Good sense of humor, dirty mind and beautiful heart…deadly combination.

A Roncalli grad who grew up in Indy, my entertaining friend, Jim Mullin is celebrating his birthday today! Jim’s married to a beautiful little spitfire named Jane and together they have two incredibly bright and talented children, Conner and Katie! As you can see from the photo, Conner is a football player and DePauw. Katie, their gorgeous daughter, is also a DePauw Tiger. We got to know this terrific family through our years at St. Louis de Montfort!

I don’t know who wrote the quote above, but I ran into it and started laughing and then noticed today was the birthday of the friend whose face pops up in my mind when I read it. Coincidence? I think not! People with a sense of humor are always the easiest people to talk to, which is probably why I was initially drawn to Jim. I love him for that ability he has to make me laugh, and for his generous heart. He makes every encounter an adventure and chances are good he’s going to have a cooler full of beer in his car that he wants to share if you happen upon him.

There’s nothing self-important about this birthday boy. He’s genuine, authentic and utterly down to earth. He calls it as he sees it. When you add those things up with the fact that he knows how to smile and have a good time, you can see why I think the guy has a pretty firm grasp of life. He’s got a joy in his heart and a smile on his lips. He loves sports, and especially games his kids are involved in!

For most the time our sons were playing sports as young guys, they were on the same team. This fact DEFINITELY made those CYO sports years much more bearable. I knew I didn’t really need to chide the sketchy and more than slightly inebriated (and late arriving) official down at St. Andrew’s when my Nick and Conner Mullin were in 8th grade, because Mullin had it under control. I also knew when he said we all needed to make a hasty exit from that gym to avoid trouble that we should take his sage advice and hustle our buns back to Fishers…ha?!

The birthday boy today is not a friend I get to see often anymore, but it’s as if no time at all has passed between us when we do get a chance to connect. Jim Mullin, you are a friend Tom and I both treasure! We are thankful for the countless laughs and are particularly fond of the hilarious tales you’ve shared about your “favorite” Catholic school teachers over the years. We’re still a little worried we might be struck down by lightening or something for standing too close to you and laughing so hard we had tears running down our cheeks. We hope Janie and the kids shower you with lots of love on your special day today! HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!