THE 2012 CASTAGNO RANT

So it’s Saturday morning and I find myself sitting in my office drinking coffee and wandering through the year trying to remember everything I am supposed include in this year’s RANT. It turns out the longer I do this the more people feel the need to suggest content… Well after careful and thoughtful, consideration I am going to write whatever the hell I want… as usual. Oh and let me get this done up front: Merry Christmas, Happy New Year and Blessed whatever other holiday you might be celebrating… and I am also duly impressed and amazed at the accomplishments of your children this year and can’t believe all the wonderful things you guys achieved and places you traveled… it is truly a marvel. 

Hmmm did that come off a bit too sarcastic and snarky? Excellent I was worried we had completely lost the reason we started doing this rant in the first place. I read the last few years’ worth of RANTS and I was coming dangerously close to sentimental. You see my friends it isn’t that I don’t love and appreciate you, because you know I do; it’s just that sometimes you have to explore the other side of things to really understand how very fortunate you are. By the way hang on cause we have a ridiculous amount to cover. I really thought this year would quite a bit simpler and quieter. I mean with Kiersta graduating high school and going off to college, the boys all grown up now, well I thought I might actually get my man cave setup, the house would be quieter and Tammy and I could start having some time to ourselves… Well things didn’t quite work out that way, but more on that later. 

First a few brief business related observations, if we haven’t worked together, or if you are not in healthcare feel free to skip this paragraph. Let me say that I now have firsthand knowledge of how bad it sucks to be the customer and not the software vendor… and I just hope I never cared as little as my current vendor does. Turns out, yelling is still a fairly inefficient way to get a clearinghouse to properly process claims. It is easier to be good friends than it is business partners… and I recommend erring on the side of friendship in these cases. No matter how bad you think it is, implementing an EMR is worse. 

Now on to politics… never mind I can’t talk about any of these people, it’s gone beyond ridiculousness with their “cliffs”, X per centers, and all the other nonsense they surround themselves with. Hey, it’s time to stop telling all of us how much you care and actually do something. And one final note for my Republican friends… hitting the Taco Bell drive through doesn’t count as substantive interaction with the Hispanic community, just saying. All right enough of that, we all know what a mess things are. 

I count myself fortunate today, my grown children will all be home for Christmas, we will eat too much, laugh at each other, maybe cry a bit, sit around the fire listening to the boys strum guitar, catch up on stories, dream about the future, tease Kiersta’s boyfriend, and celebrate the simple joy of being together. I hesitate to even mention the insanity of the past week’s events in Connecticut simply because there is nothing to be said that will bring any real context or understanding. I can’t pretend to know what those parents are experiencing, the anguish they can’t escape… but I know how much I love my children and just the thought of it, well there really aren’t any words are there? I look back over the year through this prism and I am thankful for the silly frustrations, the challenges, the struggles and triumphs if for no other reason than we were able to have them. 

Did I mention my princess graduated high school this year with honors and started college? She is pursuing a five-year program leading to a masters degree in ESE (exceptional education) with a focus on deaf education. She also played her first season of college soccer. Proud of her is an understatement, and with a new boyfriend I don’t want to shoot, what’s not to like! Seriously, though he is a nice young man that obviously had no idea what he was in for when he started dating a Castagno. The day he told her brothers that sometimes he could get a little “sassy” I knew it was on. Because you know the Castagno boys can be unmerciful when given the opportunity. I can deal with it though, yes he has a bunch of different colors in his hair and plays in a rock band, but then again he has a job is respectful and seems to really care for my daughter. They use the “L” word but I just can’t bring myself to do it. My baby is growing up and becoming a young woman, it’s a bittersweet thing for a dad, but she still gives me big hugs and knows how to work me for gas money. She is planning a trip to Kenya this coming summer to work with an orphanage there, I am like don’t we have those here? She is a bit stubborn though, I think she gets that from her mother. 

This has been an interesting and I think probably overall the most encouraging year for Kyle in quite a while. Following in his big brother’s footsteps Kyle took some time this year to re-evaluate his college experience. Figure it out that’s as much as I am going to say about it. This precipitated a move back home and some pretty serious soul searching. Kyle recommended we get some family counseling, I appreciated his concern, because it was pretty clear to him that we needed help adjusting to having him back home. Interestingly enough though I think this time to reflect may be just what he needed. He was able to take a job at our local high school mentoring an autistic student and has done a really great job with this young man. Revisiting high school from a different perspective has awakened a desire in him to be a teacher. I believe he will make a great educator and fully support his plan to go back to school and pursue this. I hear they have a great program at whatever university it is that Cory pursues his masters at. What?  No that’s not mean you just need to re-read paragraph 2. I wonder if they’ll get an apartment that allows cats? Hmm one can dream. 

Speaking of cats… Cory moved to the Miami area where his gal Crystal is working hard to support him in the way he is accustomed to. However he abandoned his cat with us, so with Kyle’s cat that makes to evil felines in my house. Actually, Cory works for me and does a great job when he isn’t starting community gardens, volunteering in the local food bank or working on some other sustainability project. It is his passion though and he is applying to Portland State and University of Washington to pursue a Masters in Urban Design & Planning. So if I understand that correctly there will be a great deal more urban areas in the future, but they will look really cool and no doubt be somewhat if not completely sustainable. I am sure he is rolling his eyes at me already, seriously though, I can’t wait to see where he goes so I can start planning my visits to the Northwest. 

I guess that leaves Christopher, this young man took the plunge this year marrying his sweetheart in October. So the Castagno clan has added a new member, Tara. Now normally I might be inclined to give these two a break in the rant, but what fun would that be. One of the major positives to come out of this wedding is I was able to reclaim my “man-cave” when Chris moved out! Oh good mercy, I am just kidding, well not about the “man-cave”.  Now Tara is an opinionated Yankee and on the surface that might seem like a problem, but in reality she fits right in with the rest of us. Now if I could just get her to eat something besides hamburgers, chicken, or shrimp fried rice all would be well. Oh did I mention she is a kindergarten teacher… can you even imagine? No me either.  They are so adorable together it honestly makes me a bit nauseous, I’m kidding of course, but the whole possibility of being a grandfather kind of freaks me out. Chris has survived another year working with me and is learning what is like to manage employees, clients, vendors, and the myriad of tasks I throw at him on a daily basis. Fact is he is such a good-natured young man that he does it all without complaint and will one day have his own great success.

There are so many others that play a part in our family it is impossible to mention all things and everyone, but we have had two constants over the years Ashley and Yarni, they are as much a part of this family as any of my biologicals (as Ashley would say). They are both adults now and leading their own lives, but they still call, stop by, and make me feel loved and appreciated and for that I am grateful. I am sure it is just my own sentimentality, but it means a great deal to me that they continue to value our relationship. Now no rant, or least no current rant would be complete without some mention of exchange students… No we don’t host anymore, but that doesn’t mean we don’t continue to maintain these relationships. I have received a few hand written letters from my girls in Italy and South Korea this year and the love and sweetness they expressed is just beautiful. Their letters remind me that there is something truly valuable about a handwritten note or letter, the time, energy, purpose and commitment it represents humbles me. I love my Germans also, although I seem to be doing a great deal of German homework this year, just kidding I don’t mind and it’s a reminder of the good times we shared. 

Well I have run into three pages making this is longer than most of the college essays I am writing for Kiersta these days. Tammy and I are great, she simply refuses to age running marathons and climbing buildings and I continue to “gray” out. One health note, Tammy was diagnosed with diabetes this year, so we are 50/50 now. It hasn’t slowed her down a bit and I am sure the only downside is I will now be eating even healthier than before. Oh quick explanation on the pictures this year; apparently there is this TV show about ducks, or duck calls, or guys that like ducks or some such nonsense anyway any resemblance is purely coincidental.  I am hoping to make some real progress on a couple stories I am writing this year so stay tuned for that. In the meantime remember diets are dangerous, running is for people that can’t drive and gas will always be cheaper the day after you fill up, so hug the ones you love, ignore the ones you don’t, and the rest will take care of itself.