An Open Letter

This is an open "letter" to those couples who are pregnant, may become pregnant or are contemplating adding a child to their family some time within their lifetime.

As a parent, we gave our children a number of things that last their entire lifetime. Eye color. Hair color. Skin color. Temperment. Sense of humor (or lack thereof). Athletic ability (or lack thereof). Musical ability (or lack thereof) The list goes on. However, with each of these, because we were born with each of these traits, it is not our choice per se to pass them on to our children. However, there is one thing that we give our children that lasts their entire lifetime that we are solely responsible for.

Their name.

The inspiration for this post came a while ago when Missy and I took Riley to an indoor playground/melting pot of kids, foam, slides and sweat. We were watching our son happily dodge seven year olds as they ran, punched, kicked and tackled anything in their way. All of a sudden, a woman who was old enough to have survived the Titanic shuffled in with a 40 year old camera. She feebly tried to corral two of the boys for long enough to get a picture of her grandsons.

"Braxton!"

"Jagger!"

"Come over here, please. Braxton, can you stand next to your brother Jagger, please?"

From that moment, I knew I had write this post.

As a parent, you are given a tremendous responsibility to name another human being. That name will stay with them forever. I felt this weight when we were pregnant with Riley. Missy bought the baby name book and we combed through thousands of names until we found the one we thought was perfect. There are certain things you need to avoid when naming your child.

#1. You cannot give them a name that rhymes with something kids can pick on them for.
#2. You shouldn't give them a name that doesn't definitely tell what gender they are. (Oops. "Oh, your son is named Riley? We have a daughter and a niece named Riley!")

However, I would like to add another rule to the child naming commandments.

Think of the oldest person you are related to - preferably a grandparent or great grandparent. They will LOVE your child. And they will say your child's name. Pick a name that doesn't sound weird when an old person says it. They won't know it sounds weird. Actually they might but that won't stop them from saying it. Other people are going to have to hear them say it and will feel bad because their grand (or great grand) child has a name that the parent tried too hard to sound cool.

There are some sub-rules that go with this one:
-don't name your child after the name of a musician - Jagger, Braxton, Elvis
NOTE: Dylan is acceptable.
-don't name them after places - London, Ireland, Paris
-don't name them after nouns - Rider, Hunter, Pearl
And a new one inspired by a recent playground encounter:
-don't take great names and give your kid a knockoff name - Briley. I would also add "Bryan" to this list. Why mess with a good thing?

So all of that to say, you parents have a tremendous responsibility. You will not only impact your child but the hundreds or thousands of people who will have to say that child's name.
Follow the above rules and you will go a long way to giving your child a happy life.

(Author's note: This post was written while sitting in a room with no air conditioning. Any misspellings, grammatical errors or the fact that his child's name completely contradicts the above rules can be directly attributed to the fact that the author wrote this post while facing temperatures similar to those found on the surface of the sun. Gosh we need a laptop.)

Five Hours in MSP

Airports are a stressful place. Typically the minute I walk out of my house to go to an airport, I move up a notch in terms of stress level. Once I walk through the revolving doors into the actual airport, it goes up another level. I don't fully relax and take a deep breath until I get to my desination.....and pick up my bags from baggage claim. But that's a story for another time.

Once we had Riley and started traveling on planes with him, those stress levels increased ten-fold. Now don't get me wrong, Riley is a VERY good traveler. He loves planes. He loves de-icing trucks. He loves baggage claim carousels. He even likes it when his stuff gets to go through the "tunnel" in security. However, he is two and requires a small arsenal of toys, snacks, books and juice. And sometimes (usually on the trip back) he doesn't always want to go where we need to go when we need to go there. And he makes his dislike for such demands known publicly.

This past week, we flew to North Dakota to have a series of family reunions with Missy's family. We reun'ed (I just made that word up for this blog alone but you can use it if you like) with Missy's aunt (Missy's mom's sister) and her family. We reun'ed with Missy's dad's siblings and their family. We reun'ed with Missy's grandmother and Riley's great-grandmother. Though that was the first time Riley met her. He was a little shy but did bust out a few verses of "I've Got the Joy, Joy, Joy" for her. AND we reun'ed with Missy's family (parents, siblings and their family) which we do biannually and is certainly one of the things we most look forward to throughout the year. It was a great time to see family we haven't seen in a long time, meet new family members and truly take in the North Dakota culture (check out the family blog - delppartyofthree.blogspot.com for pictures and one of my favorite new videos of Riley).

It was wonderful but all the running around didn't help with Riley's nap schedule. In short, he didn't have a nap schedule except for one day on the trip. So by the time we lifted off from the Minot International Airport heading for Minneapolis/St. Paul (or MSP for airport code), we were all tired and had already experienced one of Riley's public displays of displeasure towards, well, pretty much everything.

And we were headed for a five hour layover.

Northwest, as wonderful as they are, pushed our last flight back three times between when I booked the trip and when we left. We had a nice hour and a half layover that would get us home around 5:00 pm. When we took off, it had been pushed to five hours. I figured I could take evasive action once we arrived in MSP and get us on an earlier flight a la "Amazing Race". However, I was informed when we stepped off the plane that we could go standby if we paid $150 and came back to the airport to get our bags. Since one of our "bags" (a trash bag) was Riley's car seat, there was no option. We were staying for the long haul.

And let's say things were slightly tense. I was fully prepared for five hours in the third circle of hell.

However, Missy and I prayed over Riley's chicken nuggets and our "morale builder" - day old, overpriced sushi - lunch that we would make the most of the time we had.

And the weird thing was, we did.

In fact, we had a blast. We had the rare opportunity to be in an airport, with a two year old, with no stress. We had nothing but time. Riley could do WHATEVER he wanted for almost five hours in a place that offered more fun and cooler stuff than any playground I have seen.

We rode escalators. We rode people movers. Mostly in circles back and forth, up and down. We rode the tram between Gates C-D, over and over and over. We played at the indoor playground. We watched the endless line of carts as they honked and transferred elderly and overweight people through the airport.

All while surrounded by stressed travelers and in some cases, their displeased children.

And the time flew.

Before we knew it, we were figuring what to do for dinner and making sure we could squeeze it in before we boarded our flight for Philly.

No one would ever accuse me of being overly optimistic. If I saw a glass that was filled halfway with water, I would complain that it wasn't Coke. However, experiences like this open my eyes to the fact that in almost any situation, we have the ability to control our perspective of that situation. I could have easily sulked and pouted for five hours. But instead, we embraced the fact that we had an entire billion dollar facility at our fingertips. And other than some "Watch out, Riley" 's and some "Sorry, excuse us" 's, we had the world's most elaborate family playground to ourselves.

Some highlights:
Riley in front of one of his favorite things: A motorcycle

Riley in awe of the tram in all its "choo choo" glory.

Father's Day: Tom Cochrane, Fergie and Madonna

Our weekly trip is always an adventure. Our church is about 30 minutes away from our house. Over the the past year and a half since we started attending our church, Riley has pointed out some staples on the trip that have become highlights that he looks forward to. To name a few:

-haybails
-horses
-cows
-a big bus
-an ambulance

So on this day, our trip to church went pretty much the way it has gone for the last 18 months or so. However, the trip back was a little different and made for a sweet early Father's Day memory for me.

There are two things (among others) that Riley has developed a love for. Singing and the Disney movie "Cars". These two loves have recently converged in the form of a McDonald's Happy Meal toy. Bear with me here. One of the songs (the one he has dubbed as THE "Cars Movie Song") is a Rascal Flatts cover of the 1991 song "Life is a Highway" by Tom Cochrane (a personal favorite of mine back in my early high school days, I'm sure it is on a mix tape somewhere). This song, which obviously is played in the movie, also popped up along with a few other random pop songs on a sample CD Riley got in a Happy Meal from McDonald's.

On this CD, which is called Kidz Bop, a bunch of kids and a wanne be rock star singer perform the Tom Cochrane song, Fergie's "Big Girls Don't Cry", Daughtry's "Home" and Madonna's "Holiday". It is a very random assortment of pop songs but because it has the beloved "Cars Movie Song", Riley has been asking to listen to this CD often. Today's ride home was one of those instances.

Recently, as Riley has gotten more familiar with the songs, he has "sung" along with them; every "yeah!", "woo!" and even the "gimme gimme gimme gimme, yeah!" from "Life is a Highway". It is a sweet, hilarious and heartwarming experience to listen (because he has forbidden us to sing with him - I guess we disrupt his flow) to him sing.

However, today, he asked both Missy and I to sing with him individually.

So there I was driving home from church, singing a 18 year old song with my two year old son......with tears in my eyes. I can't explain it but there is something beautiful about hearing your child sing. I don't know if it is the realization of hearing/seeing your child express themselves. I don't know if it the cuteness factor of a two year, who is just starting to talk clearly, sing pop songs. I'm not sure but I know that it made it hard for me to get the words out because I was too choked up.

Like most people (especially on Life is a Highway), Riley would sort of mumble the words until he got to a part he knew - "mumumumumumum, life is a highway! Mumumumumumum all night long! Gimme gimme gimme yeah!"

After he got done with "Life is a Highway" for the fifth time, he moved on to Fergie. I don't know how I feel about him singing (at least attempting) "It's time to be a big girl now, and big girls don't cry" but when I heard, "mumumumumum cry!!!!", my heart melted. Even though it was Fergie.

Today's memory is one I will never forget. To sing with my child was a blessing that will stay with me forever.

Thanks for making it a great Father's Day, Riley. If life IS a highway, you made the trip a little sweeter today.

Observations of a Playground Parent

Since becoming a parent, I have become much more aware of how others parent their children. Before I was a father, I would only really notice the parent of the kid who was screaming in the store. I would instantly think that person was a terrible parent and the child was destined to a life of doing 10-20 for holding up liquor stores. Now, I am a little more "enlightened" and realize EVERY parent will go through that at some point. The screaming child, I mean. Hopefully not the felon child.

One place, I have really noticed a difference in parenting styles is on the playground. Now that the weather is finally getting nicer, we have had the opportunity to come out of our cave and go to one of several parks in our area - most within walking distance. The time I personally have been able to take the most advantage of this is on the Saturdays that Missy works. While, it is not fun to have Missy work on a Saturday or two a month, it has given Riley and I the chance to have some great father/son time. And typically our father/son time ends up at a local park.

We went to one pretty large park a few weeks ago and here I observed several different parents interacting with their child in a number of different ways. Here is how I would classify them:

1. The Doomsday Parent - This is the parent who watches their child from a distance and only communicates with them through predictions of unspeakable danger.

"Timmy, get off of there! You are going to break your neck!"

2. The MIA Parent - This is the one who is there but not really. They are talking to friends or reading or flirting or asleep or something. All the while their child is standing next to Timmy on top of the two story playground equipment getting ready to cannonball off the side.

3. The Cell Phone Parent - The cell phone parent could also be called the life story parent. This is the person who is on their cell phone while their child plays and is usually talking to someone so loudly that you can hear their life story. My guess is that is probably their intention but I don't know why.

"I can't believe she would do that to you! I know! I have never liked her. I don't even know why she still HAS a job." Or.....

"I have had the WORST stomach issues! We had Chinese last night and I was in the bathroom for 45 minutes! I should go to the doctor but I might have to get an enema."

Now the cell phone parent can easily combine with both of the first two. They can be so engrossed in a conversation on the cell phone that they missed seeing their child get TKO'd while walking in front of another kid on a swing. Or the Life Story parent:
"I need to see a specialist about my foot. This bunion is......NO NO NO NO NO! Get out of there! You will get your head cut off!"

Now the last parent type I see at that playground and the one I try and be, when I am not telling others about my bunions is...

4. The Interactive Parent. This is the one who actually plays with their child at the playground. They go down the slides with them. They swing on the swings with them. They get stuck in tunnels (like I do pretty much every time) with them. They are usually sweating. There will come a day when Riley will not think it is the greatest thing in the world that his parents will play with him. But until that day comes, I am going to run around, get stuck and sweat for him.

If you can think of any other parent types, I would love to hear them.

Now get away from there! You could contract the plague!

Where in the world is Ryan Delp????

I know, I know. I have had the police call TWICE to make sure I was still alive. I saw my own picture on the back of a milk carton. Don't worry. I am still alive. I am still (mostly) sane. I am still capable of typing and still have some access to a computer.

So the question is: where have you been? The simple answer?

Painting.

We have had dreams of redoing our kitchen since we moved in. We have done small things but the big stuff, namely replacing the floor and painting the cabinets, we have put off.

Until now.

Right after I got my wisdom teeth out.

I was actually hoping to have some of those swollen cheek pictures after I got my wisdom teeth out. I really was. However, it didn't happen. The doctor said that the teeth came out great and didn't think I would have any swelling. And I didn't. I didn't have to take Vicodin which was a disappointment. I DID have to eat yogurt and shakes which got old after about 8 hours. And now I have that little syringe thing to keep everything clean. So overall, not too painful a process.

The only real downside was that I had to confer with the guys installing our dishwasher (more on that later) about 4 hours after I had my surgery. I don't remember much from that conversation other than I told them that the dishwasher was in the basement.....as they were standing next to it at the bottom of the basement steps. So I'm sure it was a great conversation.

So the plan was to rip out the vinyl floor, put in tile, take out our dishwasher which I think was first used by the Pilgrims after the first Thanksgiving, replace it with a donated newer one and then paint our cabinets, install the new hardware and enjoy our beautiful kitchen. It seemed like a week to two week job at most.

We ripped out our floor on March 23rd. We hung the cabinet doors (thus pretty much completing the job) tonight - April 21st. Two days shy of a month.

Overall, it was actually a pretty smooth process. The only hiccup really was that the donated dishwasher apparently had a family of hungry mice living it that caused $300 worth of damage. So we bought a new diswasher. We lived off of McDonald's and cereal for a few days while our floor was being tiled. It really wasn't too bad. Just time consuming.

We started painting around the beginning of April. Two coats of primer. On the cabinets. And on the doors. Each side. Then two coats of finish paint. On the cabinets. And on the doors. Each side. Then spray painting the existing hardware to match the ones the bought. Each side. You get the idea.

So finally, a month and some change later, I can proudly post the before, during and after shots of our kitchen. Enjoy.

Before.....















During......









After.......















Oh and then our sewer line backed up into our yard and we had to replace the whole thing.













I, for one, am very much looking forward to what May has in store. More blog posts perhaps....

Most Wonderful Time of the Year

OK, so allow me to be 6 years old for a minute. I LOVE this time of year. And I have selfish reasons so please indulge me.

I will get the selfish one out of the way. My birthday is this time of year. I am old enough to start seeing my age when I look in the mirror. However, I am not old enough to dread my birthday. I LIKE my birthday if for no other reason than to get emails, texts, phone calls and cards from friends and family. It is nice to be shown how much you are loved every once in a while and I got plenty of love this year. Especially now that I am on Facebook (see previous blog post). I checked my email on my birthday and there were 45 new emails - most of them from Facebook messages. This year, my sis in law, Mel and her husband Scott flew in to visit. We did the Philly thing (cheesesteaks, Liberty Bell, cut off in traffic, sworn at) and then went out for sushi and hibachi that night. Couple that with being able to take the day off from work and play nine holes of golf and it was the perfect day. Also, in case you care, I share the same birthday as American icons - Chuck Norris, American Idols - Carrie Underwood and ANTI-American Icons - Osama bin Laden.

Next, it is Riley's birthday. I get excited for my birthday but I get very excited for Riley's. He is still a little too young to understand what is going on but the nostalgic sap comes out in me. Last year, we symbolically turned his car seat around after his party because now as a one year old, he could face forward. Overdramatic? Probably. But I loved it. I can't believe the kid is going to be two. It seems like a week ago he was born yet at the same time it seems like a lifetime ago. Actually, I guess it has been a lifetime ago. Riley's lifetime. Riley, by the way, shares his birthday with all kinds of American icons - Reese Witherspoon, Bob Costas, Andrew Lloyd Weber, Louis L'Amour and my personal favorite, William Shatner.

Next, the weather is finally changing. I don't know if it was because we were sharing a house with a stir crazy toddler but this winter seemed to go forever. The weather is hitting the 40's and 50's and we are scrambling to go out for walks. I saw the sun for the first time in months. We talked to our neighbors for more than 4 seconds today for the first time in 2009. It was like everyone is coming out of hibernation. Spring can't come fast enough.

And Final-ly, March Madness is upon us. I am not sure when I got so crazy about the Men's NCAA Basketball tournament but I love it. I start watching college basketball in the fall just to get an idea of what teams are decent so I can be prepared for March Madness. Yes, I have run two pools for years and no I haven't won either but that's ok. The first Thursday and Friday when games start at noon and go all day is one of the highlights of my year. I remember sitting in the hospital after Riley was born watching games on the 2 inch tv they have in the room and thinking how great it was going to be to watch games all week while I was on paternity leave. Little did I realize that I wouldn't be sleeping much that week and was too tired to watch the games. I watch as many games as I can and I have the little scoreboard on my computer at work. (I don't think my boss reads this blog but it doesn't matter because he does the same thing). Also, because the tournament is on CBS, they constantly run commercials for my second favorite sporting event to watch each year - the "tradition unlike any other - The Master's on CBS".

So I am in heaven right now. My taxes are done (and we got a refund - thank YOU mortgage interest!), the basketball games start Thursday. We are spending the weekend celebrating mine and Riley's birthdays. I hear the temperature is going to hit 60 tomorrow. Everything is looking up.

Now I just need a North Carolina national championship......

Wolverine in a Tux - It's the 2009 Oscars!

This year didn't start out so good for me. In the past, I have printed ballots with lists of all the Oscar nominees, made choices, compared them with Missy's choices. Made fun of her choices. Got some food together. All an hour before the big show. This year, Missy wasn't home (something about going to get cigarettes.....), the ballot I tried to print came out crazy and half the page was blank, and five minutes before it started I was trying to convince Riley it was time for bed. He didn't buy it.

Anyway, so I wasn't quite as prepared as in years past but as they say in the biz, "the show must go on!"

8:31-This year the host is Hugh Jackman aka Wolverine from X-Men. In the past it has been Billy Crystal so this should be interesting. I only know Jackman with long sideburns and steel blades coming out of his hands. OK, so Wolverine can sing and dance sort of. With the economy, they are going with homemade props for each movie. Kind of clever. Kind of contrived. Anne Hathaway is now being pulled out of the audience to participate. Kind of clever. Kind of contrived. And the big finish....."I'M WOL-VER-IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIINE!!!!" Standing ovation. We are off to a good start.

8:44-With the new format, they are making changes. Here is one apparently. They are rolling out old winners of the category to slurp up to the nominees and make them look uncomfortable. Though I am uncomfortable looking at the past winners of Best Supporting Actress. I thought most of them were dead and they certainly look that way. Five minutes of slurping for each nominees, this could be a long night. And the winner, Penelope Cruz!

8:58-Tina Fey and Steve Martin roll out for Best Original Screenplay. And the nominees are....no movie I have ever heard of except "Milk", the movie where Sean Penn plays a gay activist who seems kind of mentally challenged. Well, there's your winner. Remember this equation: Sean Penn+gay and/or mentally challenged=Oscar. And.......I'm right. Winner is Milk.

And Tina Fey and Steve Martin are still on stage. I guess this is their way of speeding things up. Best ADAPTED Screenplay - Slumdog Millionaire. The one movie I would like to see if only because I have been to India and seen the slums. I don't recall any millionaires there though. They should save even more time and just have a Best Screenplay category. Sean Penn plays a gay Indian and we're done.

9:07-Jennifer Aniston and Jack Black come out (no pun intended) for Best Animation. There is a Pixar Movie involved (Wall-E)....game over. Pixar+(anything)=Oscar - in this case a mute space robot.

Aniston and Black still on. Best Animated Short - aka - random foreign film that make no sense about obscure subjects category. And the winner - a French Japanese guy who made a movie about tree bark, I think. And the best acceptance speech by a foreign filmmaker. This guy just kept saying "Sank you" to different people that we couldn't understand then he got quiet, uncomfortable and said, "Domo origato, Mr. Roboto." and walked offstage. He is my new favorite director. Take THAT Spielberg!

9:16-James Bond and Carrie from Sex in the City are on stage for Best Art Direction. And the winner if Benjamin Button, which means goodbye Best Picture award (the Academy always seems to give lesser awards as consolation prizes to films that don't win Best Picture). And we have our first speech cut off by the music.

Now Bond and Carrie are on for Best Costume Design. The nominees are all the same. Looks like the Academy is mailing it in. "Just pick five movies and put them in like 8 categories, no one except that Delp loser is watching anyway...." The winner is The Duchess. This winner learned from the last guy, saw the clock ticking down and sped up his thank yous. "I would like to thank my agent, our director, Warner Brothers, my mommydadmywifemykidsiloveyouallandcouldn'tavedonwitouyu!"

Whoa, triple duty for Bond and Carrie! Best Makeup - Benjamin Button - and goodbye Best Director award as well. This guy learned from the last two guys and did speed reading from the start. Last count I had, he read 3,948,237 people he thanked in 30 seconds. But that's an unofficial count.

9:25-That guy from that teen vampire movie and the dumb girl from Mean Girls are now out on stage to intro "Romance '08". I don't think the teen vampire knows he is not in that movie right now. He is staring into the camera like he is about to eat the cameraman. Moving on....

9:31-Natalie Portman and Ben Stiller (doing his insane Joaquin -it took me four attempts to spell that name - Phoenix impression) walk out for Best Cinematography. Ben just put his gum on the podium. Now he is wandering around looking at the tv screens. Poor Joaquin. One year you get nominated for Best Actor and the next (or two later) you are the big joke. The price of genius. And insanity. And the winner is: Slumdog Millionaire. And hello Best Picture.

9:39-Jessica Biel came out to tell us she hosted the Hollywood Nerd awards two weeks ago. That must be every CGI guy's dream. You spend 20 years of your life blowing aliens up on your computer, then a hot chick gives you a trophy. Thanks for telling us what you did two weeks ago, Jessica. Keep up the good work.

9:44-A video of the two guys from the stoner movie "Pineapple Express" is now on to show the "Comedy '08" segment. And they are showing the very serious movie with Meryl Streep as a nun. And they are dying laughing. That is funny. And now they are showing an awkward gay makeout scene. NOT funny. And now "The Wrestler" (Mickey Rourke's comeback movie). And, hey, now they are actually out as presenters to do "Live Action Short" or "Other Foreign Film that no one sees about Obscure Subject". The winner is: A Jewish movie about the Nazis - the other sure fire Oscar winning formula. I am just waiting for Sean Penn to play a gay, disabled Jew in a Nazi Concentration Camp. It will be considered the greatest movie and most "bold and brave" performance ever put on film.

9:52-Oh no. A musical number. With Wolverine. And here comes Beyonce. And now the kids from High School Musical. I swear if Miley Cyrus comes out, I am turning on Iron Chef. This is the worst. Who thinks musical numbers are good ideas? Missy described this part best: Random. If there were some steel blades coming out of peoples' hands, it might be interesting.

10:03-Best Supporting Actor. Christopher Walken looking his usual mentally unstable self. And Cuba Gooding, Jr? I still don't know how he won. Well, this category was decided about a year ago. It is actually the only performance I have seen (twice). Heath Ledger as the Joker in Dark Knight. His family accepts the award. They do a better job than I ever could. A poignant moment. That wasn't contrived. What a nice change. For a moment.

10:12 - Bill Maher presenting the Best Documentary. No one cares about him or the category.

Snack break!

10:25-Will Smith presenting "Action '08".

And Best Visual Effects. The winner: The Dark Knight. I guess the Academy wanted to give something to the movie that made twice what every other nominee made combined.

And Best Sound Editing. The Dark Knight wins but what sticks out to me is that every movie in this category is a sci/fi, action, CGI stocked movie, except Slumdog Millionaire. The movie is THAT good.

And Best Sound Mixing (there's a difference?): Same nominees....and Slumdog WINS! I have to see this movie. If only for the Sound Editing AND Sound Mixing.

And Will Smith just passed out on stage.

10:41-The Jean Hersholt Old Guy Who Used to Be in Movies Now Will Make Everyone Uncomfortable Because He Can't Put a Full Sentence Together Without Drooling Recognition Award. It goes to Jerry Lewis. FLAVIN! Eddie Murphy presents him with the Award. I don't think Eddie wants to hand it over. GLAVIN!

10:50-The orchestra is now playing all of the Best Score nominees. Zac Efron and Alicia Keys present the Best Score to: Slumdog Millionaire. They are on a roll.

And now Best Song. There are two Slumdog Millionaire songs and one song from Wall-E. Typically the movie with multiple entries (see Dream Girls and Enchanted) get snubbed but NOT THIS YEAR. Slumdog Millionaire is a force. They are given the Oscar for BOTH songs and promptly beat the Wall-E robot with the award.

Then they give Best Gaffer AND Bestest Best Boy to Slumdog as well.

11:05-Liam Neeson and Freida Pinto (from this new movie about a kid in the slums in India, oh what's it called.....) present Best Foreign Language film. A Japanese movie wins but they give the award to Slumdog.

11:12-Queen Latifah will now be singing while we come to one of my favorite parts of the show. The Let's See Who Hollywood Really Cared About By How Much They Applaud Now That They're Dead Section. Apparently, everyone was saving their applause until the end when they ran 3 minutes of Paul Newman films which got a wild applause. Paul Newman - your 2009 TLSWHRCABHMTANTTDS Award Winner!

11:20-The Academy President who usually gives a speech (and is about to retire) is giving the respect he deserves by being allowed to stand and wave from his seat before being cut off by the music and reprimanded for not giving those 3 seconds to Slumdog Millionaire. What's wrong with him?

Here comes cute Reese Witherspoon - is she 20 yet? - to present Best Director. Since every other winner has talked about this guy like he created the cure for cancer, the only choice is the director of Slumdog Millionaire. He promised his kids he would act like Tigger from Winnie the Pooh if won. Apparently directing Oscar juggernauts is what Tiggers do best.

11:27-Best Actress Award - this is definitely the best looking collection of past winners who are doing the slurping now - Nicole Kidman, Halle Berry, Halle Berry and Nicole Kidman. And the winner.....Angeli......no! Kate Winslett for a role in a movie that even Hugh Jackman (during musical number #1) admitted never seeing. She actually seems nice and sincere. And she's British. Go figure.

11:37-OK, the show is doing the equivalent of what that winner did when he saw the clock counting down and knew people were coming to their senses and going to bed. Let's go straight the last two awards!

Best Actor - Adrien Brody looks lost. Anthony Hopkins looks medicated. Deniro looks peeved. Hmmm, I wonder who will win this award. Mickey Rourke because he had the best performance of the year? Was he gay, disabled or Jewish in a Nazi concentration camp? No? Sorry. Sean Penn wins! During his speech, he recognizes the fact that he is a jerk. Then promptly forgets to thank his wife, Princess Buttercup/Jenny Gump, who is sitting 10 feet away. Hooray for Hollywood!

And finally, here comes Steven Spielberg so you know this is important. He is here to present Best Picture. And with no real sense of surprise he names Slumdog Millionaire as Best Picture. Half the population of Mumbai (and Tigger the Director) come up on stage to accept. I do have to say, I am excited to see this movie. I typically don't have a strong feeling about seeing Best Picture winners but I do this one. When does it come out on Netflix?

Wolverine finally and mercifully ends the show. But wait! The economy is bad and movie revenue is down so let's run a 10 minute trailer of all the movies coming out in 2009! The montage ends with a movie about an animated gerbil. The crop is looking good for '09!

Can't wait for the Oscars in 2010!

How the Mighty Have Fallen

First of all, let me say it's not my fault.

We had an agreement.

It's not my fault.

Missy joined Facebook a year or two ago innocently enough because my cousin Tyler had a picture on his Facebook that she wanted to see. However, the only way to see it was to join Facebook. Little did she know that joining this online "social networking site" would open her up to the world's biggest high school/college/junior high/elementary school/hey didn't I stand behind you in line at the grocery store once reunion. I would come in to our office/guest room/occasionally movie room/Riley's 6th room to store toys in and there she would be checking out what her friend from recess in second grade was now doing. I, naturally, ridiculed her mercilessly. I ridiculed Facebook. I ridiculed every person who was on Facebook because they were joining all the junior high girls of the world and they probably loved the Jonas Brothers. My ridiculing caused more than one "spirited conversation" between Missy and I.

The problem was Facebook actually was kind of appealing. I would find myself standing over Missy's shoulder and asking her what so and so was doing. And asking her to show me what this person posted on her wall. And MY friends started joining at a feverish pace. I would see Missy was now friends with my old college roommate and a guy in my wedding (or three) and I would think "THEY joined Facebook too?".

I had to do something. I needed to find a fellow voice of reason. A beacon of light in the Facebook tempest that was consuming every person I knew. Plus I had ridiculed the people on it so much, I needed help in staying strong and not succumbing to the mounting peer pressure to join. (Literally, EVERYONE is doing it)

So I went to my friend Grant. We were in each other's wedding. We had gone on vacation together. I love Grant. And Grant is a lot like me. So I called him and we talked about how much Facebook sucks and how everyone who does it is a loser. And we promised each other that we would NEVER join Facebook.

Fast forward a few months to February 13th, 2009.....an email is forwarded to me from Missy....

"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

--- On Fri, 2/13/09, Facebook wrote:
From: Facebook confirm+mar5r2br@facebookmail.com
Subject: Grant added you as a friend on Facebook...
To: "Missy"
Date: Friday, February 13, 2009, 1:24 AM
"Grant added you as a friend on Facebook. We need to confirm that you know Grant
in order for you to be friends on Facebook."



And suddenly, my world came crashing down around me. It was over. My dream of a Facebook-less world was destroyed.

So two days later, I, Jon Ryan Delp, being of somewhat sound mind and body joined the revolution. I am now a member of Facebook.

After inviting Missy to be my friend (I hope she accepts), there was only one person who I could invite next.

Grant.

So I am in. Feel free to invite me to be your friend. Post on my wall. There is probably other stuff that can be done (did I see something about planting a flower or something?) that I will figure out. I am jumping in. I can't wait to see what my square dancing partner from 8th grade is up to.

Oh and Nick Jonas is dreamy.

The Economy

"I read the news today, oh boy" - The Beatles, "A Day in the Life"


I have heard about economic woes in the past. I remember back in high school, we were in a "recession". I really didn't know what it meant other than it took up most of the evening news. That and O.J. And now that I am older, employed, paying taxes, saving for retirement and have friends doing the same, we are once again in a recession. And for the first time, I am seeing its effects firsthand. I have had a number of clients lose their job and struggle to make their insurance payments. Self employed contractors, single moms, husbands with a wife and kids, everyone.

Also, my retirement funds dropped 40% last year. To me, that is an incredible number. I have never seen an investment statement at the end of the year with a lower number than when I started the year. Much less that big a drop. That number would be even more staggering if I was 65 and staring retirement right in the face. As it is, I have a year or two (or 30) to make that up.

However, what has really struck me is seeing some of my friends lose their jobs. A few lost them just before Christmas (goodbye Christmas bonus). A few lost them at the first of the year. Some were prepared for it. Some were not. Some have since gotten other jobs. Most have not. To see a recession, which for the vast majority of my life existed only in news stories on TV, hit so close to home has really struck me.

It is has hit me in one positive way. First, my mind has gone a long way from: "Why can't we have a house or a car like those people?" Or "Why can't I buy myself a new driver?" To "Thank You God that I have a job."

Despite the poor economic situation we find our country in, despite peoples' reluctance (and/or inability) to spend money on just about anything, two weeks ago, my brother in law stepped away from his 9-5 job and steady paycheck and into ministry. And raising support. (the Dow was down 148 points that day)

There are people out there like that guy on MSNBC who yells and throws things and gives me a headache who would say that this is not the right time to go into ministry. People are not willing or able to give money to anything but bills. My brother in law should have waited until the economy was on the upturn and people had more money to give. However....

God would say that my brother in law's timing is PERFECT. God doesn't think like that guy on MSNBC (if He did, I would become an atheist). Actually God and humans think the opposite most of the time. That is why God is God. And we are not.

My brother in law walked through the doors of his job and out into faith. He is going to see and show how tremendously God provides. People don't have money but still they will give. God provides for all of us and our job is to provide for others. Even if it hurts.

God has never really made it easy on us. Why should He? What have we done to deserve four star treatment? More to the point, why would He? He wants us to trust Him. He wants us to show us what He, and we, are capable of. To do that, we must step out in faith. Even in a recession.

If you want to see the church plant, my brother in law is a part of, here is the link.

http://renewcommunity.org/

Recently Overheard at the Delp Table.....

Riley has recently had an interest in taking a more active role during our pre-meal prayers. He used to just wait for us to say "Amen" and then yell "Amen" and explode into wild applause. Now he is giving prayer requests. Below is an account of a recent Delp family prayer:

Missy: OK, Riley, we are going to pray.
Riley: MOMOM, POP, FEUD
Missy: Yes, we are going to pray for Granmom, Pop and the food. Dear God, thank You for this day. Thank You that.....
Riley: MOMOM, POP!
Missy: Thank you for Granmom and Pop (my parents). Thank y.....
Riley: NENNA, SEE SEE!
Missy: Yes, thank you for Jenna and Tracy (my sister and her husband). We also....
Riley: KEOCK! KEOCK! KEOCK!!
Missy: What? We also thank You for.....
Riley: KEOCK! KEOCK! KEOCK!
Missy: Oh, yes. We thank You that they both have clocks....
Riley: DEENG! DEENG! DEENG!
Missy: And we thank you that their clocks go ding, ding, ding. We also thank You for the rest of our family and pray that they are doing well today.
Riley: FOO FOO!
Missy: We thank You for choo choo's (trains)
Riley: CAHS! CAHS!
Missy: And cars.
Riley: KRUCKS! KRUCKS!
Missy: And trucks. Thank You for providing for our fam......
Riley: DUS! DUS!
Missy: And thank You for buses.
Riley: YEAH!
Missy: Thank you that Riley could have a good day at Sharon's (the woman who watches him once a week)
Riley: YEAH! BABY BAH! BABY BAH!
Missy: Yes and thank you for Baby Bah (Riley's name for a Baby Einstein video he would watch 100 times in a row if we let him). We thank You for this FOOD (emphasis on food so Riley knows we covered it in our prayer) and...
Riley: KEE CAR! KEE CAR!
Missy: And we thank for police cars.
Riley: KI KUCKS! KI KUCKS!
Missy: And fire trucks. We love you God. In Jesus name we pray, Ame....
Riley: AMEN!!!!!!

(Wild applause)

Another New Year

Where the heck has the time gone? I am pretty sure that January is the shortest month of the year not February. I have worked just over a full week in 2009 without taking any vacation time and we are pretty much halfway through the month. So let's get a quick review of the last month.

We celebrated Christmas here in PA with my family. Riley was more excited about watching the Wiggles than opening presents. That probably won't happen again. We then flew to Michigan to hang out with Missy's family. Riley loved the airplane and Morgan the cute flight attendant in particular (that's my boy). He had a blast playing with his cousins. He was always two steps behind them but had as big a smile on his face as I have ever seen. We flew back in the snow another highlight for Riley and spent New Year's with my family. We enjoyed a week of getting back to normal just in time to have a stomach virus ravage the Delp household this past weekend. It hit Missy and Riley at the same time. Now THAT was a fun Friday night/Saturday morning. It hit me Sunday morning. I watched the Eagles game buried under blankets in the fetal position.

And now here we are halfway through the first month of January 2009. This is the point where I share what my New Year's resolutions are. Well, I am not going to do that. Because I won't follow them. I never have. Ever. I have thought about taking up smoking just so I can quit as my New Year's resolution but do you know how expensive cigarettes are?

So instead I am going to remember what life was like a year ago. In January 2008:

-Riley was not walking (he is now sprinting)
-We were not homeowners (now we are figuring out how we want to replace our floors)
-Riley was not talking (he is now jabbering constantly, "No" is a particular favorite word of his)
-The Eagles were not in the playoffs (pause......let it sink in.......still can't believe it)
-The Phillies had not won a championship since I was 3. (again......pause.....)
-Missy and I had never been to Puerto Rico. (Now we have walked through a rainforest during a storm - one of the highlights of my year)
-Missy and I had never played Rock Band. (A life changing event if ever there was one)
-I had never grilled anything on my own grill. (I am hooked - I grilled a few weeks ago in the rain because I wanted to)
-I had never mowed my own lawn. (Don't love it quite as much as grilling)

Some things certain more momentous than others. However, it makes me look forward to 2009 and wonder what God has in store for me, for Missy, for Riley in 2009. I can't wait to find out.

Just not another family wide stomach virus. Please.

ER Trip #1

Well today was a milestone day for the Delp family. We had our first trip to the E.R. for Riley. He has been sick for the past few days. Nothing out of the ordinary but he certainly has not been his normal, vehicle-organizing self. Today he was worse than any of the two prior days. He would not let Missy put him down at all. Missy wisely decided to take him to the doctor.

The nurse practictioner (is that like a step in between a nurse and a doctor? - they should call them something less cumbersome like a "noctor") checked Riley out and everything looked fine. That is until she look in his mouth. She then exclaimed, "His throat is a MESS!!!" Not the comforting words you want to hear from your noctor. She immediately left the room and went to confer with a doctor. She came back and told Missy that there seemed to be an abscess on the inside of his throat and that she would need to take Riley to the E.R. (which was conveniently across the street) immediately.

Meanwhile, I am at work singing Christmas music and writing auto policies. I get a call from tearful Missy saying that they are on their way to the E.R. and that a C.H.O.P. (Children's Hospital of Philadelphia) doctor was being called to examine him. She said I could stay at work if I wanted to. I was in the car in three minutes.

On the drive up to the hospital, I prayed and thought at warp speed. When I heard lump on my child's throat, I immediately thought worst case scenario. And seeing Riley curled up in Missy's lap in the same E.R. waiting room we sat in hours before he was born with a hospital ID band on his wrist didn't help.

Riley through all of this was a trooper. He was fascinated by the waiting room snack machine. I was fascinated that they could charge $1.50 for a Coke. He proudly told me that his band said "Riley Delp" on it. I prayed that it would be the last time he would have to wear one of those things.

Once we finally got in there, the doctor was wonderful. She was calm and calming (neither of which could be said for the noctor). She looked at his throat and didn't gasp. In fact, she said it looked like he just had a very bad sore throat. They took some tests and a few hours later, we were out the door. Worst case scenario is that he has strept throat and even if that is the case, once he has antibiotics, he will be fine.

For a first trip to the E.R., it could have been a lot worse. I was very relieved to be out of there after only a few hours. It made me step back and thank God that He has protected our family and given us a (relatively) healthy child. It is truly a blessing that we don't deserve and many others don't have.

We got home and Riley kept saying, "Home! Home! Home!" He was very happy to be home again.

That made three of us.

Taking a break

I will fully admit that I am a selfish parent. If I can have five minutes that doesn't involve cleaning up a carpet or a piece of furniture or keeping my child from breaking something, I savor it.

So whenever Riley would play quietly by himself (usually with a truck or a car or a motorcycle or a rocket or a helicopter or an airplane - are you getting the idea here of what he likes - or a train....), I look for a chance to watch ESPN or read the mail or anything.

However, a few weeks ago, I decided to change it up a little bit. I guess I was in a nostalgic mood or maybe had just watched Family Ties or something. The thought came to me that maybe I should actually savor RILEY during these times rather than my fleeting moments of non-child related activity. I thought, he will never be this age again. I want to see this kid in action. What does it look like for a 20 month old to play in his own world?

So instead of watching college basketball, I sat down at the kitchen table where Riley had set up shop and watched him.

Basically what he does is he takes his various toy vehicles and lines them up in some semblance of order that only makes sense to him. Then he moves them to another side of the table and does the same thing.

He is extremely businesslike when he does this. His face shows no real sign of joy or excitement but he is obviously enjoying it. He is very focused and very intentional about what he is doing. He knows exactly what he wants and where each toy should be (as I find out when one car isn't in the exact right spot and he explodes in frustration - I wonder where he got that from). Here is a shot of my boy in action.















The unexpected part for me though was that I loved watching it. I could have watched it all day. In watching him, I was convinced he was a genius. I mean, could Einstein or Edison or Gates line up a firetruck, a motorcycle, another firetruck, a rocket from a Wendy's kid's meal, an old truck that I think he found in the mud and one of my 1981 Matchbox cars in a sort of amoeba like formation? Of course not.

We sat there for 30 minutes and I just watched with a huge smile on my face. Every once in a while, Riley would acknowledge my existence by identifying what vehicle he was about to put in his alignment:

"foo foo" - train or choo choo
"kah" - car
"kruk" - truck
"peepain" - airplane

Since then, I have changed my ways. Sportscenter will always be there (five times a day). Deadliest Catch will be there. Seinfeld will definitely be there. But watching my son organize his vehicles like General McArthur in WWII will not.

So every chance I get, I stop what I am doing and simply watch my son play.

It is way better than ESPN.

Brief Follow up

In my last post a whole month ago - where does the time go?- I spoke about voting as a Christian and the whole abortion issue.

Soon after I wrote that post, I got an email from my very dear friend, Josh. He is a pastor in Boston and has put action to his stance on abortion but not in the way you would think.

I love Josh and I love his heart and the dedication he puts into his ideas. Check out his blog and the last two posts he has done. It is a very interesting perspective on a very volatile topic.


www.joshuathroneburg.blogspot.com

Who I voted for......

A little bit about me. Most of my blogs start with a moment. Something to get this odd brain of mine working. Then my mind starts to create an inner monologue. Then I talk to myself. Eventually, the monologue spills out onto this blog for you to read.

This one was tough. I mean, a few weeks have past. The decision has been made. The people had spoken. And discussing politics can be dangerous. People get pretty emotional about what candidate they support and why. Plus the holidays are coming up. This may cost me a present or two. But I need to spill what has been swirling around in my head or I will risk walking around talking to myself indefinitely. I know Missy wouldn't be thrilled about that. So let the spilling begin. Here is my moment.

A day or two after the election, I read an article that Billy Graham would not be providing counsel to President-elect Obama once he was sworn in. Not because he was adamantly opposed to Obama's political positions but because his frail 90 year old body would not let him. His son, Franklin, said that even catching the common cold could end his life. Rev. Graham did say that he would very much like to meet with Obama and pray with him and for him. Then the article added a line that took me by surprise. It said that Billy Graham was a registered Democrat.

I'll be honest. I was one of those undecided voters. I guess that's why Sarah Palin and Rudy Giuliani kept calling and emailing every day. I went back and forth. Even once I had made up my mind, just before I pressed the glowing "Cast Vote" button, I took a few deep breaths. Then I pushed it. I voted for Barack Obama. (goodbye Christmas gifts)

I looked at this one from a lot of angles. As a father. As a middle class, tax paying U.S. citizen. As a registered Republican. As a Christian. And that is where I started and ended.

What one issue more than any other stands head and shoulders above the others when you look at Jesus' life? The economy? Health care? The war in Iraq/Mesopotamia (in Jesus time)? No. The answer is easy: the poor. Taking care of the poor is the number one thing that Jesus spends his time doing and talking about while on this planet. And what political party (at least in my estimation) does more for the poor? That would be the Democratic party.

Now are there people that take advantage of the programs put in place mostly by the Democratic party? Of course. Do people use welfare as a crutch? Absolutely. However, that is human nature. Do CEO's and large corporations use and take advantage of the loopholes put in place by the Republican party even to the detriment of their own company and perhaps the country? You bet your Enron they do. Humans will be tempted to be selfish no matter what tax bracket they are in. That is why we are a fallen people.

Now there is one big issue (and several smaller issues but that is for another time) that I disagree with PE (I can't keep typing President-elect, it's 11:07) Obama and it is the one issue that I think many intelligent Christians based their entire vote on. That, of course, is the issue of abortion.

Let me be the first to tell you that I am pro-Life. I have seen my son's 8 week old heart pounding inside Missy's belly (or wherever he was at that point). The life of an unborn child is of the utmost importance and should be protected. No question. God loves the life of an unborn child. But He also loves the life of the homeless orphan in Africa. He loves the life of the child in Afghanistan whose parents were just killed by a U.S. bomb. He loves the life of the child used as a human shield to battle U.S. soldiers in Iraq. My thought is God loves everyone equally even if they are not from the United States. WE may not love them or think of them as much but God does. I fully admit I don't. I see images of wheeping mothers holding their dead sons somewhere in the Middle East and I just change to the channel to ESPN. But I realized that God doesn't. And I SHOULDN'T.

To that point, let me say this. Many years ago, a man ran for President by the name of David Duke. He was one of those third party nut jobs that make Ralph Nader look like Lincoln. But he was way conservative and naturally pro-Life. He was also the former leader of the Ku Klux Klan. Now, just for arguments sake, what if he beat out John McCain for the Presidential nomination? Would he get the pro-Life vote? He supported the beating and lynching of African Americans but he also supported the lives of the unborn. My point here is that to me, finding a President who looks at ALL lives across the board (and across the ocean) is more important than one who would focus on only the lives of the unborn here in American.

Also, in my estimation, having a President who is pro-Life (and then who would presumably elect Supreme Court justices to overthrow Roe vs. Wade) would be great. However, even if that did happen, even if we outlawed abortion, would that stamp out abortions once and for all? Would there never be another abortion again? Of course not. We have outlawed underage drinking, marijuana and even more serious things like murder and rape. Have those things been eliminated? Have they even been reduced? Philadelphia had more murders last year than they have had in a half-century. To me, it is not about outlawing something, it is about getting to the source of the problem. And to me, that is loving those that need it. And educating them. (And goodbye stocking gifts as well).

And then there is the thought that we need to put a good Christian (which usually translates in most peoples' minds to a Republican) in the White House with good family morals. Because he will lead this country the way it should be run. A strong Christian like:

George W. Bush

When he was first elected, I read countless stories of how he would share his testimony with people. How he would profess his faith at any and all times. And I think that is awesome. But:

How many people would say that our country over the past eight years has grown by leaps and bounds and has become the beacon of hope and life that the rest of the world longs to be? Anyone? Anyone? Beuller? During the campaign, they locked the President up and kept him as far away from John McCain as they could.

Believe me, I WANTED to like this guy. I mean he is a Christian (so by the way was Jimmy Carter). He drives a pickup. He can throw out first pitches better than any other President. My Secret Service buddy says he is a nice guy. But how many people will look back and say that he was a great President?

Did Jesus campaign to overthrow Cesar because he was not converted to Christianity? No. What does He say about government? "Give to Cesar what is Cesar's and give to God what is God's." And that is pretty much it. He was smart. He didn't blog about politics.

Do I agree with everything that PE Obama believes and has voted for? No way. But unless the candidate is me, I will never agree with everything a candidate believes. And even that may change. I simply felt, standing in front of that board of choices, that in this election, at this time, with these candidates, PE Obama would be the better choice to lead our country for the next four years. And apparently so did a few other people.

Do I regret my decision to cross party lines and vote for a Democrat? Ask me in four years.

And while your at it, could you spare a Christmas gift?

Best Laid Plans (Part 2)

Please read Part 1 before you read this one. It won't make much sense if you don't. Though, it may not make sense anyway. But that is just my writing style. Sorry about that.

Once I realized that I would spend my last night (and most intense studying night) watching my team possibly win the World Series, I mapped out my days like I was escaping Alcatraz. I calculated every second of every day so that I could allow for a 2-3 hour window to watch the Phillies play. RIGHT after the game was over, I would go back to studying flood and personal umbrella policies.

When the night actually came, everything went according to plan. I studied up until 8:37 and then turned on Fox. I then spent the next few hours sweating as the Phillies went through a sprint of a game. I cheered. I yelled. I stood up. I sat down. I ran to the bathroom during commercials so as not to miss a single moment. All in a hotel room. In Allentown, PA. By myself.

When I had envisioned watching my team win a championship, I had thoughts of high-fiving a group of people. Hugging everyone in the room. Clinking bottles with friends and family. So when Brad Lidge struck out Dave Linske for the final out, I cheered. But there was no clinking of glasses. No high fives. No hugs. But there were phone calls. Before catcher Carlos Ruiz even got to Lidge to hug/tackle him, my phone was ringing. It was Missy. I think she had her finger on the "Send" button for the entire 9th inning. We talked a little bit. But most of the time, we spent in silence. We both just watched the TV, with smiles (I assume she was smiling) on our face. We did the best we could to enjoy the moment together. Then I told her I had to call my dad.

I went to my first Phillies game with my dad. I have been to countless games since then with my dad. I went to Game 1 of the NLCS with my dad - maybe you read about that. I had to call him. We talked for a little bit and then WE just sat in silence and took in the moment.

Then I called my grandfather. I wanted to catch him before he fell asleep. As big a fan as my dad and I are of the Phillies, my grandfather might be a bigger fan. I don't know if he has ever missed a game. He is such a big fan that he has converted my otherwise disinterested grandmother into a fan simply by osmosis. Every time I talk to him, we discuss two things. Golf and the Phillies. So I had to call him and congratulate him. I asked if he was going to spray champagne around their living room. He said Grandma already had on her goggles.

In addition to talking Missy, Dad and Pop, I got a call from my friend, Tim and a text from my brother in law Scott. Long distance high fives. I couldn't be in the same room as these people but we were able to share the moment nonetheless.

I finished up my conversation by telling my dad that I loved him. Because watching sports isn't just about watching your team play and win. Even when they win it all as the Phillies just did. Watching your team is about the bonds that are created with friends and especially family. I think winning a World Championship is such an incredible experience for fans because you get to share it with the people you love and who have suffered through non-championship seasons (in this case 25 years) with you. The difference is that you don't have to talk about next year. You can savor this year. At least for a little while.

I didn't study any more that night. I couldn't. I did however take a picture of the TV screen to prove that this wasn't a dream. The two words that I was so used to seeing attributed to other teams - the Red Sox, the Yankees, the Patriots - were now being put after my team's name.

Philadelphia Phillies World Champions

(This picture, by the way, is an overhead shot of Broad St., Philadelphia after the Phillies won - they estimated close to 10,000 people were there and it was one of about 15 different locations around the city that had a scene like this, you don't think this city was starved for a championship? The best way I heard it described was that it was New Year's eve but only in Philadelphia)

Best Laid Plans (Part 1)

As an insurance agent, I am required (for the most part) to get a designation. In other words, letters after my name. To do this, I am required to take five classes made up of three intense days of training on a particular topic and a fourth day to take a two hour essay test. What this means is that fifteen days of my life (three days of classes multiplied by five separate classes for those of you who are mathmatically challenged), I am away from my family to immerse myself in some facet of insurance. Also what this means is that for five evenings of my life, I have to study for several hours to make sure I am familiar enough with the materials of the previous three days to take (and hopefully pass) a test the following morning. Why am I telling you this?

Because one of these five days of my life just so happened to intersect with the SINGLE greatest day of my life as a Philadelpia sports fan. Wednesday, October 29th, 2008. The date that the Philadelphia Phillies were crowned World Champions.

I scheduled my training months ago. Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine that the three day joy fest that is a CIC seminar (CIC of course stands for Certified Insurance Counselor) that I set up for the last week of October would coincide with the World Series. For me, the World Series hasn't been a blip on the radar screen of my life in 15 years. I was a junior in high school. I was on a youth group retreat. I watched Joe Carter hit a walk off home run in Game 6 of the World Series to beat the Phillies. I watched the screen flash words I have become so accustomed to:

"Any other team but a Philadelphia team.......World Champions".

So when I discovered that Game 5 would be held on Monday night after my first class (not so bad since it was the first day and I had two more days to study that material) and much worse - Game 6 could be held on Wednesday night - the night before my test when I would need several hours to go through 100 notecards, I was in total shock.

When the Phillies won Game 4, I had a bizarre and unusual feeling: hope. There was a chance that the Phillies could not only win the World Series but do it on the first night of my class and I would be able to stay up late, celebrate with fellow fans and have two days to catch up on the material.

So, Monday night I headed down to the hotel bar to meet up with my fellow Phillies fans (try saying that five times fast - I couldn't either) and celebrate a World Series title. I walked in the door to find about 12 guys not really paying attention to anything in particular. An odd sight considering that the game was being played on two big screens in front of them. I sat down and ordered a tasty Sam Adams Octoberfest. I then tried to strike up a conversation with the guys around me to see what they thought the Phillies chances were that night. I quickly realized I was about to be disappointed.....on many levels.

On my left was a guy from Houston. He (along with everyone else in the bar, I discovered) was in town for a conference on something electrical. I still am not sure what he did and why he was there. Anyway, he was a Denver Broncos fan somehow. To his left was a guy from Toronto who assumed I knew where Toronto was. I don't. He was annoyed because there was no hockey on. I offered to make the goal horn sound whenever anyone crossed the plate. He declined my offer. They were nice guys but Phillies fans, or even baseball fans, they were not.

Now, the gentleman on my right was a different story. This guy was from Canada too but he was from Montreal so the guy from Toronto didn't like him. I guess Montreal is kind of like Canada's New Jersey. They just don't know it. As I watched with great intensity in what could be the deciding game of the World Series, Mr. Montreal asked me questions. His first question pretty much told me what kind of night it was going to be.

"Is this a playoff gayme or sometheeng?"

Then he started asking me other questions (please read phonetically as I try and write Canadian):

Mr. M: "What was the nayme of that golee fer da Flayers? We played him yars agoo."
Ryan: "What?"
Mr. M: "Thayt golee! He was a naystee (expletive)"
Ryan: "Ron Hextal?"
Mr. M: "Yay! Rahn Hextol! He was a naystee (expletive). I hayted that guy. He was a naystee..." Ryan: "Wow, look the Phillies just scored - don't you have a moose to shoot or something?"

OK, I didn't say that last part but did I ever want to. So in between hearing about Rahn Hextol and how homeowners like to pay $15,000 for enterainment systems in Texas, I couldn't really tell what was going on in the game. I later discovered that neither did the commissioner of baseball.

What happened next will go down as one of the weirdest things to ever occur in World Series history. A suspension of a (potentially) deciding game. But really, could anything different happen to a group as starved for a win as Philadelphia sports fans?

What that meant for me was that I would be facing my worst case scenario. A World Series (half) game the night before my test.

Stay tuned for Part 2..........

The NLCS

The drive home from Michigan was a long one. We had a child who screamed. We had a child who cried. We had a child who screamed and cried so hard he threw up. And that was in hour #2. Out of twelve. And a half. We had a 20 mile backup due to construction. That was in hour #9. Out of twelve. And a half.

My parents who went to the wedding drove back about an hour ahead of us. I talked to my dad a few times during the trip about traffic, where we were, how things were going, etc. A few hours after the throwing up child and a few before the parking lot on I-80, my dad said to me, "I have something that might make the trip a little better for you."

"What are you doing Thursday night?"

Those of you who know me, know I am a huge Philly sports fan. I love the Eagles with a passion. I have followed the Phillies since the mullet days of John Kruk, Lenny Dykstra, Darren Daulton and Mitch Williams a decade and a half ago. I am an admitted Flyers and Sixers bandwagon jumper. If they are doing well, I am interested. If not, I don't care. But the Eagles and Phillies I follow religiously. Soon after we first got married, Missy asked me if I HAD to watch EVERY Phillies game.

My dad has had monthly tickets to Phillies games for the past few years. We have an annual ritual every Spring where dad asks me to look over the schedule and recommend games for him to buy tickets to. By getting those tickets, he had the inside track to get Phillies playoff tickets. Thirty seconds after the Phillies clinched the series over Milwaukee, his contact for tickets called him. He had two tickets to Game 1 of the NLCS.

So last Thursday, my dad and I donned our matching Chase Utley shirts (not intentional) and headed for Citizens Bank Park.

Now when I say that my dad had the inside track to playoff tickets, I mean he had the HOOKUP for playoff tickets. We didn't have seats so far out that we might as well stand on top of our car in the parking lot. He had seats just below Joe Buck, Tim McCarver (of Fox Sports) and Harry Kalas - the legendary Phillies announcer. A guy I know is a beat writer for the Phillies. Our seats were 20 feet in front of him. We had our own restaurant, bar (which didn't close after the 7th inning), bathrooms and private entrance. Needless to say, these were great seats.

We got their early, enjoyed a nice meal of pulled pork sandwiches and headed to our seats to watch batting practice.

The game was a little nerve wracking for the first five innings. The Phillies did nothing and trailed by two. Until the sixth. Chase Utley hit a home run to tie the game. The cheering was deafening. I high-fived my dad. I high fived everyone around me. Then two batters later, Pat Burrell hit a solo home run to put the Phillies in front. For good. I lost my mind. I picked my dad up. I high fived everyone again. Including the 10 year kid next to me who I think was scared of me. I waved my rally towel. It was one of the highlights of my life as a Philly sports fan.

The Phillies, as they usually do, made us nervous at the end but finally won the game. We had a blast. Thanks for taking me, dad. I will never forget it.

Mel's Wedding

What a whirlwind last few weeks. Let me tell you about it:

My sister in law Mel, who I consider my second little sister (though she is almost as tall as I am) got married to Mr. Scott Barrett a few weeks ago - 10-4 to be exact. We were very excited to pack up and head out to the wedding in Michigan.

From what I have heard, read and seen in pictures it was an unbelievable wedding. Some said it was the best wedding they had ever been to. I mean, how couldn't it be? (By the way, you can check out pictures of the wedding at the family blog - delppartyofthree.blogspot.com) You had a God-centered service surrounding two beautiful people with a great love story. You had a parade of joy with six very adorable kids (including young Riley Delp in a newsboy hat, bow tie and Chuck Taylors). And of course you had the wonderful Missy Delp as the co-matron of honor and special music along with her sister Dana and Scott's sister, Julie. It was destined to be a perfect wedding.

Unfortunately, I missed about 95% of it.

You see, my job for the weekend was Riley duty. Because Missy was in the wedding party and singing at both the wedding and reception, she had a very busy (but FUN!!!) schedule from the time we got there until the time we left. My job was to make sure Riley got his naps and got to the church on time. Overall, I think I did a decent job however I am not nearly as good as Missy. I readily admit that.

Once Riley was done with his part in the parade of joy (with a little help from daddy), I sat him down in an open pew to take in the proceedings. However, unlike Missy, I was not prepared. I had no books. No toys. No pacie (how do you spell the short version of pacifier?). Nothing. So I busted out the Bible and started quietly reading from the first page I turned to - 2nd Chronicles. Unfortunately, about the time that Micaiah prophesies against Ahab (about 15 seconds in), Riley discovers that if he yells loud enough in church, it makes an echoey sound. So we had to get out.

Now my intention was to take to Riley back to where his pacifier and beloved Snoopy blanket were and leave him in the nursery with his cousin Scout while I snuck back into the service. However, when I got to the nursery, I discovered two high school girls, four kids playing and one REALLY upset baby. Baby Riley, can you do an impression of this child for me, please?

Thank you.

My initial thought was to wish them luck and take off. However, from the look on the one girl's face (it was similar to the face I have seen head coach Andy Reid have when the Eagles are on the goal line and he doesn't know what play to call but I digress), I knew she didn't know what to do and needed some help.

I offered a few suggestions - try the pacifier, try the bottle. I even tried the sssshhhhhhhhing that used to calm Riley down. Nothing worked. Then it hit me. That smell. I knew what was wrong. The dreaded poopy diaper. I told the girl that this child had a poopy diaper. Once again I read her face instantly and knew that there was only one person who was going to change this thing.

So, while Mel and Scott celebrated their blessed union on the happiest day of their lives less than 50 feet away, I changed a VERY poopy diaper from a child I knew nothing about other than his name was Cooper and he had the lung capacity of Pavoratti.

I spent the rest of the service rocking young Cooper and calming him down. Once he was settled and it was clear the service was over (parents started coming in and asking me how old this child was - I told them I had no idea which brought some concerned looks), I handed Cooper over to one of the girls. Instantly, Cooper's father showed up, scooped the boy into his arms, thanked the girls for their help and left.

It's funny. I really felt kind of bad about the whole thing for a while. I mean, yes I was there to watch Riley. But I wanted to be in that sanctuary. I wanted to see Mel and Scott get married. However, after some introspection and the voice of Godly reason via Missy, I realized that God had other plans. I was exactly where He wanted me to be. He wanted me to help those girls and that little boy more than He wanted me to be in that service. Even if I wanted the complete opposite.

That day, I was Jonah - the reluctant servant. You can read about him a few books after Chronicles.

Puerto Rico

So for our fifth anniversary, I thought it might be fun to get away for a long weekend. When I discovered I could cash in my travel miles and get two free flights to Puerto Rico, I jumped on it. Coupled with the fact that I could get a room at a four star hotel on the beach (with a casino!!!!) for just over $100 a night, I was sold.

So last Thursday we took off bright and early for PR. It was our first long(ish) trip without Riley. We have done a couple of overnights without him but this was going to be five days and five (which should have been four but there was a flight screwup that bumped our return flight by 4 hours) nights of just Missy and I.

In short, we had a wonderful time. We slept in - all the way until 7:30! We had meals together, whether they be at a local bagel place or by the beach. We toured Old San Juan which was beautiful and OLD. We took LOTS of self-taken pictures - you know the ones where you see two people, some sort of background and then part of a person's arm reaching out towards the camera. Looking back, we should have hired someone to take our picture. My arm is still tired. We watched a salsa band perform and watched locals salsa dance to their music. That was an incredible experience. You could see on everyones' faces - both the musicians and the dancers - that they truly loved what they were doing. I did not understand one single word that was sung but still bought a CD. We hit the casino a few nights. I was up $100 in blackjack until the last night but they brought in a closer who cleaned me out of $40 faster than I could say "pina colada". We drank pina coladas and Coronas too.

I think the highlight for me, other than spending five pure uninterupted days with Missy of course, was going to the rainforest east of San Juan. We rented a car - like we were on the Amazing Race - and drove 45 minutes to El Yunque National Park. We drove up 13 miles of 45 degree inclines and hairpin turns. However, once we parked, we trekked through a beautiful, lush rainforest complete with waterfalls, breathtaking views and, of course, rain. While heading down the trail after reaching the highest lookout tower, Missy and I were having an intellectual conversation about how we felt like we were on the Island on "Lost". All of a suddent the skies opened up and it began to rain. Like the kind of rain you would imagine being in while in a rainforest. Sudden, strong and loud. However, with the canopy above us, we didn't really get that wet. We sought refuge under a large leaf and took a few pictures. It was the perfect setting with the perfect person. I couldn't have described a better moment.

Looking back, I was excited to have a few days where I could wake on my own as opposed to be awoken by a baby monitor. I was excited to have meals that didn't involve cleaning up messes on the floor (unless Missy made one but that's another story) or wiping off dirty hands in between bites of my own food. I knew I would miss Riley. But what I didn't expect was how much.

Every child we saw brought up thoughts of Riley. We would just sit and smile at every kid we came across. We would look at his picture on our phones. We would tell anyone who would listen that we had an 18 month old at home. The sounds of Puerto Rico were wonderful. The ocean. The breeze. The rain. The Spanish. But the sound I missed was that of scampering. Like just about every small boy, Riley has only one way to get from point A to point B. And that is to run. I missed that sound.

So needless to say, we had a wonderful time. It was time that Missy and I absolutely needed. I would go back to PR again. But it's good to be home. Waking up to the ocean is nice but waking up to a little boy laughing is better.