Where there's a Will... A 2011 reflection...

I've been racking my brain on how to go about this one...  and believe I've decided on a top ten format.  So, without further ado...

The Top Ten Things I learned in This Year of Our Lord, 2011


10.  Anything you can do, I can do slower.

               Yup, I participated and completed The Music City Half Marathon.  In an astonishing 3:32:30.  In the process of training, I lost 40 lbs.  No worries, I found every last one of them.  I wasn't alone.  There was a team of us running in memory of our little buddy Thomas Harris McGreggor.  I'm looking forward for my next opportunity to participate in a Team Thomas event.  Onward ho!

9.  I failed my paramedic exam 2 times... I believe it was because The Jeana was Preggars McGee...

     That's right, I've gotten to the bottom of it and I believe that I wasn't right about ANYTHING from somewhere in October 2010 all the way until June 19, 2011.  That includes every question on the two attempts at my NREMT-P exams.  For the record, I really do look forward to being wrong for 9 straight months again, whenever that time may come ;-)

 8.  Even when my Colts and Vols stink on ice... I STILL LOVE ME SOME FOOTBALL!!!  That is all for this one.  'Nuff said.


7. Changing a diaper ain't all it's cracked up to be...  Oh, and the following contains images some may find grody to the max.  I know I do...

     That just happened...

6.  Tiger Blood.  Who knew?

5.  A good church home is a good thing.  Jeana and I couldn't be happier with our church, church family, and the friends we've made since we joined Harpeth Hills Church of Christ.

4.  God is great.  Just a few of the blessings we've received this year:  Will, Josh's current remission, new friends, no car payments, a roof, food, a Waffle House menu from 13 years ago, cows in our back yard, The Muppets, etc....

3.  Beer is good.  Some, if not most, of you know that I've been brewing beer on occasion over the last five or so years.  Well, this year I ramped it up a bit.  Upgraded my equipment and joined a Homebrew Club in The 'Boro.  It's the first hobby I've had in a long time that I truly enjoy and have a bit of talent for.  I'll be entering the first recipe i came up with myself (about 4 months ago) in a competition in January.  I really am excited about my future homebrewing endeavors. 

                   My first Mid-State Brew Crew meeting. I'm the fatty in the green shirt

           The first time I made my first recipe.  I call it Rampart 51 IPA

2.  People are crazy.  I don't know why but, this year, I've started taking pictures of people that deserve it.  I call them "fancy people"... here are just a few.

    Party in the back and PARTY IN THE BACK!!!

 The original "Fancy" person...

1993 called...

And coming in at #1 on the Top Ten Things I learned in This Year of Our Lord, 2011...

C'mon guys... really?  you don't know this one?

1.  Incredibly Blessed and Extremely Insignifcant

That's me.  Incredibly blessed with a beautiful, smart, compassionate, and VERY patient wife.  Incredibly blessed with, very bestest part of this year, my William Anderson Hodge...

Incredibly blessed with all kinds of family to take care of him.... and me...

 Extremely Insignificant... Yep, if you're a dad, you understand this.  And if you're a dad, you completely understand that it's perfectly fine with me.  When I married The Jeana, I became a little less significant in my own house.  As of June 19, 2011... well... my only purpose is doing my best to make sure the two most important people in my life have me for whatever they need me for.  So, yes, I'm the most insignificant person in the room.  Forever more.  And I'm way ok with that.  Happy New Year everyone.  God Bless you all.

Happy Father's Day Indeed....

Let me start by saying thank you so much for all the prayers, thoughts, and kind words.  You all mean more to us than we can say.  Oh, and if you somehow missed it...

Coming in at a respectable 9 lbs.  14 oz.  and 21" long... William Anderson Hodge!!!

What an emotionally taxing day!!!  Shew!!! I started it by reluctantly going to work, as (at that time, still) Preggars McGee had been having contractions for two days that were getting stronger and more regular.  Well, my reluctance proved to be warranted.  Around 4:30 that afternoon, Preggars called me and told me they were close and strong.  We agreed I would stay until they were that way for over an hour and the she had already called the doctor.  Fast forward a bit because you obviously know I left work...  At the hospital, I was a bit more positive about it than was she.  However, as some of you may know, her jadedness didn't come out of nowhere.  We had come and been sent home 3 other times before this one.  The observed her for a while and then proved her wrong.  Around 10:30, as many people were texted, we were in the room we would soon meet Will.  Or so we thought...

And so we played the waiting game... sleeping when we could, me a little more than her :-)... watching Bruce Almighty, Evan Almighty, A Few Good Men, The Rainmaker, and even a little of Sleeping with the Enemy.  Somewhere in there getting an epidural, getting her water broken, and starting a pitocin pump.  Kill enough time for ya?  And here's where it got a little rough.  Jeana had stayed at 6cm for a few hours and then, suddenly, went to almost a full 10 in less than 2 hours.  So, the nurse had her push three times through a couple of contractions to see if we were ready to do this.  That didn't work out so well...  Will's heart rate dropped dramatically with every push/contraction.  The doctor then made the decision that she had to have a c-section and now.  I won't bore you with counting the times I cried... suffice to say it started at this point and continued off and on for 3 or so hours.  Worry consumed me and I tried my best to hide it from Jeana.  I don't think it worked.  The whisked her off to the O.R. and had me get scrubbed up and put me in the "time out chair", as I'll choose to call it.  Seriously, they pointed to a chair in the hall and said, "You, sit there."  and I did.  For 15 minutes I sat while they prepped my wife for a surgery she was not ready for.  Will had already dropped WAY down.  And, here's the big one (at least to me) she had an epidural, not a spinal.  To me, there's a difference.  And after yesterday afternoon, you will never be able to convince me otherwise.  Anyways, I was ushered in and directed to sit at her head and hold her hand.  The procedure started.  She felt pressure for a while, then she felt tremendous pain.  It's not easy to look at your wife in so much pain and be utterly and absolutely powerless against it.  As all this going on, Will did come out and come out screaming. 

 Best thing I've EVER seen.  Ever, ever, ever.  Ever.

 So, that part went well.  Here's where it gets a little dicey.  If you've read this blog before, you know how badly I've wanted to hold my son.  Maybe even a little more than everyone else on Planet Earth.  That, however, doesn't make it easy when I do get to hold him for the first hour of his life while, now free of whatever causes Preggarcy... The Jeana, CAN'T hold him.  It broke my heart.  All I wanted was to hand him to her.  Then, her epidural started wearing off.  That's not good.  At all.  Not at all.  So, what does the anesthesiologist do at this point?  Knock The Jeana plum out cold.  Not nice.  Well, I guess it's better than the pain.  I guess I just wish there'd been a third option.  You know, with no complications.  But, alas... we have a healthy baby boy.  Oh, oops... the reason Will's heart rate dropped dramatically during contractions is that his umbilical cord was wrapped around his neck and his body.  Good call Dr. Piper.  Wish there didn't have to be an emergency rip up my wife and put her back together session.. but, good call none the less. 
     After we get back to our room and the stuff starts wearing off and The Jeana wakes up enough, she got to hold her son.

New best thing I've EVER seen.  Ever, ever, ever.  Ever.

 After a little while with just The Jeana, Will, and myself I went out to get Mom, Dad, Billy, and Kristi... I started to lose it before I ever got to them.  So, as to not alarm them, I did the only thing my tired mind could think of.  I walked up to them balling with two big thumbs up.  What an idiot.  No doubt comical to onlookers.  It had just been a very rough 2 hours and it all came out right there... nothing I could do.  Ah well.  :-)

    Now my other favorite part.  Seeing "Mamaw" and "Daddy Hodge" hold their first grandson for the first time.

And Uncle Billy... well crap.  I'll wait til Dad gets here today and pull some more pictures from his camera... sorry Billy and Kristi...

Sorry about the senseless ramblings and grammatical errors... I'm tired.

Well, we are here at Baptist this morning, happy, in less pain, and tired.  We have our son, he's healthy and happy.  We're blessed.  Happy Father's Day, indeed. 

Jeana's first entry...

So this morning I was reminded of how amazingly blessed Ben and I are and, and slapped in the face by how selfish our hearts can sometimes be.  For weeks no Ben and other people have been sure baby Will would make his arrival any day now and each time we go to the doctor she says no not yet and let’s just wait and see.  This has been frustrating for both of us in different ways.  Ben has become impatient waiting to hold Will, I have become hugely uncomfortable as Will continues to grow but refuses to move down and is taking more and more space near my rib cage with his head down and feet up on my right side.  
 
Yesterday when we stepped into the office we expected to be put on the schedule for induction Friday the 17th or Monday the 20th when my mom is scheduled to arrive.  We were good with either of these.  When we were told that they could not get on the schedule until Friday the 24th we were both disappointed but again for different reasons.  Ben because he wants Will here sooner rather then later and is frustrated by the doctors un-willingness to schedule ahead.  Myself for 3 reasons. 1) I have to go to the doctor Tuesday for an ultra sound because I am past due and we are scheduled to induce Friday which means Ben will miss the two days he is scheduled to work next week, anyone who knows me knows I stress money like no one else. 2) My mom will already be half way through her visit by that point and I want her to get to enjoy time with her grandson not just me.  3) I am terrified of a c-section and it seems like the longer we wait and the bigger he gets the more likely this is.  I know c-section is a standard procedure but I don’t enjoy being cut on or having to be away from my baby in recovery or missing the first three weeks of school.
 
Here is where the feeling selfish and blessed comes in.  This morning there was a post by Ben’s friend Hardy baby Clara’s daddy asking for votes for CHARUBS a CDH charity and a Blog post from Janna baby Thomas’ Mommy.  Yes I have been sick and uncomfortable this whole pregnancy but so were Chrissie and Janna.  And here is where I feel like a jerk yes I might have to be away from Will for a couple of hours if I have a C-section but that is nothing compared to what these two families and sooooo many others have been through.  
 
This year has offered so many opportunities to have life not subtly put into perspective but shoved in your face put into perspective.  In a little over a week I will no longer be pregnant and as far as we can tell Will is healthy I am hugely grateful to God for this miracle because I know how easily this could not be the case.  Technology now is also so great that we will be saving cord blood in hopes to keep him healthy even if something genetic happens down the road like Hodgkin’s Lymphoma which some of you know my brother is battling right now.  
 
I would like to thank Janna and John, and Robert and Chrissie for sharing their stories and helping to remind us all of what it means to be prayerful Christians, and apologize for all of the whining you may or may not have heard me doing during the past year.

June 6...

June 6, 2009... 2 years ago tomorrow... I can't believe it's been 2 years!  I was beginning to give into the idea that I would be alone, or at best float in and out of relationship after relationship, for the rest of my life.  Then, thanks in part to a certain Craig and his list of wares, my friend's girlfriend met my future wife met and became roommates.  That eventually led to aforementioned date, our wedding.  I will be working tomorrow, and thus will not get to spend our 2nd anniversary with Jeana "Preggars McGee" Hodge.  This leads to a funny little situation.  I've only gotten to spend 1 of 2 anniversaries with me wifey... if Will shows up tomorrow, who among you believe June 6 will EVER  stand for our anniversary again?  Not me.  And I'll tell you what, I don't care.  I can't wait to see him.  Jeana, words will never be able to serve as a proper way to say how much I love you.  Thank you for all you do for me.  Now, get Will out here!!! 'Til next time....

Anticipation...

I just keep thinking, over and over and over, about the day I can hold my little Will for the first time.  Kiss is head.  Sing in my raspy voice to him.  Post picture after picture after picture on that there Facebook.  I'm so glad my timing is not God's.  Those that have known me a while, I'm quite sure, feel the same as I do... and I can't imagine what it would be like today if I had brought a child into this world and my life 10 years ago.... a drunk server at Applebee's @ Nipper's Corner, living with my parents, no church home.  Let me reiterate, I'm so glad my timing is not God's.  I spent this afternoon putting together his bouncy seat thingy, his pack n' play, and his stroller.  I so badly wanted to see him in all of them.  I'm honestly getting quite impatient :-)  In all my impatience and anticipation, a fairly uneventful pregnancy for Preggar's McGee isn't lost on me and I really do want him to stay put as long as needed.  I'll leave you with a picture I'm sure you've seen, but it's one of the few we have.  It is my favorite though.  My shortest blog to date... just wanted to share where my mind has been for the last few days... William Anderson Hodge, we cannot wait to meet you!

Love,

Mom and Dad

Perspective

Time for another installment of Hodge Podge... It's been a while, a combination of lazy and picky, since my first entry.  After this week in my life, I feel I can entertain a few paragraphs.  It's funny to me how complacent we can get in the routines of our everyday lives.  Two separate times this week I've had very emotional encounters, and one extremely emotional experience, with families who's lives and perspectives have forever been changed by tragedy.  In turn, the complacency (at least for now) has been jerked right out of my daily drudge and my perspective has been shifted. 

When I went into work on Thursday, I had no idea what was in store for me.  Before I even was able to clock in, I was told to hurry up and get the ambulance ready and head to Chattanooga for mutual aid as a result of the storms of Wednesday.  For those of you that don't completely understand that, mutual aid is when one department or county's emergency services is overwhelmed, other services are called in for back up.  After arriving in Chattanooga at our station there, we were briefed and told to head to Ringgold, GA (just south of the state line) and meet up with incident command for further instruction.  Here are some pictures of what we saw upon our arrival:

 Auto Zone

 I have no idea what this was.

 Someone's home.

 A motel.

 McDonald's

Those images alone would be enough to jerk you out of the comfort of your safe place.  That wasn't all.  Upon arrival at the actual incident command was the more devastating images that, just out of plain human decency, I did not photograph.  I saw families, entire families, walking around with ABSOLUTELY no idea what they were going to do.  No home, no car, no food, no clothes.  Nothing but each other.  Each as broken as the next.  They didn't just lose they're homes.  Ringgold is a very small community and families often lived close to their relatives. Several of these people lost they're homes and several members of their family at the same time.  We were there for about 12 hours and were only needed for one call.  That was more than enough time to make me keenly aware of how blessed I am to have a roof over my head, clothes on my back, a wife that inexplicably and unconditionally loves me, I don't have to wonder where my next meal will come from... I'm blessed. 

Now, Saturday.  At my heaviest, I weighed 280 pounds.  At my lightest, I ALWAYS hated running, walking, exercise... etc...  I certainly never had any intention of participating in a 5k, 10k, walk around the block, running out of gas and walking to a gas station.  I don't like buffets because, if I'm paying for food out at a restaurant, it needs to be brought to me.  Sorry, rant...  All that being said I participated, and completed, The Country Music 1/2 Marathon.  Again, a few images:

 My ridiculous get up...

 Bigguns'

 He spelled my name wrong...

The inspiration.

When I was told that Janna and John wanted to run the 1/2 in memory of Thomas,their son they lost to a congential heart defect, I thought that if that beautiful little boy could fight as hard as he fought, then why can't I walk/ jog 13.1 miles?  With the way that Thomas Harris McGregor affected my life forever forward... why can't I give a day and 13.1 miles in his memory? I decided to do it.  I trained a little and lost 30 lbs. I bought new shoes and shorts and funny socks.  Then April 30th arrived.  So, donning that shirt and a cover for my balding head, and making a stellar playlist on my iPhone... I started, with "Team Thomas" at around 8:04 in the morning.  3 hours and 38 minutes later, I had completed something I never once thought I'd even attempt.  That shirt says, "He taught us how to pray."  That is, in my case, grossly understated.  Not only did he teach me how to pray.  He taught me, through his parents, what faith truly means.  What strength really is.  My sore and tired body was a no brainer trade for how my life was improved by that little boy.  I was glad to do it and will be glad to always join "Team Thomas" for any future endeavors to keep his spirit ever present in the front of our minds.  My perspective, was again, put in place by a beautiful little boy that accomplished more for God's Kingdom in 15 short weeks than I have in 32 long years.  My relationship as grown so much in the last 6 months.  Nowhere near wear it needs to be.  Surrounding myself with people like the McGregor's and the Hardy's will keep me headed in the right direction.  Yep, new reference.  I'd be remiss if I didn't mention Robert and Chrissy Hardy and their precious baby girl, Clara Mae.  She also has had a tremendous affect on my relationship with Christ.  She's a fighter too.  Born with a diaphragmatic hernia, she's been a fighter for around 40 days at this point.  Still a long road to go, she made strides of improvement in the last few weeks... here's the family and beautiful Clara with only a feeding tube!

Robert, Chrissy, and Clara Hardy

Long blog, I know, but it's been a very "wake up" kind of week.  I pray for the families in Ringgold and all other places affected by the storms.  I pray for the Mcgregor's everyday.  I pray for the Hardy's everyday.  I thank God everyday for all I have and how blessed I am.  I am blessed in countless ways.  My job, the McGregors, and the Hardy's are three of those blessings I will forever be thankful for.


**For further and better explanation, and to learn what to pray for, with regards to the McGregor's and Hardy's please visit their blogs at:

www.mcgregorsrus.blogspot.com and
www.thehardylife.blogspot.com

The Good. The Bad. And The Ugly.

Hello all!  Yup, you got it, I'm gonna try this blog thing.  With Baby Will on the way, I just thought it a good way to keep people, who might be interested, up to date.  Today's blog title?  Here goes...

The Good.

     Well, to me this is obvious.  A lot of you knew me 10 years ago... thus a lot of you can understand my astonishment.  Why anyone wanted to be around me (and most didn't) baffles me.  However, there has been one constant in my up and down life... God has never wanted to not be around me.  Long story short, that guy that nobody wanted to be around 10 years ago is, today, preparing to have his world changed forever.  I've been married to my beautiful and inexplicably patient wife, Jeana, for a year and a half.  Finding someone that made a conscience choice to be around me for the rest of my life?!?!  Blessed.  If that were not enough, she's giving me a son, Will.   As of our last check up, Will is coming along just fine and dandy!  Jeana, or Preggars McGhee, is 22 weeks preggars at this time.  We couldn't be more excited about the days to come!  Also, at the time, I'm nearing the end of a very long journey for me... Paramedic school.  I can see the light.  To close out the "good" section I'll tell you we're members at Harpeth Hills Church of Christ.  It's a bit of a drive for us, but we don't mind.  We love it there.

The Bad

     I'm glad to say this won't be a long section.  The only "bad" thing to speak of really is that we recently found out one of our close family members has cancer.  We just ask that you pray for this person with us.

The Ugly

      This one is easy.  While the finished product looks just fine, the ugly part was me and the process from the beginning.  I knew not what I was getting into and it showed.  I got paint E. VER. Y. WHERE!!!  I always feel I learn something from new experiences.  In this one, I learned that I never want to paint again!  I will have to however... this means several of you can expect me to contact you before the beginning of the next project.  You have been warned.

      

My wife thought it funny to take a picture of me cussing....a good thing this isn't a video!

Anyway... that's gonna be it for the very first Bit O' Hodge Podge... there will be more on Will looming arrival and whatever crosses my mind in the near future.  Holla!