Random Thoughts: "The Great Adventure."

You grow up, as a young boy in Texas, thinking there are GREAT adventures to be had; that there are great expanses to be travelled, no, to be explored. That someday you can distinguish yourself in glorious battle and be the hero of the day. People will say your name and compare you with the heroes of old, with Davy Crockett, Wyatt Earp, or Louis and Clark.

And then you grow up, you slowly lose these ideas in the hussle and bussle of the world, you realize war is dangerous and not a game, that in life you have to chase money or you'll be a nobody, and the worst of all, that there are few, if any, places to explore or great adventures that you dreamed of as a boy.

But the urge lays there deep inside, still waiting to find it, still hoping that out there, somewhere, someday you'll find that moment. That time of greatness.

I've been in Afghanistan since may of 2010 and my time here is quickly drawing to a close. I left for war thinking it'd be like wars of the past, with great battles and great heroes. Dangerous, terrifying, and yet still the greatest time of my life. It hasn't been any of that. It's been boring. frankly. And though I'm not complaining cause I'm coming home safe where others have not, I still feel a sadness, that once again I've come to realize I may never have those dreams that were so important to me as a boy.

I miss Texas. Yes, I miss my family and my fiance, my friends, and all the freedoms of our great nation, but I miss Texas. I miss the trees and smell of cedar in the summer, frogs at night, the sound of shallow Texas streams bubbling past grassy banks. I miss the heat of the summer and the harsh random cold of the winter, big open spaces and the blue skies. I was thinking about all these things today, the great adventures I've never had, the end of my "War", and of Texas, and I happened upon this quote and it calmed me down;

"All America lies at the end of the wilderness road, and our past is not a dead past, but still lives in us. Our forefathers had civilization inside themselves, the wild outside. We live in the civilization they created, but within us the wilderness still lingers. What they dreamed, we live, and what they lived, we dream." -T.K. Whipple 'Study Out The Land'

So, now I've decided that perhaps its not over yet, and perhaps I'll find my Great Adventure out there somewhere, someday. And until then, I'll just come home to my Texas, and, pending fiance's approval, perhaps I'll disappear occasionally into that wild country I miss and hold so dear.  I'd hate to have had great men of the past pay for something I let slip through my hands when I had the chance to cherish it.

My mother; Creator, Punisher, Care-giver, Helping Hand, and GREATEST MOM EVER!

This is my first post, and as she was the main inspiration for me starting this blog as well as me being her first born I decided I'd write this about my mother. The greatest mother in the world!

My mother is a creator. From the earliest memories I have of her she was AMAZINGLY creative.  She wrote a song to sing to me called "Pony Boy"... I wont write it here, but lets just say, ONLY my mother. haha. She once made me a jet pack

a la "The Rocketeer" out of empty milk jugs and some other materials. She's creative, however this can back-fire on you so quick your head will spin...

She's a punisher. The creativity can be used for good as well as evil.  Once she had some rotten eggs... she says to me "Adam take these outside and DO NOT throw them at anyone." Little Adam walks outside and then sees someone he really wants to throw the eggs at... so he does. Adam's mother in all her creative glory, gathers eggs... takes Adam outside and throws them at him. She misses. A lot. So, she then walks up and smashes them on Adam's head in order to prove her point.

Traumatizing? Maybe. Sticky and gross? Yes. However, I never threw eggs at anyone ever again (also makes a great blog name). PUNISHER.

My mother has been there for me every step of my life, through thick and thin. Sure we had some hard times as a family when maybe money was short or this week was just gonna be a "hard week", but she never let us down and never let us miss out on something we loved. She's cooked for me (and hordes of my friends), she's gone to plays, gone to soccer games, she's driven me here and there and everywhere, she's loaned me money, she's bought me clothes and super expensive soccer cleates. My mother taught me how to love, how to forgive, how to struggle through the hardest of times and still find a way to laugh.  Of all the things I received from her the one I notice the most is my sense of humor, my mother could always make me laugh, and could always laugh no matter how hard the day/week/month was. I thank God every day that she passed that on to me.

Through every sport, school year, heart-break, crazy idea, and any phase my life was in my mother was there for me in the best way she knew how. I am blessed beyond my merit with a mother who loves me enough to always put me and my sister first.

So mom, I assume you'll read this, and I love you! I'm proud of you and proud to be your son! Thank you for everything you did for me, I might not have liked it at the moment or always understood this or that, but in the end you really did know what was best. Thank you for being the GREATEST MOM EVER!