Assessing the Month, the Week, the Weekend That Was

And so here we are, partway through the last day of August 2009. As I always do on the last day of any given week, month or year, I look back at the time that has passed and assess all that was accomplished.

August 2009 included a wealth of progress towards my ultimate goal, which is of course the grand opening of Parmasters Kitchener-Waterloo. However, importantly, this past month also included an abundance of wonderful moments with my children, with friends, with nature, with my golf game, and the list goes on. It’s been a wonderful month.

I spent most of yesterday working on a birdhouse with my children. My eldest developed plans for what really should be described as a bird multi-level MANSION. Over the past month we’ve worked together to refine his plans, select appropriate material, develop a full list of the wall, floor and other dimensions, etc. Yesterday we made the first cuts, including the main floor, the “landing pad,” and all of the exterior walls. Lots of fun, and they’re both learning new skills.

To reward ourselves we finished off by making some delicious chocolate chip cookies, from scratch, of course!

This past weekend also included much of the usual, that being lots of office work, a great workout, some house and lawn work, etc. I also took in some of the Waterloo Busker Festival. The various acts were all amazingly entertaining.

I also finished reading Bob Skura’s book, How Great Golfers Think: Perfecting Your Mental Game. I will blog more about this later in the week, as I want to do this local golf offering justice. I thoroughly enjoyed it!

And lastly, during some much needed quiet time, I explored some of my Joseph Rudyard Kipling collection. This excerpt from his poem The Children’s Song captures much of life in a few short phrases:

Teach us to bear the yoke in youth,
With steadfastness and careful truth;
That, in our time, Thy Grace may give
The Truth whereby the Nations live.

Teach us to rule ourselves alway,
Controlled and cleanly night and day;
That we may bring, if need arise,
No maimed or worthless sacrifice.

Teach us to look in all our ends,
On Thee for judge, and not our friends;
That we, with Thee, may walk uncowed
By fear or favour of the crowd.

Teach us the Strength that cannot seek,
By deed or thought, to hurt the weak;
That, under Thee, we may possess
Man’s strength to comfort man’s distress.

Teach us delight in simple things,
And Mirth that has no bitter springs;
Forgiveness free of evil done,
And Love to all men ‘neath the sun!