Name Change

I renamed the blog.....why you might ask? Because with a name like Grammatico , i have listened to countless people pronounce my last name wrong for over 35 years and I picked my favorite mis-pronounced name as the new blog title. Enunciation = jer-matt-ih-coal ! BOOM!

change.........

A little over 4 years ago, I met this girl....she is funny, smart , and beautiful. Interested? Well, you will have to wait another 10 years. And then you will probably still not get a chance. Because this is my daughter, Ella.
Let me give you a little background. Ashley and I have created a blended family. I have 2 biological daughters and Ash has one. We do not call them step children but we call them "bonus" children. Now, let me set the record straight right off of the bat, blended families are not easy. They require work, diligence and more importantly , they require more love. You see , we all came into this family with preconceived ideas, morals, virtues, and thoughts. And now we bring all of those under one roof and have to keep it all under control without explosion. You could say that Ashley and I are required to be dynamic managers of talents, love,gifts, love ,money, love, abilities, love, attitudes, love, differences, and yes, love. Do you see a theme?
Now, back to the matter at hand, Ella! This young lady has come into my world and rocked it. I believe if there is one thing that I have learned from her it is that I am a very prideful and selfish person, most of the time. it is always my time, my thoughts, and my time that get impeded on. The problem with all of that is the word "MINE". it does not fit into the theme of our blended family, "LOVE". She has stretched me to love, stretched me to look outside of myself, and stretched me to be better.
I am incredibly thankful for this young girl in my life. She has been awesome but you know how I want to end this? Today is her 8th birthday and I want to say:
HAPPY BIRTHDAY ELLA!!!! Thanks for loving me!

Relaxation

So I am in day two of my vacation and , as I get older, it has become more increasingly difficult to relax while on vacation. I go with the full intention of enjoying our daughters and my wife, some good food, a great book, and know that I have no responsibilities. But and it is one huge BUT......I don't know how to relax. I have spent 35 years being stressed out and always having my mind running.
So here is the new deal, I want to clear my mind, clear my minds "inbox", and put away my anxieties. And it all starts right here in my reading of Matthew 11:28:

" Come to Me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest".

I am insanely heavy laden in this point of my journey but as Ashley said to me on our drive to the beach, "It isn't the destination that matters but enjoying the journey that gets us there.". Man, I love that woman.
So here is to a new outlook:
Here is to not being so stressed out, here is to letting our kids relax, here is to letting my wife love life, here is to loving my God, and here is to the journey, not the destination.