Tag…I’m It

1st Tag

I need to take care of a couple tags before I head out of town on business next week. It’s not that I’m not going to blog next week, it’s that I’ll probably have so much to rant about there won’t be any time to take care of these tags.

The first one come from my friend Robert, over at Observations from the Back 40. This one is kind of hard for me, because I’ve only been blogging for a short time, but it’s essentially a review of posts from the past year.

Here’s the explanation:

Go back through your archives and post the links to your five favorite blog posts that you’ve written. … but there is a catch: Link 1 must be about family. Link 2 must be about friends. Link 3 must be about yourself, who you are… what you’re all about. Link 4 must be about something you love. Link 5 can be anything you choose. I think this is a great way to circulate some of the great older posts everyone had written, return to a few great places in our memories and also learn a little something about ourselves and each other that we may not know. Post your five links and then tag five other people. At least TWO of the people you tag must be newer acquaintances so that you get to know each other better….and don’t forget to read the archive posts and leave comments!

1. Move Over Jerry…is my pick for family. It’s one of my favorite stories to tell on my youngest son.
2. Honest Officer… and Honest Officer…Part 2 is my choice for posts about friends. They also tell you something about me, but I’ll pick another to cover that requirement.
3. I have to first refer you to the two posts listed above. Then I would say Outside Looking In says a lot about who I am.
4. This one is easy. Road Trip does a good job illustrating something I’m passionate about.
5. The Passing of a Friend would be at the top of the list of favorite posts. It was a good experience to remember someone who was such a big part of my life. It’s because of relationships with people like Dale that I’m the person I am today.

I’m supposed to tag five people for this meme, but I think I’m going to leave this one open to any of you who wish to participate.

2nd Tag

The lovely Dawn, author of Twisted Sister fame, graced me with the second tag. For some reason she is under the impression that I would really want to participate in this one. So let’s see what we can do.

Dawn was tagged by Carol at My View of “It” and Carol’s guidelines for this meme are:

In order to embrace the new, we must release the old. I want you (and me) to reflect upon what you did, how you felt, what you liked, what you didn’t and what you learned.

So here’s my stab at it:

1. What did I learn? (Skills, knowledge, awareness, etc.) Hmmm…well, I learned that some people do find things that I write interesting. That has been a positive experience. I hoped I could be interesting and contribute something when I started this blog. It’s nice to find out that I was right. That, or there’s a lot of really kind people out there. Wait! Maybe both are true.
2. What did I accomplish? That’s pretty easy. I got sober again. See the first meme above for a further explanation.
3. What would I have done differently? I agree with Dawn in that I don’t have time for regrets. But if I could have done one thing differently it would have been to spend more time with my kids and grandkids.
4. a)What did I complete, or release? I completed a treatment program for my alcoholism. I’m not done dealing with the disease yet, but I’m moving in the right direction. b.) What still feels incomplete to me? This one is pretty easy, and it’s not a negative. At the age of fifty-something, I’m not done growing yet. And that’s a good thing!
5. What were the most significant events of the past year? List the top three:
   1. My oldest daughter’s wedding.
   2. My getting sober.
   3. Me and my wife getting our first non-feline pet…a dog!
6. a) What did I do right? I finally owned up to my issues and took responsibility for them. I then set about making things right. b) What do I feel especially good about? There are a couple of things that I feel really good about. One is getting back to a regular routine of exercise and taking care of myself. Second is that besides quitting drinking, I also quit smoking. c) What was my greatest contribution? I was able to take a lot of pictures at my daughter’s wedding that complimented what the “official” photographer produced. Turned out to be a good thing because she wasn’t all that happy with his pictures. Not sure if it’s because we’re related, but she was thrilled with the pictures I took and put into a video on DVD for her.
7. a) What were the fun things I did? I was able to take a couple of photo-safaris. I just took off with my camera and roamed until I found something interesting to shoot. b) What were the not-so-fun? That would have to be the times I was a jerk to my wife. I don’t think I’m going to go into details.
8. What were my biggest challenges/roadblock/difficulties? Overcoming my own pride and pig-headedness. It’s tough to face the music and admit you’re wrong…especially when you’re really wrong.
9. How am I different this year than last? LOL…I’m not drunk every day after 5:00 and passed out by 8:00 PM.
10. For what am I particularly grateful? I hope this isn’t too sappy or over the top for some of you, but I am grateful that God’s grace allowed me to achieve sobriety. I am also grateful that my wife loved me enough to push me into getting help for myself with gentle persistence, rather than with a big stick.

Oh, and Dawn, you’re right. I really did want to do this one. Now you all have a little better idea of who I am and what I’m about. Hopefully, you’ll still come back tomorrow.

Now, I’m going to tag the following for this meme (because I’m curious how they’ll respond):

• Kathy at The Junk Drawer
• Mimi the Queen of Memes at Mimi Writes
• Blog Bloke at Blog Bloke

Participation is, as always, completely voluntary.