Hello folks and welcome back to another post from The Eason Clan! Today we will be exploring a topic, I believe, would be beneficial for us all to talk about. Before we dive into this however a brief breakdown of my week: walking Hadrians Wall (virtually), the never ending saga of my youngest child, and lighting my hand on fire.
So that is the direction we are headed today, with some stories and self-evaluation along the way. We have a lot to cover this blog, so let’s get to it!
Hadrian’s Wall
Stretching 117.5 km across England from the River Tyne by the North Sea to the Solway Firth by the Irish Sea, the wall is comprised of a stone base and stone wall, measuring 10ft wide and 16-20ft high (Wikipedia). Quite an amazing feat of engineering when you think about it. The Romans started building the wall around AD 122 under Emperor Hadrian, hence the name for the wall. Its purpose was to keep the “barbarians” in the North (Scotland) separated from the already conquered territory of Southern England.
I love history (as I’m sure you’ve figured out by now), so when I heard of the The Conqueror Challenge, I was interested right away. This group designed an app to virtually take your walking/running/cycling information and input into the app that moves your avatar along a Google Map of a particular journey, that has multiple way points, random facts and pictures as you progress.
Essentially its an incentive to get you walking.
Well it worked for me.
Everyday my avatar moves along the map, ever closer to the end goal=reaching the other side of England within six weeks.
On my days off I have been getting up early going for my walk “in the road” and up a steep hill to “the mines”, a Talc mine that is operational during the Spring to Fall, however in the winter its dormant. I follow the road in past the mines which leads to wide open country, trails and local farmland. It’s so beautiful walking the snow covered dirt roads, seeing the trees covered in white, practically untouched by anything.
I feel peace as I walk, often using the time to pray, or listen to a teaching by different Pastors around the world or just reflect on my life in general. I brought Isaac for my first walk for Hadrians Challenge, which was quite enjoyable and momentous actually. It was the first time I have been outside with him alone, just the two of us, in two and a half years.
Wow!
Normally wherever Isaac goes his twin sister Ava is there too. But that day it was just Dad and the youngest. You know what? It is so important for us fathers to be alone with our children. We need to spend that quality one on one time, to develop that bond and relationship that is so vital to a child’s development and life.
I particularly say us fathers because #1: I speak from a fathers viewpoint and #2: I am addressing fathers as sadly some dads make little time for their children as they busy themselves with work, recreation or other activities.
As of right now doing the Hadrians Wall challenge cost me $34 dollars, however it has also motivated me to get outside and walk, which in turn has positively affected me in other ways.
The Great Escape
I surrender.
I officially declare I have thought of possibly everything, within my six years of parenting experience, of getting my youngest child Isaac to stop escaping his crib. I surrender in the sense of trying to figure out ways of keeping him in, however the battle continues of picking him up and putting him back in. Here is a short story, from Isaac’s perspective….
It was a night like any other, the stars were out and the moon illuminating the ground with its pale brilliance. The air had a peaceful silence to it. Then suddenly broken by an ear piercing scream.
***Weeeeeooooooooooaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhh!***
The warning siren.
“NOW HERE THIS! NOW HERE THIS! THERE HAS BEEN AN ESCAPE. ALL UNITS BE ON ALERT!”
Time is short so I’ll have to hurry, he thought to himself. Quickly he reached into a bin of items, dumping some onto the floor and grabbing some much needed supplies. A blanket, a blue and red flashlight and lastly a small scoop. Tools badly needed for the escape plan. Thankfully the bin was next to his bed.
I hear something.
Footsteps echo in the hallway.
The time for action is now. Standing to his feet he contemplates the escape route: out the door, down the hall and past the searchlights, a towering flight of stairs, a metal gate and then the heavy door that leads to outside. Once outside, an ever watching camera with sensors is near the door, mounted to a wall. How to get past it?
The steps grew louder.
No time for figuring out how to get past the camera. A crucial decision must be made, Will I abandon my comrade? Or will we go together? He turned towards the figure across from him.
“Being stuck behind bars for a hours a day is not my idea of fun,” He said, “You know we have to get out of this joint, right?”
“Honestly I think we’re stuck,” She said as she picked up a blanket,“If we look at this rationally, we are faced with a cruel reality…this is our current state. No other way about it.” She sat back down on her bed and stared at the ceiling. She always been the more practical one (if you asked her that is).
“Well I don’t care what you say, I know we can get out of here.”
He reached to the top of the cell bars, grabbing the top railing he hauled himself to the top.
Up and over, easy does it.
*THUMP*
“There!” he exclaimed as he stood to his feet, “I told you, there is always a way out.”
“It’s pointless,” she shrugged, “You’re going to get caught any minute.”
“Not today sister!”
He quickly undid his prison garb and made for the door with lightening speed. Freedom was waiting for him. The fresh smell of the outdoors, the beauty of the trees the…
***Creeeekkkk*
The door opened.
“Isaac! How did you get out of your crib? Again!”
The looming figure towered overhead, blocking the door frame. His enormous height was intimidating, and his belly shook as he moved toward our hero.
Not today daddy!
The little figured attempted to force his way past the 6ft 1 giant, however standing at 2 ft tall, he wasn’t the most forceful individual.
“Oh no you don’t!” The ominous figure boomed.
He scooped up his target and placed him back into the cell.
“Now go to sleep!” The door closed behind him.
Another escape foiled by the ever watching guard and his dastardly camera watching from the corner of the room. Turning to his fellow prisoner, our escapee was met with a smug looking smile.
“Told you you’d be caught,” She said with a hint of pleasure “You should have listened to me.”
Light it up, Buttercup.
It started with a Google search.
How to free up a seized wheel on a snowblower.
I was met with video after video on Youtube, from backyard mechanics to DIY people, explaining the various methods of freeing up a seized snowblower.
After scrolling through the videos I found nothing that I hadn’t tried. Or at least…safety hadn’t tried.
One person suggested…H.E.A.T
“Highly Explosive After Thought.”
Or Heat for short.
Yes I, Christian Eason, decided to use a blow torch (for the first time I may add) to try and free it up.
Here I was, stood behind the snowblower with fire burning against the axle, where it meets the hub of the tire. Suddenly a poof of fire greeted me, as some lubricant caught fire in the hub.
Meh.
It went out right away after I pulled back the flame. I prepared to have a second go at the wheel when the top of the propane canister burst into flames.
Instantly I shut off the propane value on the torch, turning the little wheel as fast as I could.
Nothing…happened!
I was literally holding a fireball in my gloved hand, inside a garage full of gas and other explosive substances.
#Dummy
I ran do the door, uttering a few choice words along the way. I won’t say what I said since this is a G-rated blog, however I can say:
It rhymed with “it”.
Just add the sound “Shhhhh” multiple times.
You get the picture.
I opened the garage door and threw the fireball out into the driveway, waving the flames off my gloves. The hissing sound of propane leaking from the top of the bottle informed me this thing could blow up any moment. Then I realized something…
The bottle was resting right in front of my brothers truck.
Ready to explode.
I ran out of the garage and kicked the bottle like kicking a Super-Bowl field goal. Everything I had went into it.
*Swoosh!*
Travelling through the air, sizzling along the way, the bottle nose dived into a patch of grass and dirt, clogging the nozzle and cutting off the flame.
I looked down at my hands and noticed the hair gone off the tops of my knuckles. The gloves I had been wearing were camo hunting gloves, the ones with the fold up punch/cover to cover your fingers. Of course this was down at the time, with my fingers exposed. Thankfully burned hair was the only casualty, and I certainly thanked God afterwards that the bottle didn’t blow up in my face.
Crisis averted.
Reflection
This has been a busy month to say the least. Besides working my normal job, being a parent and taking care of four chickens, I’ve added more things to my list. Small projects, presentations through work, outings, etc. I’ve also experienced a series of “writers block” if I could call it that; normally I try to write a blog once a week or at least every two weeks, however this month, and last month I have written six drafts and published only two blogs. Why is this?
I have a theory.
For years I have been quite “cautious” in my writings or things posted on social media. In the sense of not wanting to offend or put myself out there to be criticized. So lately when I have been writing, I been piling up drafts of blogs, and hitting a dead end. All for the sake of … appeasing? Can I say that?
I’m being real here people.
You know what I’ve discovered in the process?
I am, who I am.
I am a person who God created, just like you. We are all made equal.
I love following Christ. I love my family. I love history.
Dang that’s a lot of lovin going around. But you know it’s totally fine to embrace who you are, and not be concerned about what someone else may think.
So today I am leaving something behind. A side of me that stunts my creativeness: fear of disappointment. I would say some of you reading this have a side of you you want to express. Or maybe you’ve held back a talent, skill or something creative you want to share because someone offended you in the past.
You could be a Christian who is afraid to speak about your faith, for fear of being made fun of. It literally could be anything.
I encourage you today to be who you are. Be who God made you to be. Leave behind what is holding you back and charge on ahead. We only have so much time.
Own It.
The Eason Clan 