While I was sitting at Dunkin Donuts this morning enjoying a cup of coffee and reading my Twitter feed, I happened to notice something that caught my attention. There was this little kid with his dad ordering at the counter. He was probably around 9 years old. Behind them, in the line waiting to order, was this lady with her husband and I noticed she patted the kid on the back and started talking to him while his dad remained indifferent.

At first I thought that this lady was probably a friend or maybe a teacher but then I realized as she continued talking to him that this was actually the kid’s mother. What struck me as odd was the fact that this woman and the kid’s father were basically not even speaking to each other this whole time except at the end for just a couple of words and that the two men, the kid’s father and the mother’s husband, did not even address each other to say hello.

It’s no secret that I went through a separation and then subsequent divorce a few years ago but throughout all this my ex and I have remained good friends and I also get along with her new partner. In the end, I believe that is the civilized way to do things and it’s in the best interest of children because they don’t feel like they’ve lost a parent or have to choose sides. I know that this is not always possible in all cases but we as parents owe to our children to try to handle it in a mature way.

I’ve heard and seen too many horror stories about divorcing couples and seeing this made me realize what the title of this post states: count your blessings.

I took all the videos and pictures on my iPhone 4 then edited it using iMovie for iPhone. Not bad at all, I think! I absolutely love this new iPhone!

Beach Fun... from Angel Martinez on Vimeo.

This was taken today while out to eat with the family for Father’s Day. The mariachi guys were very nice and let me take a picture with their guitar.

I’ve been seeing this phrase a lot on bumper stickers and car magnets lately. A few weeks ago, I pointed one out to my girlfriend as we were behind a car with one, just as casual conversation. Her response was something like this: “That’s because a lot of people are forgetting that Christ is the real reason for Christmas. Also, it is CHRISTMAS not X-Mas, that’s just people getting lazy. Can’t even write the word Christ in Christmas.”

I couldn’t agree more with that assessment but it made me realize that I had been one of “those people” who sometimes wrote X-Mas instead of spelling out the word. Now, I am so self-conscious about it that I have caught myself doing it and have corrected myself many times since that day!

Just thought I’d share this because I think it is an interesting conversation and because, yes, it is true that we must keep Christ in Christmas. It’s not just a holiday for material gifts. Let’s not forget the true meaning of Christmas.

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL!