Don Weight-Loss-A-Thon and Contest

OK, here is something that I hope will be both fun and productive if I can get a little help from all of you folks...

No doubt about it, I need to lose weight. A little exercise here and there isn't going to do anything about it, so here is the new plan. I need external motivation.

It is the Don Weight-Loss-A-Thon 2011, to benefit the Genesis Center in Kaufman.

What I want from you ... to commit to donating $1 per pound that I lose between August 1 and Dec. 2. All money goes from you to the shelter ... a tax deductible gift from you. If I do very well, you will only be out $20 or $30.

What do you get?

First, a slimmer, healthier Don, which is a good thing all around, right?

Second, regular updates on the process to see how much it is going to cost you through updated "Fitness Friday" posts.

Third... well, just the fun of helping a great cause.

But wait, there is more!

Of course, what fun would it be without a little contest as well?

As many of you know, on most days I am a photographer here or here.

On Dec. 2, I will draw one lucky participant to win a free Christmas card photo shoot for your family. That means me, lights and camera meet you and your family somewhere in the Dallas/Kaufman county vicinity during the first week of December. I will then have 50 Christmas cards made with your favorite picture in time for you to mail them. If you don't celebrate Christmas, we can just do some family photos and prints... I'm flexible!

For any participants outside of my local area who want to join in, I cannot travel to you for a photo shoot, but I will be happy to create custom photo cards for you using a photo from you or give you a choice of Christmas themed photos I have filed away.

To officially be part of this and be eligible for the contest, send me an email at doncjohnsonphoto@gmail.com or via the Learn to Dad Facebook page. I will confirm that I received your commitment and put you on a list.

We start at 259. Join me!

I will detail the diet and exercise plans for the next 4 months this week on the blog... Let's do this!
Don J.

Anniversary...

Back on Fathers Day, someone in my family asked me something like "What is the most important thing you have learned about being a dad so far?"

My answer was (and is) that the most crucial part of fatherhood involves finding the right person to be a parent with. Honestly, at this stage of parenting it is all about mom, so choosing a bad mom would be a dad failure.

And I say all of that to say that I am blessed beyond all measure to have Renee as my wife, friend and Joshua's mom. The Lord works in strange ways to put people together, but part of the fun of faith is living within that an recognizing the beauty of it.

Today is our 9th wedding anniversary. As many of you can attest, I got the better deal in this marriage partnership.

Early in our marriage we decided that we would commit to staying married for 75 years. By then we will be able to decide if we really want to stick with it. I think I will ask for an extension on that to 95 years :-).

Don J.

Father-Son memories

I really enjoyed this story about a father, his son and the Space Shuttles. It makes me want to be intentional about creating and recording memories together that we can revisit and share for as long as we share life.

Make it a point to do big things. And take a camera!

Don J.

Space Shuttles and such

It was fun to take a few minutes out of the day today to watch the final Space Shuttle launch, but it was surprisingly a little bit emotional too. I am a serious airplane/spaceship/technology geek, and the Space Shuttles have really defined the space program since my childhood.

One of the things that stuck in my mind growing up was the Challenger explosion. The idea that seven people willingly took such a risk to do something amazing impressed me greatly, and certainly made me idolize astronauts.

Below is a column I put together for Sunday's Tribune that explains that a little bit, with a 'Learn to Dad' twist.

As a new dad (young Joshua Johnson will be 3 months old this week) there are a lot fun-yet-risky activities that have lost much of their appeal to me. I won't be buying a motorcycle anytime soon and my average speed on the highway has probably dropped 10 miles per hour.
But if I had been given a chance to join the four astronauts on the last Space Shuttle trip that launched Friday, it would have been a mighty struggle to say no.
Call me a nerd, but if I had the choice of hanging out with any Hollywood A-lister and an unknown astronaut, I would pick the astronaut every time.
The Challenger disaster impacted me in a number of ways, and seeing Atlantis liftoff put me into a reflective mood.
Photos of the shuttle explosion in 1986 were everywhere, and I remember poring over memorial magazines with profiles of teacher Christa McAuliffe and the other six souls that were lost. I was 9 years old, and somewhere in my brain, the seeds of a journalism career took hold.
Things as vague as poetry even began to make sense, with the words of John Magee's "High Flight" overlaid on full-page color picture of the explosion, with the shuttle's signature solid rocket boosters twisting off in wild trails of smoke.

"Oh! I have slipped the surly bonds of Earth
And danced the skies on laughter silvered wings."

The 19-year-old Magee wrote his poem just months before he died in an accident while piloting a Spitfire fighter plane over England in 1941. He was an American citizen, but he joined the Royal Canadian Air Force to fly before the United States entered World War II.
All that brings me back to parenting.
With our lives marked so deeply by singular momentous events, I can't help but wonder what happening or moment will etch into the psyche of my son. How much "parent filtering" should be applied to the news of the day as he grow up?
I certainly don't have the answer to that yet, but I do know that I want help him develop the courage and dedication of someone like Magee or an astronaut.
Magee finished with these lines...

"And, while with silent lifting mind I have trod
The high untrespassed sanctity of space
Put out my hand, and touched the face of God."

I did get to see Space Shuttles fly in two very different ways over the years and it was a thrill each time. (like I said, i'm a geek, and that is OK)

First was a launch that I watched from a balcony of the Peabody Hotel in Orlando. Even from a distance of almost 60 miles it was awe inspiring.

In 2008, Endeavour had to fly cross-country on the back of a 747, and I made my way to see it take off from Fort Worth.


So, it is sad to see an old friend fade away, but it will be interesting to see what we get into next as we seek to "touch the face of God."

Have a great weekend everybody.