Life is better when...

I had this thought Friday night while enjoying dinner with my Wifey, what are all the times that I think "my life is better when..."? Then I thought it would be good to write as many of them down as possible. So, this Valentines day I am going to write down all of the things that make my life better in that moment!

My life is better when Beckett is curled up, sleeping on my chest.

My life is better when sleeping in with Wifey Pifey is an option and getting to wake her up with pancakes and coffee.

My life is better when I am holding a slice of tasty goodness (pizza) from Eno's in Oak Cliff in one hand and a wonderful craft brew in the other.

My life is better when Jes and I have a "special occasion" that includes dining at The Silver Fox. Their filet fills my dreams with happiness.

My life is better when I have just gotten off the lift at the top of (place any Colorado Ski Mountain here) to take in the view of the surrounding area and then ski down a blue run while attempting not to turn until I get to the bottom.

My life is better when the wait outside Grimaldi's in Brooklyn is over and Wifey and I get to go in and enjoy more tasty slices.

My life is better when I am enjoying the sunset with Wifey from the deck of a ferry boat looking out over the Golden Gate bridge.

My life is better when rolling on my bike in the middle of nowhere on a nicely paved road.

My life is better when standing at the top of the Rockefeller Center looking out at the night skyline of NYC.

My life is better when Oklahoma State is winning in the major sports (yes, this includes wrestling!).

Finally, my life is better when Jes and Beckett are smiling/laughing and I was the cause!

There are so many other items I could put in this lineup, but this is a good start for now. I am sure I will be back with many more installments of what makes my life better.

Have faith...

Tonight, my faith in people was strengthened. Not that I doubt or have a lack of faith in people, but at times it is shaken when I hear so many stories of orphans and corruption and lack of common knowledge of history or economics . . . you get the point.

After my wife and I had attended church tonight, we continued our ritual of Torchy's time after Jesus time. We walked in, Beckett sleeping in his carrier, and ordered as usual. The cashier took my order and told me what I owed her. I began to reach for my wallet, and my heart sank and my stomach growled. The wallet wasn't there.

I rushed out to the car and found nothing.

I went back inside to inquire of Jessica if she knew of the phantom wallet's whereabouts. She knew about as much about it's location as I did.

I immediately went into panic mode. Just picture the hamster in my head on some serious speed with a couple of Red Bulls on an IV feed. I was not sure if I had left the wallet at church, or at home. Either way, we were out of luck. We had ordered food and even received our chips and queso, but had no way of paying.

I stood there at the table, staring at Jes, in state of mental anguish over what to do next and where my wallet could be. Then a man in a long, black jacket walked over to ask if everything was ok. Of course two super-confident and controlled people were ok. Why would someone need to ask that? Probably because one of us was nervously smiling and laughing (Jes) and the other looked as if the world was crashing down around him.

He smiled and asked if there was anything he could do. We said we had just misplaced my wallet and were looking for it. To which he replied, "Don't worry about it. The food is taken care of." His wife was not far behind him and chimed in that they had a couple of small kids too and completely understood.

Our evening was saved and our stomachs rejoiced in unison. This kind stranger had stepped in to rescue us.

I made sure to stop by his table later and said thank you again. He waved me off and replied it was no big deal. We were blessed by a kind stranger. I can only hope that I can repay his kindness someday by being a kind stranger to someone else. I hope I dress a bit more hip and less middle-aged though...