Pieces of us...

In my postings you will most likely see a variance of ups and downs, comical and serious, deep and shallow, modest and boastful...

Which one of those is me? 

All of them. 

We are not defined by one thing, as all of the little bits and pieces of us are what makes us the complex individuals we are. 

Regardless, if some of those parts seem bad or weak, such as impulse or carelessness, anger or jealousy, then we must work on strengthening the good to rise up, improve, overcome, and become the best version of ourselves that we can be. 

Most of all, remember to Love yourself and forgive yourself for your faults. We all have them, it's just a matter of deciding whether or not we want to make self improvements. 

Life is Better with Love

Falling in Love,

As my visit to Grand Rapids has come to an end and I am on my way to visit another great friend in Oswego, IL, I've pulled over to visit the town of South Haven, Michigan and reflect on the last few days. 

I have learned a valuable lesson on Love this week as I fell in Love quickly and easily. Possibly quicker than I ever have before. I'm not talking romantic Love, but rather the Love that we have for our closest siblings, nieces, nephews, parents and best of friends. 

This week was spent with a great friend of mine and I was able to meet his beautiful new family which I had only previously been able to see through pictures on Facebook. Not seeing him since a visit to New York before I deployed to Iraq in 2007, he had since added an amazingly beautiful wife and two gorgeous young daughters to his life. I was so exited to finally meet and get to know them. 

When Lee greeted me outside, it was as if we hadn't missed a beat. Singing "Eh-Rah" to the tune of Amazing Grace just like in the old days, a couple of odd balls that could easily be confused for complete idiots while actually having an immeasurable amount of deep conversations and both striving to live by a strict moral code of honesty and loyalty.  When we walked up the stairs of his apartment complex I couldn't believe that I was going to soon see his bride and the family they have created. When I came inside all 3 beautiful blonde girls were in the living room, his wife, Meggy, their infant daughter, Audrey, and their extremely welcoming toddler, Arrabella. She and Mom were having a tea party, and I was quickly invited to join. I was blown away by the personality and communication skills of this girl who is barely over two years old, a tell tale sign of great parenting. 

We hung out for the afternoon and got to know each other, and on night one I was able to get hug and kiss goodnight. Nothing better than hugs and kisses from the pure souls of young children. 

Over the course of the following few days I got to know the little Audrey better and was able to hold her while she slept, and play peek a boo to cheer her up when she was grumpy. I also got to sit back and watch my bud Lee be an amazingly fun Dad, and his wife be a Loving yet hilarious and fun Mom. 

On two consecutive nights I was fortunate enough to be invited to the Fitzpatrick residence, where Meggy's younger siblings are still growing up, a few just now leaving the nest. It was her Grandfather's 94th birthday, and this big Irish family was more than happy to welcome a newcomer into their home. Something must be in the water because each and every one of them were ridiculously gorgeous and handsome. I was quick to learn that they were all extremely intelligent and beyond their years as well, again, a sign of a good upbringing, which has now been passed down to the next generation. Smiles were seen all around, and the happiness was contagious. Playing catch, eating steak, bouncing on Pogo sticks,  tossing the frisbee in the giant front lawn, and a competitive game of four square were not only invigorating and relaxing, but a wonderful reminder of how important simple pleasures are in life, and how much better those simple things can be when enjoying them with Loved ones. 

When it came time to leave this morning, I planned on leaving early, but also knew that if the girls woke up and were out and about after I got back from breakfast with the guys that I would get caught up in hanging out and leave later than intended. Sure enough, I stalled for at least an hour and drew with Arrabella, made silly noises with Audrey, and had a nice heart to heart with Megs. 

Goodbye hugs are always the hardest, especially when you live such a great distance from someone. The best way for me to cope with those emotions is to assure myself that it's not a farewell forever, and rather an "until next time."

I feel like I can honestly tell the entire Family that I Love them, and mean it from my heart. Reflecting on that makes me realize how strong of a connection I have with Lee, as so much of the Love for his family is associated with seeing how happy he is with them and how fortunate he is to have found someone so great, as well as the fact that he is with someone that not only deserves but also can appreciate the person that he is. 

Lee, if you're reading this I'm sure you're thinking: "Bro! Enough with the Lovey Dovey stuff, ya Goon-a-Loon!" But bro, I Love ya and am so incredibly happy that you are where you are right now. Megs, he did good and so did you, I'm happy for you, too. Don't forget to send those vids. 

-Kugs

The World just got a Little Brighter with the Loss of a Dark Soul

I have emerged once again from my Facebook Cessation due to a news report that brought a solemn sigh of relief to my heart. It has been reported that Fred Phelps Sr, the leader of the Westboro Baptist Church has ceased to exist on our planet. I'm not one to celebrate the death of another, but there are a few exceptions to be made, especially as the world may just be a better place without him.

For those of you who are not aware of the Westboro Baptist Church and their practices, I can try and quickly sum it up by explaining a firsthand account with them as their young children stomped on the American Flag outside of a Military Funeral that I was Honored to be a part of the Rifle Detail, while they shouted through a megaphone that that the Soldier, killed in Iraq, was "A faggot" and "would burn in hell."

While our ceremonial rifles were just that, ceremonial, unfortunately so were the rounds inside as we fired off blank ammunition to honor the fallen member. We were granted some satisfaction, however, as the Patriot Guard was in full force and revved their motorcycle engines to create a grumbling and cackling roar that at any regular funeral would be considered disruptive in it's own accord, but rather welcomed with applause as the engines and exhaust pipes drowned out the despicable nonsense of these ignorant souls who are apparently motivated solely by hopes of citizens infringing upon their rights, allowing them to use the law to their advantage and gain some type of monetary compensation from the families who they know are getting the Servicemembers Group Life Insurance for the loss of their Loved one.

After my family lost one of our own, brother, husband, uncle, and son in 2007, the WBC had made plans to be there, as I had checked in with the Chief of Police in our small Nebraska town and confirmed that they had the permits. I found out where they were going to be protesting, and had the funeral procession routed in a way that would avoid them. I spoke as much as I could to the concerned family and friends and instructed all persons not to engage in any conversation with these ingrates because that is exactly what they are looking for, and that I could guarantee the impersonal things that would be spewing from their mouths would be taken extremely personal and would evoke a rage inside you that may not be able to be squelched during the time of grieving. Fortunately for our community, the WBC members apparently didn't want to bear through the frigid Nebraska cold as they did not show. The Patriot Guard was there in full force, forming an impressive flag line, nonetheless.

If anything is to be said to these people, a "Thank You" may just be the strongest thing I could conjure. As much as my inner Marine would rather see the entire "congregation" cast into the underworld, a more mature and mindful me would say "Thank You." "Thank you for reminding the world of how free American Citizens truly are, as you are free to speak your atrocious and uncivilized nonsense during the funeral of the very person who died for that Freedom."

I'm not familiar enough with the inner workings of the hierarchy of the Westboro Church, but I would be more than pleased if this death marked the cutting off of the head of the slithery snake.

Either way, the world just lost a dark soul, and is a little brighter because of it. May his influence quickly diminish.

-Robert Kugler

SSgt USMC Retired

Oh You Tricky Facebook, You!

I had to get a new phone on Tuesday and in order to reinstall a few apps and log in I had to re-activate Facebook. Crazy how that works. A fella tries to take a break and they just SUCK ya right back in. I had done that once before with an account on my computer, and then deactivated immediately afterwards. 

STRAVA, a cycling tracking app, is the app I needed my Facebook account for today. I don't consider myself a cyclist, but rather a person who loves to ride any kind of bike and feel the wind in my hair and sun on my face. Nonetheless, I do like to record the rides so that I can track my progress and see where I stack up against my buds to make sure I'm ready for the bigger rides that I like to do with Ride2Recovery. 

Here is today's ride:

https://www.strava.com/activities/120321907

Things are still going well as I'm getting ready for the Ride2Recovery Texas challenge next week, riding with wounded Veterans from Houston to Dallas. I'm going to hop back off of Facebook until we start the challenge next week. It's been a great break and I'm enjoying looking at the giant and beautiful world around me rather than being buried into the tiny screen of my phone. 

I still post some pictures on Instagram, so if anyone wants to stay in the loop of what I'm up to (and lots of doggy pics) you can follow me. Username RobKugler. 

My closing motivational tidbit for the week is this:

When pursuing your passion, don't let people tell you that you can't do it....but know that it may take more work than you've ever put into anything else in your life. Also know that it doesn't have to be a career that you're chasing, but maybe you need a job/career flexible enough to allow you to pursue that thing that makes you come to life. If you find that your passion changes, it's okay to set yourself up to chase the new one. Often times we don't even know that we are passionate about something until we've been exposed to it. Life is an improvisation. We can make all the plans we want, but the universe doesn't seem to abide by our plans. So, when you find something that ignites your passion, fuels your fire, electrifies your heart, stimulates your mind, and sings to your soul...you may just owe it to yourself to let that passion guide you. After all, when you have all of the aforementioned effects happening to your mind, body and soul..you may just have the power to do anything in the world that you want to do. 

Okay, enough of my babbling. It's time for a nap.

ZzZZzzZz

Time to Unplug

I've been involved in a lot of different amazing things over the last few years, but spreading myself too thin in the process. Not committing fully to any one thing...distracted with one while with the other, physically in one place and mentally in another. Facebook has been great to connect with so many great people and organizations, but I'm always "plugged in." While at sporting events, social gatherings...anywhere, really....I'm on my phone either taking/editing/uploading pictures, or reading about someone else's amazing adventure, new diet, new babies, new jobs, stupid boyfriends and so on. Meanwhile, I'm missing the event that I'm at, or the conversation that I'm having with an actual living, breathing, beautiful person right next to me, because my head is down and eyes are buried into my phone. Even when I'm not looking at my phone, Facebook will often times be on my mind because of some conversation, some "did you see what Jane Do posted?!" kind of nonsense that I shouldn't be concerned about. When people ask me what my schedule is, I tell them I have to check my Facebook and see. Facebook is no doubt a wonderful tool to connect, and gives you the power to reach out to so many people, but if you're like me, it's addictive. Like all things, it's about balance and moderation. I've formed a "habit" and it's time to take control and fix it.

I've got some serious cycling to do to continue to prepare for the Texas Challenge with Ride2Recovery in just over two weeks and need to eliminate distractions so that I can focus. I'm going to conduct a small experiment by deactivating Facebook until after the Texas Challenge and then check back in once I'm done and report on the process. I've said before that I'd like to take a break from Facebook but "can't, because I use it for so many things and group activities." Well, like I said before, I'm distracted. I am the one that needs to bring it back and focus on what is IN FRONT OF ME TODAY. That thing right now, is to be in good enough cycling shape to ride in the Texas Challenge and hopefully have enough left over to help push those who can use a little extra help.

For anyone who absolutely needs to get a hold of me....they can revert to archaic methods such as an "e-mail" or even going back farther in time...a "telephone call." I'll wait until tonight to deactivate, in case someone needs to send me their info via Facebook for necessary communications.

I can honestly say that I am truly looking forward to this.

See you on the other side,

-Rob