Welcome to The Nicky

Hello to all those who will someday be my loyal readers. This blog will serve as my venting space...the place where I release all the stuff that runs around inside my head, all day long, but never had anywhere else to go. It will probably be every bit as boring as that sounds, but I will make every effort to at least not be trite; I enjoy writing, and that joy should show in my work.

A bit about me: I'm a follower of Christ (a much more accurate description than just "Christian", I feel), nearing middle age, married to a wonderful woman who has been my best friend for 2/3 of my life. We have 4 kids between us, my girls and her boys (this is the second time around for both of us), who are all grown, but mostly living at home while they get their lives started. I work a blue-collar job, but I enjoy it; not many have the luxury of being well-paid for doing something they find satisfying. I attend a very good, very small Baptist church,where everyone really loves and cares for each other, and being a member there has been an awesome blessing. My wife and I care-take my 90-year old grandmother, who has Alzheimer's and is fading away from us day by day; it's heart-breaking, but I love her, and I am so grateful for the chance to do for her as she did for me when I was a child. We have 2 dogs, a chow and a German terrier, and a red-eared slider turtle, and they are all more than pets, they are family members too. Like I said, kind of boring; but it's my life and I am fulfilled in all aspects of it.

Not everything is roses and rainbows around here, though. That's the whole reason I need a blog, to help sort out the rougher parts of life and allow myself to vent on stuff that just sucks; also a place to share the positives that come along, because good things happen just as often as bad ones. The tricky part is being able to recognize that both have a place and serve a purpose, and to keep them all in perspective.

I'll develop a little more on all the various themes as we go along. For now, I just wanted a little snapshot to share with you, a starting place to move forward from. Postings will be irregular, but they will come, time and circumstances permitting.

Be warned: you may see anything show up here; I am not afraid to tell the truth as I see it, or to speak my opinions. So if you are offended by or disagree with something I write, that's your problem. Comment on it, ignore it, or start your own blog...it's still a free country, regardless of what that yahoo living at 1600 Pennsylvania might think about it.

OK, that's enough to get me off of zero; more to follow. See ya!