Give Thanks -- Pets

I am sitting here this morning with Makayla trying to fit herself into the chair next to me. We are dog sitting for Ben, Jeremy's Keeshond, and Riordin, the cat that returned is sitting across the room on Chris' lap. Only Louis, the white rag doll cat is missing from the scene this morning hanging out wherever he is.

It is a bit of a circus.

But, I love it. The pets provide comic relief and at the same time are somewhat demanding. It is like I have children again.

Makayla greets me at the door--not unlike the way that Dino used to greet Fred Flintstone in the old cartoon except that I don't get run over by her. I enjoy being greeted at my door when I return. Riordin tries to sit in my lap whenever I am on my laptop or iPad--just to make life difficult. Weekends like the present, when Ben or Patrick's Chewbacca are staying over, provide additional fun like separate walks to ensure bodily functions are complete.

Pets are work--but they are a blessing. Pets provide companionship just in being around. I am reminded of a situation in the bible when Job had just lost everything and his friends arrive and sit with him for seven days without saying a word. (Job 2:13) Now I am not equating Job's three friends with pets, but am illustrating only that sometimes words do not need to be spoken--it is the act of being together that is important.

Pets, well trained house pets like mine, are around and are part of life. Whether laying at my feet, or in my lap, or on the floor a short while away--they are with me and near me.

The blessing of pets is companionship. Walks are not accomplished alone and by caring for pets we practice the skills necessary to sacrifice of ourselves to care for others.

-- Bob Doan Elkridge, MD

Columbia Mall Poinsettia Tree

And there it is. Ready for the season. The most fabulous Christmas decoration in any mall in America.

Give Thanks -- Peace

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I was thinking about peace and realized how self-centered I was being. Sure, I can say thanks for peace because I am not deployed to some far off land where people are trying to kill me on a daily basis which is what many of our military and DoD civilians are facing as this holiday season approaches.

I am insulated from the violence and anarchy in those not so far away lands of Egypt, Pakistan, Iraq, Somalia, Afghanistan, Yemen, Iran and anywhere else unrest happens on a near daily basis. I do not have to deal with the death and destruction and chaos that the people living in these places have to do. They, I believe, long for the peace that I experience on a daily basis.

I wake in the morning in a comfortable bed in a warm home with the prospect of fighting nothing more dangerous than Maryland drivers on the parkway. My closest contact with the Taliban is the news.

In my world, there is peace and it is a blessing. Peace is something that I do not think much about because I have it and it is a constant. In other parts of the world, peace is something they wish and pray for.

Because there is peace, I can focus on other aspects of life and living without fear. Peace helps me not to be afraid to live.

The real blessing of peace is in those who are on the frontlines around the world to preserve peace and our way of life. They are a blessing to each of us--and we need to remember them and to pray for them.

And we need to consider the gift that they give us--peace.

--Bob Doan Elkridge, MD

Monday Musings - November 21, 2011

1. The Christmas lights outside the house are in place and the Snow Village is set up. Thanksgiving and the slide into the hectic Christmas Season is ready to begin.

2. I cannot believe it is Thanksgiving already. Seems like only yesterday I was on a sailboat off the coast of St. Vincent enjoying the heat and humidity of summertime.

3. Sports in America requires a thorough review. The over paid NBA owners and players who cannot agree on how to split the treasure of Solomon are driving hundreds of lower paid ($10-20/hour) people into unemployment. And on the heels of this the Penn State scandal is continually in the news and getting creepier, people we have a problem--and it is us!

4. Did you note that although we still do not have a budget (U.S.) we at least have another continuing resolution. I dearly wish that Congress would reread the Constitution.

5. The weather hs been unseasonably warm the past few days. I even heard the peepers in the wetlands near me last evening. I figure they will soon go silent until the cold, dark days have passed and Springtime returns.

6. The travel season is in full swing. I know this because my family increses by one or two canines temporarily.

7. If you are traveling for the holidays, here is a prayer for safe travel: Lord, be with me as I prepare for travel.  Calm my fears so that I can begin this trip rested in mind and body.  Keep me alert for any dangerous situations I might encounter so that I might arrive at my destination unharmed and secure in the knowledge that, when my trip is over, You will always be there to guide me safely.  Amen.

8. Patrick asked me an interesting question the other evening. Considering the Presidents from Truman to Clinton, which was the best and which was the worst? Not an easy task it turns out. In my mind the best was easy--Reagan without a doubt with Truman close behind. But the worst? I found the competition to be fairly stiff. I entertained thoughts of Carter and Clinton. I also considered Johnson and Eisenhower and the crook who said he wasn't, Nixon. I felt quickly that Bush (the elder) was in the middle so that he was safe. In each case, I found something positive from their administrations. So I was left with Ford and JFK. Ford helped heal a nation with his bumbling ways after the debacle of Nixon, and that left JFK--who in my mind wound up with the title of the worst of the Presidents between Truamn and Clinton. I would be interested in your thoughts--this could be a lively discussion..


9. We have been adopted by a ferral cat--I am not sure if that is good or bad.

Snow Village 2011

Well we have set the 2011 version of our Snow Village up and are officially almost ready for Thanksgiving. The idea is to get the Snow Village set up on the Saturday before Thanksgiving--and we actually accomplished that yesterday.

This year it seemed to be a bit more difficult to set up since we used a new place and a new configuration. But, we got through it and had some fun while playing two movies in the background: The Santa Clause and The Polar Express.

I am continually amazed at how the city looks so real after we add the people to it. It really seems to come to life and provide that festive addition to the house for the holidays. 

This edition of the Snow Village will be with us from now until January. So I am glad that I like it. If only we can keep Riordan out of it.

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Give Thanks -- Health

Wow, health is something I often forget about as a blessing. Why? Because I have health.

Yes, I am afflicted with NDPH, and I have a few other issues which require daily medications, but I am able to live and enjoy life and am not constrained from doing the things I desire because of poor health or long term injury.

You should have seen Chris and me hauling the Snow Village boxes from the attic above the garage to the family room in the basement yesterday as we set up the 2011 version of our collection. And I look forward to getting back onto the racquetball court when my gym reopens this week. I can do whatever I desire to do.

I am blessed with good health. Not perfect health, but good health that allows me to do whatever I want whenever I want.

Health is a blessing. I have friends who are not so fortunate.

The real blessing of health is being able to do what I want to do and to help others while doing that.

Happy Thanksgiving, I am a richly Blessed man living in a land of plenty.

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Giving Thanks - Home

Drive around our area and it is easy to notice the homeless sitting on some of the corners asking for assistance.

One of the blessings I realize that I have this season is the blessing of home.

I am sitting here looking outside at the dawning day enjoying the blue sky and rising sun. Most importantly, I am warm. It is 24 degrees outside this morning, but Chris and I are warm inside with a nice fire already crackling in the fireplace.

I am looking forward to being outside today doing work around the house, which is my home, but I woke in a warm bed, not in a group home or a tent. I am blessed and for that I give thanks.

Home, they say is where the heart is--but as well it can be place from which to base life. The safe place to which I return at the end of the day and from which I depart when I launch my day.

I look forward to home when I am not there.

Not in a sappy way--but in a peaceful, purposeful manner.

The real blessing of home is peace. A place to reflect, and plan, and to be safe.

Welcome home.

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Giving Thanks -- Job

The stories in the news are everywhere about rising unemployment and companies closing and laying people off.

The times are tough and real people are facing real job loss which strikes deep into the heart of people who want to take care of and to provide for themselves.

I read a very hurtful email the other day which was from the ultra conservative right which clearly suggested that America should no longer be a land of generosity and where the idea of collectively providing for those less fortunate should no longer be what sets us apart as a people and a society. This email seemed to suggest that we could close our borders and our doors and become and island in the world.

The email was so out far from the attitude that we should have a people of plenty and covered with uncountable blessings. I felt bad for the misguided people who perpetuate that thinking and who sent me the email.

It suspect that it is easy to write such hard ideas when safely tucked into a warm home writing from the comfort of a chair in front of a computer. The email suggested that more people in America are getting free stuff than are paying for the free stuff. I wonder if people receiving Social Security were counted in the percentages of those receiving free stuff, or those receiving retirements. It is harder to write such things when living on the street, homeless, cold and wet. Life has not been good to a lot of people. And they rely on us, the rest of us, for support.

I am thankful for having a job. I am thankful that God had placed me in a position where I believe I am making a difference and am doing something important. I am uniquely suited for the job I have, but at the same time I am able to keep perspective and realize that I work to live and not live to work. I love my free time away from the job to do the things that are there to enjoy outside of work. I have passed up taking positions which would seem to require working 60 or 70 hour weeks, because I enjoy life away from job and I do not want my job to become my identity.

But this Thanksgiving, I am most thankful for the blessing of freedom that my job gives me. Freedom to be creative and to write my blog everyday whether anyone reads it or not. Freedom to critically read the email that I receive and not be so hard that I follow every whim that someone would have me follow.

The blessing of having a job is freedom.

Give thanks.

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Giving Thanks - Friends

With Thanksgiving upon me in a short week from today, I am continuing my examination, albeit a bit superficial, of the blessings in my life.

Today I am writing a few thoughts about friends. When I began this process I had separated friends from family, but upon further consideration I realize that the true blessing of friends is that unlike family, I choose my friends and they choose me, too. And becuse of this, my friends have become family.

I am very blessed by my friends and I hope that I am likewise a blessing to them as wll. In all of my adult life, I have not had friends like I have now. I was too much of a vagabond gypsy moving around the country/world in the Air Force to take time to haave friends until more recentlys as I have settled in this place called Maryland.

Thnksgiving allows the opportunity to appreciate friends and the unique things we do together which continue to build deeper relationships.

Friends are the spice of life and they are there before I even know I need them for support. I have enoyed the weekend trips and the wine tastings and the dinners, and the just gathering together at the end of a tough week just to relax and be with one another in a non-threatening and even encouraging environment. And as friends, sometimes we realize that the most important part is just being together--whether we talk or not. Just for support of not being alone in tough timees.

At Thanksgiving this year, I am thankful for my friends--and the increase in my family they have become and will always be.

Thanks to each of you!

Giving Thanks - Family

Thanksgiving is upon us. Next week.

I've been thinking about the blessings that I have received this past year--and for that matter during all of my life in an effort to better grasp how I take blessings for granted and despite my best efforts, I continue to receive blessings that I neither deserve nor have earned.

I have the usual list--family, friends, job, home, health, peace, pets, and love. And as the Apostle Paul would say, not the least of these is love.

But--I thought I might like to dig a bit deeper into each of these areas to discern the real blessings and not just the superficial, pass it off kind of acknowledgement that I usually do when confronted with truly deep issues.

Superficial is easy, and non-threatening. I have been thinking about some of these blessings and I have come to realize that they are not superficial. It is I who am superficial in so many things that I do. I am afraid to engage and to offer the best of myself to the situation.

Family. I have the best family in the world. They put up with me even when I would rather be somewhere else. (Like Key West) I love them. I wonder whether I deserve them. But, Sundays around the TV watching four different football games reminds me that we are a family and we are all better because of it.

But family is more than watching football games together. Family is the way we look out for each other and overlook our shortcomings to find the inner beauty in each of us. It is the unconditional smile of a grandson (since I haven't any granddaughters, it is OK to write it this way) when I arrive or when we communicate via the new Facetime technology. Family is saying, we've got your dog when we head out for a long weekend.

Family supports when one of us is down and thrives when we are all together. And family is larger than just the cluster of people living in Maryland--but it includes far flung brothers and sisters and parents and cousins and nieces and nephews scattered across America.

And I am stronger because of all of them. We get together all too infrequently.

But they are a blessing and I am thankful for them.

What is the real blessing of family?

The real blessing of family is that I never fear being alone in this world. In family, I have others with whom I am walking beside, or leading, or walking behind--but joined arm-in-arm as we make our way through the world. Although we are not all walking the same path, we are walking together, and we are stronger for it.

I am not alone--there are others with whom I can share my joys and sorrows, successes and failures, and just sit together sipping a glass of wine or a beer and enoy being--even if we are not talking, we are.

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD