MERRY CHRISTMAS MY FRIENDS!!!
Tis the season so the saying goes, and so it
is but has been another one of having the time to get “into” the spirit that
has been challenging. Currently I am
wrapping up another Loves Travel Center ,
this one located in a special little town named Guthrie , Oklahoma South
Dakota
As to getting into
the spirit, in finishing these projects my mind is running in high gear all the
time and unfortunately my clutch has worn out so there is no way to take it out
of gear…..and it seems to rev up most during the middle of the night. Now all
my peers in this business I believe share this ailment, one I have named
“superintendent disease”. I keep a note pad not too far from the bed and
several times during the night I wake up and clear the plate as it were by
writing down “things to do” and then assign importance by giving stars to some
and big arrows to others. I judge the intensity of how things are going by how
many pages I have accumulated by the time I get up. I rejoice in saying that
this morning I woke up at 3am with a purpose of not writing down what needs to
be done today but in writing to you…..my annual letter not to vent on some
political subject or plead my case for your support but just to say “Howdy!”
Susan shared with me
the other day from home that Melissa our “oldest” daughter had related to her
about making a list and then having to go back and sub-divide it into more
manageable a format…….this was a list on house remodeling work….what can I say
it must be genetic. Our other daughter Carrie has similar traits and revels in
making formats for organizing work out tasks and sharing those with her peers
in the physical training venue. Poor kids they were doomed from the start. You
should see them when we all walk into a building and their eyes start scanning
the place making a mental punch list of what needs to be fixed!
I don’t hear as much from all the grandkids as
they are all into their own lives now and seem to be doing OK. I occasionally
see postings of this and that on Facebook of what they are into but all in all
they are making their way through life pretty well it seems and I am very proud
of all of them of course.
This past year Susan
and I have been touched by a couple we have never met but have inspired us to
treasure each day we have and be grateful. The couples name is Joey and Rory
Feek, a singing duo I ran across several years ago and liked their music. They
had a TV show on RFD tv and we watch the reruns now as the show is not being
filmed anymore. Joey has cancer and is in hospice care now but Rory shares
their lives through a blog and posts glimpses of their life on Facebook. If you
get a chance Google them and look into what these folks are going through and
it will put perspective on your life’s little troubles and humble you. No, we
aren’t having a bad day. But in their grief and trials there is the spirit of
Love and the feeling that it will win in the end. God bless these folks and the
others out there like them who wake up each day and fight the good fight just
to make it through the day. They inspire me.
Well, gonna get off
my soapbox and just say how much I appreciate y'all, our friends who we get to
share our lives with each year. It’s at least a little easier to kinda see what
some of you are up to as we track some of you on Facebook which we old people
have pretty well taken over from the kids. And I must admit I am more of a
voyeur than a poster but I do “like” a lot and occasionally post a comment or
two. And it is gratifying to hear from some of y'all that you do read my little
physical piece of paper we use to stuff the Christmas Cards each year just to
get our money’s worth out of the post office. But more importantly as Susan
addresses each envelope each year and we sit down at the table and start
stuffing the cards we think about each and every one of you our friends and
family. The list has become larger and
the post office is being supported well by us at least this time of the year
but that is a small price to pay to have y'all be on the most important “list”
I have ever been lucky enough to have made………..the list of folks that know the
Tidwells and know we Love you all. And I mean that sincerely. I was having a
conversation with one of my fellow superintendents last year and he was having
a hard time and after hearing the desperation in his voice and trying to give
him my best support from a thousand miles away I told him “ I love you
brother”. It surprised me but it was the truth.. I was told many years ago as a
criticism by a construction manager over me that I wear my heart on my shirt
sleeve……best criticism I ever had and it still holds true today.
Any of you that
have been around me lately know that I am in a countdown mode. When having a
bad day of being overwhelmed by many issues I quote the doomsday clock that is
ticking to when I can hang up my tool belt, currently it is at 3 years 9 months
give or take a day or two. So all y'all work hard and put lots of money in my
social security fund so I can be an artist and “draw” each month. Then who knows,
Susan and I might hook up the camper and come park at your house just like the
Grisswalds and visit next Christmas. And hey we aren’t proud, jelly of the
month club ain’t such a bad thing….we’ll bring the peanut butter.
In summary, (yes my
ramblings are almost over for a year) just wanted to wish all of y'all a MERRY CHRISTMAS
and hope that this coming year is a good urn for you and yours and that good
things are coming your way, but if they don’t just put life in perspective.
Think of lots of folks having a much
worse day and that don’t have friends and loved ones like all of us. We truly
are blessed in many ways and all of y'all are blessings we appreciate in our
lives.
So even if we aren’t
home a lot, come visit us on Facebook or write us and share what’s going on in
your corner of the world as we LOVE to hear and really do care about you.
From the Tidwell’s
have a HAPPY NEW YEAR and bless us all every one!
Buddy and Susan
