Personal Archives - Page 4 of 25 - Jonathan's Blog From The Source

Pausing for an Infant

Posted on: 12/24/14 7:32 AM | by Jonathan McKee

It’s Christmas Eve, and I’m running off to finish a project at my dad and mom’s house (we’ve dug up 165 feet of drainage- ditches up to 2 feet deep, and dropped in 150 feet of 6 inch pipe, 60 of it a French drain, with over 6 yards of rock) to fix a drainage problem long ignored and feared. So it’s been 3 days of hard labor for me and a crew of friends and teenagers… a fun mental break.

I just wanted to take a moment and wish you all a Merry Christmas from my family. It’s been fun having 5 kids around the house for the last few days. As many of you know, Lori and I are almost empty nesters now Continue reading “Pausing for an Infant”

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Our New “Toddler”

Posted on: 12/2/14 6:42 AM | by Jonathan McKee

It’s been a long time since we’ve cared for an infant of any kind, and we’re getting a ginormous dose of it this month… raising our new puppy.

Honestly, I think our kids were easier than this!

Saturday we drove and picked up our brand new Golden Doodle named Pippin (yes, from Lord of the Rings… and Jaws, if you’re a serious film nerd). His mom’s a Golden Retriever and his dad is a Poodle. He’s 7 weeks old, clumsy, adorable… and “so fluffy I’m gonna die!”

He’s inside with us all the time and he’s a peeing machine! We have to Continue reading “Our New “Toddler””

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My Top 10 Post Surgery Activities

Posted on: 08/12/14 5:45 AM | by Jonathan McKee

This morning, as you read this, I’m being rolled into surgery for a rotator cuff repair.

It’s been six weeks since I first tore my shoulder (something I’ve replayed in my mind over and over again, regretting more and more each time I think about it), and now that I’m starting to feel a little bit better… I get to start all over again!

Surgery is at 10AM this morning. Luckily, it’s an arthroscopic surgery (unless he finds something more), but he still said to count on four to six weeks with no mobility, and six months before I’m even picking up a coffee cup without wincing. (Nice!)

The timing is actually perfect. August is always a pretty lax month where I take time with my family, and I have almost four weeks before I begin a pretty insane speaking schedule on September 6th. So what does that mean for me for the next four weeks of immobility?

Glad you asked! Here are my plans.

JONATHAN’S TOP 10 POST-SURGERY ACTIVITIES

10. Trying to break a new record of the most movies watched in a 24 hour period! (Or the most movie hours… like the day I watched the entire Lord of the Rings trilogy– the extended editions!)

9. Avoiding email like it’s 1999 (yes, typing actually hurts).

8. Playing stool softener roulette. During post surgery clogs, discovering how much it actually requires to get things moving… not exploding!

7. Calculating the perfect angle to set the recliner for sleeping.

6. Learning to eat with my left hand.

5. Learning to brush my teeth with my left hand.

4. After the stool softener kicks in, learning to roll the toilet paper …. well… there are a lot of things I have to learn to do with my left hand!

3. Growing a beard (although Lori informs me it will not be a real beard, just a patchy imitation. Curse my baby-face!)

2. Sleeping on my back with my arm propped in a brace.

1. And in all reality… counting my blessings! I don’t have to look very far to notice God is very good to me.

Thanks for all your prayers! (I’ll try to post a comment below with a quick update after the surgery)

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The Most Pain I’ve Ever Experienced

Posted on: 07/1/14 7:07 AM | by Jonathan McKee

“You’re 44-years-old. You know you’re not a kid anymore, right?”

I’ve heard that a dozen times in the last four days. Starting with one of the nurses as I was being rolled out of the ambulance into the ER.

It was somewhere between 30 and 40 feet up. It was a bridge and all the teenagers were jumping off it. I don’t know if “teenagers” is the key word there or “jumping” was the key word. Because I’m not a teenager and I “dove.” Regardless, I dislocated my shoulder. (I wish I had a picture to show you. Grossest thing I’ve seen. It was completely out of the socket.)

“Make sure you check the water for rocks and any obstacles.” I always told my kids. Continue reading “The Most Pain I’ve Ever Experienced”

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Bonding or Boundaries

Posted on: 04/8/14 3:45 AM | by Jonathan McKee

Parenting is hard!

I study and write about youth culture and parenting almost every day. It seems so nice and simple when I’m reading articles and typing words on the screen… then my 16-year-old gets home from school!

Huge difference between theory and practice.

I have never… emphasis on never… Continue reading “Bonding or Boundaries”

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On the Road with Mom and Dad

Posted on: 02/19/14 3:01 AM | by Jonathan McKee

Eleven days, ten nights… over a week on the road with Mom and Dad. Poor Ashley!

Ashley is my 16-year-old, and for the last six days, she’s been in five cars, one plane, four hotels and three states with Lori and I. And we’re only halfway into it.

It’s not torture for Ashley, but it’s not her first choice for her winter break. “All eleven days? I can’t hang with my friends for any of it?!!”

Her 18-year-old sister Alyssa thinks she’s nuts. “You’re stupid Ashley. You get to go to Continue reading “On the Road with Mom and Dad”

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Scared of e-Readers?

Posted on: 02/6/14 3:01 AM | by Jonathan McKee

This week someone asked me, “Has the shift towards Kindle and iBooks hurt your book sales as an author?”

For me the answer was easy. “Not at all. I think it’s helped it.”

Yes, it’s a fact e-readers are growing in popularity. According to a new PewResearchCenter report last month, “the percentage of adults who read an e-book in the past year has risen to 28%, up from 23% at the end of 2012.” But this same report reveals most people who read e-books, also read print books, with only 4% of readers being e-book only.

Why am I not concerned? Probably because most Continue reading “Scared of e-Readers?”

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Lieutenant Colonel Christmas

Posted on: 12/18/13 4:01 AM | by Jonathan McKee

Ashley's-Feet Most people love Christmas, but in my house, Ashley LOVES Christmas… sometimes a little too much!

I know, I know… how could someone love it too much?

If you lived in my house in late November through the New Year, you would not meet that cute 16-year-old girl we all love named Ashley. Instead, you’d meet Lieutenant Colonel Christmas, who requires everything… just so.

The day after Thanksgiving, the Colonel arrives. She starts tossing pumpkins in the garbage can and pulling out the Christmas decorations. “When are we going to decorate? Huh? When? WHEN? Continue reading “Lieutenant Colonel Christmas”

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A Little Taste of Christmas

Posted on: 11/27/13 3:01 AM | by Jonathan McKee

My Twitter and Facebook followers know that my wife Lori has been itching for Christmas since a little before Halloween, already playing Christmas music in our office mid October.

Here’s a little sum-something trending on YouTube to help you bring in that Christmas spirit– great vocals:

(the group is Pentatonix, an a cappella group who won the third season of NBC’s The Sing Off)

Posted in Music, Personal | | Leave A Comment

Category: Personal