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The Hard Part Is Over

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Good news, Jane and John Q. Public. The recession is finished!

The data sifters announced it yesterday. Their analysis reveals that the recession has been over for more than a year. You may not have noticed it due to all the commotion from businesses closing and distraction of unemployed people with their moaning and complaining, but trust me, the great tumult has passed and Happy Days Are Here Again.

The stock market already knows this. Wall Street has been adjusting its numbers accordingly over the past year, so don’t expect a sudden huge uptick. Larger forces anticipate what small players can’t see happening, I guess.

In short, the most troublesome stretch is finished but today will feel much like yesterday and all the concerns remain. The fundamentals have shifted but nothing is really different.

Kinda like when your child comes of age.

Twenty-one years ago today I witnessed a miracle as my beautiful and brave wife Nancy gave birth to my amazing, wonderful son Gus.

Everyone said having a child would change the world for us.
It did.

Everyone said raising him would be the hardest, most rewarding thing we’ve ever done.
It was.

Everyone said the time would fly and he’d be grown up before we knew it.
It has, and he is.

We could not possibly have imagined how delightful it would be to see him turn 21, or how proud we would be of the smart, funny, caring man he has become. A man! We really didn’t get it back in 1989 that we were dealing with a baby man, even though Everyone Said!

Birthday Boy and his Handlers, 1989

At each stage along the way we assumed the reality of the moment would last forever. At the time I would have said that feeling rose out of exasperation and fatigue, but now I know it was essentially optimistic. We were loving every minute and hoping against change. But change came anyway, and now that it is here it’s cause for celebration.

So starting today, things are in a new phase. The world has shifted again, and yet nothing is different. I feel like I should shave my head as a reminder that we have entered another realm, but wait! Nature has already taken care of that. Larger forces anticipate …
The show goes on and a new act begins!

When has a good change crept up on you?

38 thoughts on “The Hard Part Is Over”

  2. Rise and Thunder Babooners:

    I was up in the night with the quaking dog again — that thunder storm is not an example of anything creeping up. Very dramatic in my neck of the woods.

    Congrats Dale to Gus, to you, and to Nancy. I remember standing by the radio during the morning show and hearing you announces Gus’s birth — certainly less dramatic than the part of your family members, but you do have a witness.

    So many things sneak up on us, becoming “the way things are” don’t they?
    Stuff I’ve noticed lately:

    *A Labor Day family gathering that started with camping with tiny kids and is now full of large-footed, beautiful adults and old people (as in, ME)
    *That Bill Clinton who was once a “terrible president” per Newt Gingrich and now has morphed into a fabulous president with “fiscal control” that is now admired!
    *My garden was once full of new plantings that have become mature, needing fertilizer (soon to be graced with organic manure!) and pruning.
    *My business was a plan with only 2 therapists with a lease for a tiny office starting March 28, 2004, is now a thriving practice that needs to expand its space. Almost 7 years! My pre-occupation was what to do with my career when the practice failed. Never saw that one coming!

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    1. Just thought of another CREEPER.

      This blog. Who knew when Dale started this that in 3-4 months it would start my work day so often? And I would enjoy it so much? Who knew?

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    2. I’m with you on thunderstorms and quaking dogs – not a creeper of an event. 1:30 am is not my ideal time for sudden and dramatic events leading to shoving pills down my nervous dog’s throat.

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  3. congrats dale and nancy and happy birthday to gus, time does fly. i have a 23 year old and a 21 year old and i remember doing my bathtub dancing to the morning how with officer rafferty coming to the rescue for my little ones warning them not to dance to the little potato and play my requests for i feel good and day o for my son and bop til you drop shake it til you break it for my daughter. today my son devin is 23, a college grad as a music performance major (singer) daughter tara , 21 is at the u of m and they both still remember the mornings 21 years ago and getting ready for the world with dad and dale and jim ed. then gus on the radio at the state fair, was he 7 at that time? we got a feeling of the joy at the conelly house. we have all grown together as best we can and it has been a wonderful journey.
    i have a seventeen year old an 11 year old and a 9 year old that keep me on the continuum a while longer. my dad used to say kids are like pancakes, the fisrt two are just for practice. my first two were magic and the last 3 are a different form of magic. life is right there along for the ride every day. we do our best, try to grow, enjoy, prepare and factor that into the equation of the day. bush senior, clinton, w and obama have been at the helm for this last 21 years. so were dale and jim ed for a bunch of those. then as they grew the morning show for them was replaced by text messaging with the girlfriends, espn and rap tunes for the radio stations i know nothing about in their secret, personal world, meanwhile life goes on, the economy raises and lowers, republicans, democrats republicans democrats, the world is good the world is challenging, it is a circle. it is a journey and all the while we have a group who go through it together. the family, the special place that feels like home. shared experiences, joys and sorrows, celebrations that no one else feels or knows about. the truth of life is known in very small ways that are universal but in a family circle. the recession, the war, the politics, the millennium all happen to us around us in spite of us and we go on. the family is the center of the universe. i tell my kids i am like the bible, 50% examples of life learned form good behavior,50% examples from the wrong behavior. i warn them to pay attention to all the lessons there are out in the day. and they do. i do too.
    the recent addition of the blog family is an interesting one. we are like a family too. i enjoy and value this new wrinkle in lifes daily routine, in my new family.
    happy birthday to gus, congrats to dale, good morning to my my blog family and i hope the recession truly is past. onward and upward. babooner ho.

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  4. Happy Birthday, Gus! I hope your dad plays the same festive music for you today as he played the day you were born.

    Technology sneaks up on me. I actually wrote a book by hand, but now find myself comfortable with large databases and was solicited for user acceptance testing.

    Hope everyone on the trail is wearing a birthday hat today!

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  5. Oh, development happens! Children, plants, businesses, relationships, skills, all can grow and change in such surprising ways. My son weighed 3.6 lbs when he was born. Now he is 6’5″ and I wonder why I ever worried about his caloric intake. Daughter used to be a Suzuki Twinkler, now she plays Handel Sonatas. Happy Birthday, Gus.

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    1. I hear you! The s&h was a few ounces heavier than your son, and is now uncomfortably one of the tallest in his class. Our house has gotten sooooo small!

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      1. Was yours in Neonatal ICU? What a fascninating place! When I look at the pictures of our son in the incubator, I can hardly believe so much growth can happen

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      2. NICU indeed, what wonderful people they are.

        One of my son’s first stuffed animals was a snowy owl that took up more of the isolette than he did. I also made him a little shirt, because I got tired of having to wrap everything around him twice. I took in one of the doll patterns I had to make it fit.

        Almost scary to see it now.

        I also remember it being a big deal when he finally drank 30 cc at one go-that is a whopping 2 T in American.

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      3. Our daughter too was in the NICU… if I remember she was 6 lbs but had some issues so spent a few days in there.
        We’ve been very lucky.

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    2. Our son had a musical teddy that played “The Teddy Bears’ Picnic” and we put that in the isolette. We couldn’t wind it up to play in there as the sound was amplified by the enclosed space and his heart rate would spike as he startled.

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  6. Things shift over time – and I have been reminded more than once this year that there is another end to the life spectrum that can sometimes come suddenly, and sometimes sneaks in on cat feet. It is well worth pondering that the person reaching that opposite end was once someone’s baby then a father and grandfather and now the body has done all it can for that soul. It is an amazing thing that we start out so small and last so long – our inner mechanics and machinations are truly wondrous.

    In the immediate day-to-day I am still in the relatively early stages of raising a little one from the not-so-tiny baby she started as (she seemed tiny then, but really, almost 9 lbs is not tiny) to the over 4 foot tall 6-year-old she currently is and the eventual 21 year old she will become. It is fascinating to watch the changes and progressions, the continuity in personality and interests, and really just to be on the sidelines watching her learn and grow as a person.

    Happy birthday Gus and family – may the journey continue for many many more years.

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    1. i bet there are more than a few of us who know, first hand, about reaching that other end of the spectrum, Anna. my Mom turned 91 yesterday. i fed her birthday cake (with tears running down my cheeks as i thought about how we have struggled with each other over the years and how now she is so weak and demented that she needs to be fed). i know Donna and Kay are going through the same things. but my Mom seems quite happy – i’m sad for her, but probably the real reason for the tears is my fear of how things will be for me in 27 years, when i am 91. selfish.

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    2. Nice thoughts, well said.

      My mom will have a landmark birthday next week. We’ve struggled too – still do. She fiercely resists the inevitable and I feel as though I’m watching her, keeping my distance, for when she’ll finally agree that she needs me as much as I’ve always needed her.

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      1. wow. i dearly hope that will happen for you, Krista. my Mom, being a good German Lutheran, would never tell me she needs me. not even now. but i know she tells other folks. (this is so i don’t get a big head 🙂
        is that parental-responsibility thing always there? (we don’t have children – just goat kids who will never see 21)

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      2. I feel so fortunate that my parents have one another at their advanced ages and repective infirmaties. They still take quite the parent role with me in not letting me know right away if there are notable health problems, as they “don’t want me to worry” since “I’m so busy with my family and work”. Little do they realize I would love to take some time off and help them out when they need it. I know that the inevitable is around the corner with them being 89 and 87, so I just watch them care for each other and count my blessings.

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      3. Yes, when my dad started to really need more help from me, he felt so guilty, until I reminded him that he probably helped out his parents, and my children would help me when the time came. All part of the cycle.

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  7. Still in the Business Center at the motel: fly out in 4 hours with son and new d-i-l in tow. Son was a creeper twice. 2) first marriage just now at age 40 was NOT expected. 1) His birth. We were within 2-3 months of being handed a child by LSS when suddenly my wife was pregnant beyond all expectations.
    Twins magic number is 2, which came a great deal faster than even I think any of the Twins dared think, half in part to White Sox losses.

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  9. Wow. You guys make me laugh and now you’ve made me cry!

    Congratulations, Dale and happy birthday, Gus! I was listening that morning 21 years ago too. I could hear the overwhelmed pride and joy in your voice. You have every reason to be proud!

    My musical skills and contacts have grown over the last 21 years. At the time Gus was born, I played guitar and sang by myself as a hobby (playing along with songs on the Morning Show). That grew into a folk trio in which I now sing and play mandolin, guitar, recorders, flute and rhythm. Also over the last 21 years, I’ve become acquainted with people from the Mankato and St. Peter area. Eventually I found my way to the Rock Bend committee (a really genius, creative, fun and chaotic bunch of people).

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    1. and you are good at it, guitar singing recorder and the festival. enjoy the next 21 as much (i missed flute if you palyed it at the festival)
      keep it up

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  10. Happy Birthday Gus! Well done Nancy and Dale and congratulations indeed!

    Our own kids are 18 and 15… our daughter, the 15 yo, is the one with special needs and part of what makes her so special is that she moves through these stages slower than ‘normal’… so we get to enjoy them longer. That’s why I still get to play dolls with her.
    Nieces and nephews; played with them as kids, one niece and nephew were flower girl and ring bearer in our wedding and they’re engaged themselves now.
    And a few of the wedding party that are no longer with us… joy and sadness and the world goes round.

    Never say never….

    (Oh, 3AM storm woke us all up from a sound sleep too; had dime size hail for a few minutes… but didn’t have to tranquilize any dogs so it was OK… just calm everyone down and close the blinds against the lightning.)

    Good days all!

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      1. Last we heard, No.
        However, she doesn’t really need one yet either; She’s not struggling with the old one either because she just doesn’t need it. She doesn’t have any text books; just folders and notebooks in her backpack and she takes that to every class anyway– and no coat /boots / gloves yet.
        We are in daily contact with her advisory teacher (who has been very helpful) and our county social worker is also getting involved.
        We were just talking last night; is it time for a ‘meeting’ yet?
        Wanna talk more? Send me a note: bkhain (at) aol.com

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      2. i’ve never seen the (at) sign used before ben, (can’t say that again tomorrow) what’s with that?
        i sounds like the special needs you have dealt with have allowed you to see life through those special soft eyes and soft heart you lead with. it appears she has been a blessing for you as much as you for her. nice how that works.
        i know nothing about the proper meeting ettiquite but it sounds to me like the lock should be done. if the lock is hard what about real issues. cmon school step up and show some care. my address is timjones2020@gmail.com, i enjoy chatting anytime.

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  11. Thanks for sharing this birthday with us, Dale. Happy Gus’ Birthday to you all!

    One good creeping change was when I moved into a 3 bedroom apt. with friend Rose and her kind of, shall we say out of the ordinary brother. It took about 6 months for Michael and me to become a couple, something just grew there, and here we still are 32 years later.

    It’s an absolutely gorgeous day out there, ‘booners.

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  12. Happy Birthday Gus! You’re probably aware that many well-known talented people were born on this day – Leonard Cohen, Bill Murray, Ethan Coen and Luke Wilson, to name a few, or actually four if you want to get picky. It’s the last day of summer – that’s special too. There’s a full moon tonight. Adds some ambiance, yes? And finally a quote befitting your 21st year: “Beauty is in the eye of the beer holder,” Kinky Friedman. (What did you expect? Mother Teresa??)

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