This morning I was late waking up and I worried about making it to church on time. Then I remembered that our van's air conditioner is fixed and we could all go to 11:00 mass together. We were able to relax and "take it easy" and we got there with plenty of time to get seated and settled in.

The kids misbehaved some but mot too bad. This day my wife and I were able to apply discipline consistently without too much griping.

We took all the kids on a shopping trip intentionally today to teach them to behave in public. I am amazed at how we are able to deal with this now where in the past it would have been unbearable.

This evening we had a freak storm that blew down trees in our neighborhood but nowhere else in Austin. It made for a cool clear night after the sun went down. I took the kids outside and showed them the big dipper and the north star.

I got to go to a meeting tonight and the topic was one day at a time.

Thanks be to God.

phenomenology is primarily concerned with making the structures of consciousness, and the phenomena which appear in acts of consciousness, objects of systematic reflection and analysis. Such reflection was to take place from a highly modified "first person" viewpoint, studying phenomena not as they appear to "my" consciousness, but to any consciousness whatsoever. Husserl believed that phenomenology could thus provide a firm basis for all human knowledge, including scientific knowledge, and could establish philosophy as a "rigorous science".

This morning I read about phenomenology and the problem of empathy.
I got to watch the story of Samuel with the kids.

Today I saw a news article about an epidemic of OCD kids. I think that the source of this problem is the culture of permissiveness in parenting today. In the article it was shown that the treatment was medication and therapy that involves gradual exposure to the subject of the disorder. The person they showed was a normal kid that had excessive perfectionism and a slight aversion developed gradually into a neurosis. Of course the story focused on the physiological processes in the brain. They did the standard story line of showing the brain scans that have isolated the area of the brain.

Today I found myself in deep thought many times. Each time I was interrupted by the kids. At the end of the day I was off schedule with them and got irritable and yelled at them. I apologized but held to my directives to them. I realize that my resentment is based on unrealistic expectations to be able to hold together long trains of thought. Also, I put myself in the position to fall off schedule.

I was at Target this afternoon when I realized I had voicemails. One was from a guy I sponser who I was tentatively planing to meet with. I needed to call him back to cancel as my wife was working. I listened to the message and then rounded the isle and I ran into him. We got to talk a bit, just small talk but nevertheless face time.

Thanks be to God.

This morning I got a good start early and got the kids outside.

I got my wife's car into the shop and they surprised us and got it fixed today.

My kids made a new friend today.

I got phone calls from sponsees and a stranger today.

Thanks be to God.

Yesterday was a very active and busy day from beginning to end and I knocked out at the end of the day without doing a written review. I didn't miss any of my spiritual practices, I made good prayers in the morning, I kept a conscious contact throughout the day and I did some service in the evening.

After lunch I made a swimming pool in the back yard for the kids and we had a great time.

In the evening I got to go to a meeting and we read the beginning of More About Alcoholism, I have some thoughts to post on spirituscontraspiritum about the role of pride in denial and surrender. I also thought about how the program helps in social and interpersonal relations through an entirely different angle of focus on the intra-personal.

After the meeting I got to get atarted with a sponsee.

When I got home the girls asked me to read a book to them. The book ended with a picture of a full moon night. I decided to take the girls outside to look at the real full moon. We decided to go for a ride to a country spot to look at the stars and the moon. We had a nice time but it was like herding cats out on the roadside where we stopped. It was late when we got back home.

Thanks be to God.

This morning the boys were at their grandmother's so I got to spend quality time with my daughters. Their was a breeze blowing and it was cool in the shade so I set up a make shift bench in the yard and we had a little picnic.

I did my daily job searching duty today.
I thought about doing some inside home improvement projects.

In the afternoon I got to have a long talk with a friend I haven't seen in a while. I was glad to hear that he is still sober. The talk was a great spiritual lift for me.

Thanks be to God.

This morning I woke up late but I let go of some of things I think I need to have (like breakfast) and I got the boys going and got us to mass. The boys did great and I received an illuminating experience and felt revitalized.

After mass my mother invited us over for breakfast. The boys and I had a great time with my parents and breakfast was wonderful.

In the afternoon I went to the treatment center meeting. The meeting went great, I felt really comfortable making sure that the recent issues we have had about being long winded were corrected. The main for me was that I did not feel afraid at any point. I think that we really carried the message well.

In the evening I watched too much TV but all the programs were inspirational and I cleaned up after them.

Thanks be to God.

This morning I woke up from a dream that I was Barack Obama giving a speech and a mosquito flew up my nose. It was 3:00 am and I never really got back to sleep so I got ot of bed and made breakfast. Then I fell asleep while I was praying and slept on and off most of the morning.

I did help with the kids but I felt somewhat sick still and had a hard time being productive.

In the afternoon we took our kids to an awesome party at the neighbors. We had a really good time connecting with them.

I was a little resentful that I couldn't go to my meeting but my wife really did need me at home.

Thanks be to God.