Anyone who has watched 12 minutes of daytime television in the last 10 years might think this line cliche, but I will take a second to clarify. We are completely honest with each other and share unbelievable minute details to ensure complete disclosure daily(e.g. "I bought some chocolate milk this morning because I haven't had any in a long time and I really wanted it!") In addition to being honest, we enjoy each others company and the power of quiet conversation. We spent the first 3 months getting to know each other via telephone and the occasional coffee stop at Starbucks (her blood is MADE of chai!!). We talked each night and periodically throughout the weekends. The amount of things we have in common is just right. Not everything and not nothing. They say opposites attract....and I say that God puts you right where you need to be .....and magnetizes you as He sees fit. Save for work and my part-time woodworking gig, we spend as much time as we can together because we want to. So, I say again, we are in love.

As Alyssa said above, we will sit down tomorrow or in the next couple days and tell about the engagement (which was an absolute blast to plan!).

Chad