richard cleaver

Archive for the ‘family’ Category

Today is the Day

Jul.24.2010

My daughter will be married later today. I wanted to make sure that I was well rested for the big day. I was able to get about 3 hours of sleep.

Oh well. That was to be expected.

In about an hour, I will head down to the hall to finish setting up the sound system. From about 8am until noon, the band will rehearse. From noon until 1pm, I will get myself home and prepped for the photos at 1pm. At around 2pm or so, we will begin to make our way down to the church. Wedding at 3pm. Receiving line at 5pm. Reception until about 10:30pm. Tear down until about midnight. Back to sleep at 1 or 2am.

Sunday will be just as busy as we will be leading worship at our church. Rehearsal at 8:15am. Church until about 11am. Brunch for our family and friends.

Meltdown by end of day Sunday.

But, whatever else happens, today will mark one of the most special times for a father. I am so happy for my daughter.

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Father of the Bride Speech

Jul.22.2010

After months of thinking about what I would like to say, I have finished the Father of the Bride speech. It is hard to put into words the emotions of a lifetime. And it is even more challenging to do that within a 5 minute speech.

But I did.

I rehearsed the speech with my wife today and after three minutes in, I was unable to contain my emotions. Hopefully I can keep it together for the big night.

Two days.

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Future Posts

Jul.15.2010

I suspect that posting over the next week or so will be somewhat hit and miss. With so much going on, I’m not going to find much time for the blog. But, in case you want to know what is likely going to happen over the next few weeks, here are my predictions for the future:

I will continue to whine about back pain. I mean, what is the point of back pain if you can’t whine about it?

My personal trainer will cause me pain. Perhaps not in my back but definitely in other areas of my body. Obviously, I will need to whine about that as well.

I will ride. Even with a bad back. And I will worry about riding. But then again, I worry about everything.

The wedding will freak me out but I will put on a brave front and no one will know. Except everyone who follows the blog.

I will look at the job jar for the next week and panic. And complain. But I will get everything done. More or less.

I will experience all the emotions that a wedding brings out. I will cry. But I will try to hide it.

And I will reflect on the many blessings in my life. My wife, my daughter, my two sons, all of my friends and family. The wedding has made me think about the past. We’ve enjoyed a wonderful life. I am, and continue to be, a very fortunate man.

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In Twelve Days

Jul.12.2010

The wedding happens. In. Twelve. Days.

The past week was a blur as I was doing double shifts — work and volunteer service. The week-end was also a blur as we spent the time getting the house ready for all of our incoming friends and family.

There are lots of smaller details still to be ironed out but the wedding will happen. And I have to get myself ready for it. I suppose the one benefit of keeping really busy during this time is that it keeps the emotional side in check. I have many decidedly mixed emotions about the wedding.

On the one hand, I am so happy for my wonderful daughter. I am proud of her. She is nothing less than amazing. She has met a terrific young man and I know that they will build a great life together.

On the other hand, I will deeply miss her. I know it is time for her to make her way in life and I know that she will always be my daughter, but I also know that she will no longer be part of my everyday life.

It will be challenging for me to stay balanced and not to get overly stressed about the big day.

I’ll see how it goes.

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95 Days

Apr.21.2010

I had posted about 100 days before the wedding here. Although I think it has now clicked over to 94 days before the wedding.

Still feeling the pressure as I have way too much on my plate over the next few months. That said, I am making some progress.

On the household front, Lorraine and I put a dent on taming the landscape around the fort. The landscape beds front and back are up to suburban standards. The next step is to tackle some of the fallen trees. I am hoping my oldest son will give me a hand with that task once he gets home from university.

And some good progress with the righteous herd, Rockin’ Rick and the Holy Cows. The song list has been approved by my daughter and I have started to work on arrangements and to pull charts.  I was able to book a great sound system for the wedding which includes:

Aside from the wedding plans, I have a few other things also taking place over the next 95 days:

Oh, and it has been absolutely crazy at work as well.

Eek.

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100 Days

Apr.16.2010

My daughter posted an update on her wedding blog.

100 days.

I’m not ready.

As far as I can tell, this wedding will be one of the most significant social events in the Cleaver household in quite some time. I am very excited about this event. I am so happy for my daughter.

We have already started work on preparing the house for all of the visitors that will be arriving for the wedding.

Living in the country means that you can take advantage of the natural beauty of the rural property. Except, of course, where it approaches the vicinity of the house. There, the property must mirror many of the aspects of a suburban home: manicured green lawn, attractive flower beds, outdoor furniture. Like most households, we have a range of outdoor duties when spring comes along. And being relatively new homeowners, a number of outdoor projects in the job jar. Many of the projects read “finish someday” and “no rush”. Projects like: Clear fallen trees in the forest, Clean up front and back garden beds, Grade drive, Pare Back Growth. The status of those projects have now been changed.

Must finish outdoor projects. Before 100 days.

The house is only a few years old. Which is good news. Not as many indoor projects. But we still have not fully unpacked from the move two years back. I know. How can that be? Chill. Life happens.

Must finish unpacking. Before 100 days.

And there is a need to paint the great room. Big room. Maybe that is why it is called a great room. Actually it is several rooms all in one open space: kitchen, dining room and living room. Lots of walls. Lots of details. Lots of painting.

Must paint the great room. Before 100 days.

My band, RR&tHC, is playing at the wedding. RR&tHC, for those in the know, stands for Rockin’ Rick and the Holy Cows. We make moo-sic.

Must source sound system, pull charts and arrangements,  and call band rehearsals. Before 100 days.

It is customary for the parents to say a few words at the reception. And I would like to do something “special” for the big day.

Must prepare for the reception. Before 100 days.

And, I suspect I might need a little break after the wedding. However, taking a little break means planning. Where will we go? Where will we stay? What will we do?

Must plan break. Before 100 days.

There is one final task that I have to anticipate.

Must plan on nervous breakdown. In 100 days.

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Geek

Mar.27.2010

My daughter passed this chart over to me. Nothing more to explain.

Via.

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Home Schooling

Mar.23.2010

We have decided to home school our youngest son for the balance of this school year. He was an unfortunate victim of a violent and unprovoked attack at his school and we believe that it is best for him to be away from that environment. We will investigate alternatives over the next few months which will include private schooling, attending a different public school, or continuing home schooling.

Lorraine has been busily developing his academic program and she is actively teaching again.

There are some interesting sources of information about home schooling in Ontario.

The Ontario Federation of Teaching Parents is a provincial homeschool group that provides support to homeschooling families and information on home-based education.

The Ontario government has a policy on home schooling. This was developed largely in response to the institutional bias against home schooling. The policy is comprehensive and it goes under the title: Policy/Program Memorandum No. 131.

And, if needed, there is a Home School Legal Defence Association based out of our old home town in London, Ontario.

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Youth Diversion

Mar.04.2010

The past few days have been challenging ones for our family. Without going into specifics, our son is doing fine and the aggressor has submitted to the Youth Diversion Program.

You can learn more about this organization here. From their website:

The Youth Diversion Program is a charitable organization which has offered service to youth in the Kingston area since 1974. The goals of the organization are to allow youth to take responsibility for their behaviour, to reduce the number of youth involved in the young offender system, to reduce the number of people victimized by youth in our community, and, to involve the community in youth corrections.

The Program offers two young offender services which hold youth accountable for their actions, by giving them the opportunity to make amends to their community. The Youth Court Committee meets with first time minor offenders, their parents and victims to mediate an appropriate response to the crime. By participating, the youth does not go through the formal Youth Court System.

Hopefully this will help turn a young life around. We will be heading out of town for the next few weeks for a much needed break as a family. Blogging might be even more erratic during that time.

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