Thursday, January 13, 2011

Celebration

Sammy, we celebrated your Papa's (my father's) 70th birthday, recently. Although, he says he is 30 since he started counting backwards after the age of 50. Nevertheless, we had dinner and reminisced about his life and our (your grandmother, mother and myself) lives with him. I have asked him to write down his experiences, but since he has yet to do so, I thought I would tell you a little bit about him.

Your Papa grew up in Ruleville, Mississippi the son of tenant farmer with 5 brothers and sisters, picking cotton, soybeans and corn by hand and later with the help of various farm implements. At a young age, he was severely stricken with scarlet fever and had to endure to death of his mother. He has told me many stories from his childhood, but two I recall most vividly are when he and his brother Gerald used to have corn cob fights and how the whole family (your great-grandfather Monroe, your great grandmother, your great uncle Gerald, Papa, great aunt Sue, great aunt Sandy, great uncle Morris and great uncle Keith) would gather for Sunday dinner (lunch) for fried chicken or roast. After playing football in high school, he was drafted into the US Navy and served for two years (something like 22 months at sea while on active duty) on the most highly decorated aircraft carrier from World War II, the USS Essex. Once discharged he went to school for a while and returned to help with the family farm due to an illness that your great grandfather had at the time. It was during this time that he met my mother (your grandmother) while she was attending Delta State, home of the Fighting Okra (I kid you not!). After being married for about a year, they moved to Jacksonville, FL so that mom could find work, while he went back to college. All told, he was in college for approximately 12 years (probably less given his time farming) and attended about 5 schools, but he never gave up. He ended up graduating with an accounting degree from Jacksonville University from which I would graduate some 25 years later. Your Papa mostly worked for the Department of Defense with the Army and Navy as an internal auditor and as a fraud, waste and abuse investigator, overseeing his unit for some time. He retired approximately 5 years ago and has since held the position of house husband as he calls it. Your Papa is also a man of strong faith and compassion, helping those in need by generously lending a hand or support.

I left out that your Papa and grandmother, had an only child, me, in 1974. The joke is that it took them nine years instead of nine months to have me since they were trying to save up enough money to help pay for my arrival and subsequent living expenses. Sammy, your Papa and I are a lot alike, and have had our ups and downs (mainly while I was in high school) because of this. We know what buttons to push to elicit a reaction out of one another since we are so much alike. On the flipside, because of this same attribute we also know how to make each other laugh and have a good time together. Some of my fondest memories are of when we used to go see Spring Training games together in South Florida when I was at JU on break. We would eat oysters and other seafood, relax and watch a few baseball games. On one trip Dad made it possible for me to meet my favorite baseball player, Will Clark. Funny thing, because your Papa liked him too because he went to Mississippi State. I miss those trips and I hope one day that the three of us will be able to go on another one.

It is ironic that he celebrates this birthday near the same time you celebrate your 1st. Perfect bookends to my 36 years. I couldn't imagine it any other way, it is quite symmetrical and as your mother knows I have to have things symmetrical when planning anything.

In the end, I want you to know that your Papa is a great man, loving husband and father, brother, friend, advisor and mentor. He says he made some mistakes raising me, but if I become anywhere near the man he is, I will feel like I have achieved a lot. It is my wish for you, that you take all of our good traits and learn from those that cause us to make mistakes, becoming the very best you can be.

Happy Birthday Dad/Papa and definitely many more!

Friday, January 7, 2011

A New Year's Wish for My Son and Me

I know it has been awhile since I have posted anything on here, but I have been spurred to do so by the activity of one of my friends who has chronicled her family's moving experience that can only be classified as an series of unfortunate events. She has recorded everything along this trip (quite cheerfully I might add) and it has inspired me to hopefully attain one of my New Year's Goals: keep a journal or electronic journal. Hopefully I will be able to have some continuity to this activity, as I have a few journals filled with starts and stops of various previous attempts. After talking to another friend of mine, I have a different motivation, my son Sammy. You see I want to do this for him, so he knows my (or our) thoughts about him, his activities and general random outtakes from life. So here's to you my son!

Lately I have been thinking about what it means to be a father (as of this writing I am almost 11 months in to this endeavor) and what I want for you, Sammy, in your life. I have been pondering this ever since we found out your mother was pregnant, but was augmented recently by hearing Brad Paisley's song "Anything Like Me". Being a music nut, my thoughts instantly recall songs in the past that I identify with this theme. A Creed song popped into my head along with some others, but I settled on two specific titles. I have included links to performances of these songs that are, in my opinion, their best representation. Being a huge fan of live music they of course preformed in their rawest most emotional form. It just so happens that they both come from the decade from which I was born.

The first that I would like to share with you is an all time favorite of mine (not surprising to many of my friends) with which I have some connection, Lynyrd Skynyrd's "Simple Man". You see, the members of the band were/are from the same town where I was born and raised, Jacksonville, FL, thus giving us a similar background in culture and values. When Ronnie Van Zant wrote the lyrics to this song he was combining the experiences of several band members and advice given to them by various family members. I received similar advice from your grandfather, who heard it from from my grandfather before they passed away. The lyrics are very similar to what I strive to be, loving, truthful, honorable, humble, minimalistic and faithful. Traits that I hope you will incorporate along the way in your life.

"Simple Man"
Mama told me when I was young
Come sit beside me, my only son
And listen closely to what I say.
And if you do this it will help you some sunny day.

Take your time... Don't live too fast,
Troubles will come and they will pass.
Go find a woman and you'll find love,
And don't forget son, there is someone up above.

And be a simple kind of man.
Be something you love and understand.
Be a simple kind of man.
Won't you do this for me son, if you can?

Forget your lust for the rich man's gold
All that you need is in your soul,
And you can do this if you try.
All that I want for you my son, is to be satisfied.

Boy, don't you worry.
You'll find yourself.
Follow you heart, and nothing else.
You can do this, if you try.
All that I want for you my son, is to be satisfied.



The second song is a wish for both of us. Selfishly I would like to see you stay forever young and never to face life's ups and downs, but I know you will leave home one day to live/build your own life. The below song, written by Bob Dylan, sums up both my selfish wish and my wish for you.

"Forever Young"
May God bless and keep you always
May your wishes all come true
May you always do for others
And let others do for you
May you build a ladder to the stars
And climb on every rung
May you stay forever young
Forever young, forever young
May you stay forever young.

May you grow up to be righteous
May you grow up to be true
May you always know the truth
And see the lights surrounding you
May you always be courageous
Stand upright and be strong
May you stay forever young
Forever young, forever young
May you stay forever young.

May your hands always be busy
May your feet always be swift
May you have a strong foundation
When the winds of changes shift
May your heart always be joyful
And may your song always be sung
May you stay forever young
Forever young, forever young
May you stay forever young.


No copyright infringement intended for either video. Used for educational purposes only.

Sunday, October 4, 2009

Week 20 Ultrasound

Last week, Shannon and I went to her OBGYN for the 20 week ultrasound to determine the gender of our child. All along, Shannon has thought that our baby was a boy, while I thought it was a girl. Well I guess you shouldn't bet against a mother's intuition, because from about the second picture that popped up on the screen it was apparent that we are going to have a baby boy. From all of the metrics performed so far, the baby is healthy and growing, just a little above average, while the heart is beating at 145 bpm. We feel very blessed to know that the baby is healthy. As for a name, we are still deciding on that. The boy shall be William something, since from what I have been told we have had a William White in at least 7-8 successive generations, and I am the last of my branch of the White family tree. Once again I would like to thank you all for your support and prayers.


Monday, August 24, 2009

Shannon

Shannon is beginning to show as she has now entered the second trimester of pregnancy.

House Update

Shannon's parents came into town Friday afternoon for a weekend at the new Maison Blanche or Casablanca (whichever you prefer).

They brought Shannon's grandfather's table that we are going to use as a dining room table.

They also brought down the matching couch and loveseat to Shannon's black leather chair.

We had a great weekend with Les and Susanne and thank them very much for bringing down the furniture and some libations I requested (Bad Penny, Hell's Angels, and Cheerwine).

Tuesday, August 18, 2009

Baby White Update

Shannon and I went to our scheduled appointment yesterday with the nurse midwife at Shannon's OBGYN's office to go over lab results, general information, and to hear the baby's heartbeat. All of Shannon's first round of blood work came back normal. The midwife gave her a referral for more blood work to test for genetic abnormalities and what not to be done next week. After going through the results, the midwife advised us that it may be hard to detect the heartbeat at first since babies often move and "hide". No sooner than she had said that, our baby's heartbeat was coming in loud and clear at around 150 bpm. So far so good, according to the doc and the midwife. Shannon's return appointments are set for September, including an ultrasound at the end of the month to find out the sex of the baby. We are very excited as we travel down this road. Thank you for all of your support and prayers.

Friday, August 7, 2009

The Move

Well we closed on the house on Wednesday, July 22nd. Thanks to Bruce for all of his help with the loan and to Seide realty for their help with the home buying process. We moved on Saturday, July 25th. Thanks to Justin, Kristen, Chad, Julie, Courtney, Matt, Chris and Allison for their help in packing, moving and unpacking. A special thanks to my folks for helping us pack, move, unpack, clean, and get setup. We like the house and the neighborhood a lot. We are still in the unpacking phase and will be for awhile since Shannon and I are quite busy with work right now. Shannon's folks will be delivering us some furniture later in the month and it will be great to see them.