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This weeks guest-posts are all brought to you courtesy of my Dad.

When Adam was starting school we lived in California. We lived in a housing subdivision where our back yard faced a court with a dozen or so other units. Across the courtyard lived Adam?s best friend Jonathan and a few houses away lived another of Adam?s friends. I can?t remember the other boy?s name now so I?ll just call him Punk. Adam and Jonathan always got along great together. When Punk joined in, he would sometimes turn the situation into himself and Jonathan picking on Adam. Adam isn?t the biggest person you?ll meet now, and it?s safe to say he was smaller than Jonathan and Punk back then. That?s how kids are, pick on the small and weak. One day Adam came in crying because Punk and Jonathan had been picking on him. I think one of them pushed him down and the other punched him in the stomach. I don?t remember all the details. Kitty wanted to talk to Jonathan?s mom and let her know what was going on, and while she was away I gave Adam some fatherly advice. When other kids are picking on you and they won?t stop, go for the nose. Don?t threaten or warn them ? just do it fast before they expect anything. Adam was worried because the other kids were bigger than him. If he hit one of them they would gang up on him. I explained that they were already ganging up on him now, and defending himself was the only way to get their respect. I don?t think Kitty was very happy when she heard what Adam and I had been talking about, but there was no taking it back. I think I did talk to Adam again and tell him that if he hit someone it needed to be in self-defense and only as a last resort. Less than a week later Jonathan?s mom was at our house letting us know that Jonathan had come home crying and with a bloody nose. Jonathan and Punk never picked on Adam again. Adam and Jonathan quit playing with Punk and were still best friends when we moved a couple of years later. Adam did have a couple of other issues with kids and even got suspended for a week. Mom put him to work in the garden for his trouble too. But Adam learned to stick up for himself. Even when he was afraid he never came home complaining about bullies.

This weeks guest-posts are all brought to you courtesy of my Dad.

The most satisfying thing in ones life is witnessing your children succeed. Success can be measured in many ways but sometimes comes in unexpected and pleasantly surprising ways. The pride you feel can come in the form your child?s achievements, whether your child grows up to be a doctor, lawyer ? or a successful computer professional. Other kinds of pride aren?t in achievements so much as life-changing decisions. Finding the right partner, settling down, buying a home are each themselves a source of pride for a parent. And with each new reason I have to be exceptionally proud of Adam, I remember when it all started. It was the day he learned to fly. Adam was probably two years old. I don?t remember exactly when or where this happened. Fortunately, at the time Kitty and I were able to witness this and could share our great pride with each other. We looked at each other and our eyes both kind of misted. We were watching our son begin a life we could only dream of. At first we weren?t sure what he was doing. He was lost in his own moment and wasn?t paying any attention to us, so we just sat and enjoyed this ? hoping we wouldn?t do anything to distract him and end this perfect event. The first several attempts met with failure but he kept on trying. I think he tried a running start once or twice and seemed to decide it would be better to stand still and lift off from both feet. It?s hard to know what?s train of thought is going on in the mind of someone else, much less a two year old. We watched for about 15 minutes when Adam paused, studied his stance, took a practice swing and then lifted off the ground! He was excited and very pleased with himself. He still didn?t know Kitty and I were watching. Seeing someone feel pride in learning a new skill on their own is yet another source of pride for a parent ? at least for me it is. He tried again and again and found that, not only could he repeat this amazing trick, but it was getting easier each time. He spent the next hour jumping up and down, jumping off chairs and whatever else he could sail off of. And I remember clearly thinking at that time ? it was something he wanted for himself, and by himself my son had learned to fly.

Well here it is on Friday morning. Except not really. I'm writing this on Tuesday. But you're reading it on Friday, so try to keep up. I may or may not have internet access right now, but one thing is certain: I am much closer to the Guinness brewery than you are. By now we've flown over the Atlantic Ocean and landed safely in Dublin, and we may even just be de-boarding our plane. With limited availability of internet access (we're actually fairly lucky to have B&B's booked with bathrooms in our rooms…), and an unpredictable schedule, I've asked some special guests to tell a few stories in my absence. It's kind of sad that posting will be more regular while I'm away from the blog, but such is life. What follows is my Mom's account of my birthday present from her and my Dad, on my 17th birthday. I have, of course, mentioned it in passing – but the story from her point of view should be pretty interesting.

Approaching Adam?s 17th birthday we asked him what he wanted more than anything else? he said? "to go skydiving"?. once I was revived from fainting, we started checking out the places around that would allow a 17 year old to skydive. The catch-22? The "tandem" diving was "more dangerous" (because of the weight) and you had to be 18, so he would have to do what is called accelerated free fall?. Whoa! Okay? This is where 2 professional dive instructors jump at the same time as you do, holding on to part of your jumpsuit ? and once you pull your parachute open, they let you go, and you ride down by yourself. Adam sat through a day full of class, learning what to do and what not to do, and finally, he was (hopefully) prepared to take the dive of his life? He was suited up?grandparents, parents and siblings in place to watch the plunge? as the small jump plane climbed in circles for about 20 minutes over Bennett Airport outside Salisbury, MD (where the other jumpers sang "happy birthday" to him!). Finally we saw tiny dots outside the plane and we watched and watched as the dots fell… and kept falling?.when finally we saw Adam! I kept saying "open the chute, open the chute!" What seemed like forever before the parachute opened, was probably about 10 seconds, but Adam describes as a phenomenal ride! Once under parachute, the jump instructor on the ground was instructing him to turn right or left or whatever (Adam had one-way radio attached to his jumpsuit) to direct him to the landing area. Adam was not a very heavy person, so the wind nearly carried him into a nearby cornfield! However, when all was said and done, he did great, and obviously, landed just fine. Naturally, the first words out of his mouth when he landed were ?CAN I DO IT AGAIN??