I sit here this
early morning writing this post on the 4th of July. It is our
Independence Day! There will be fireworks and music, patriotic movies, and
barbecues. It’s a little odd for us, though, because Kim is in Wisconsin with
her parents. Her dad had heart surgery and her mom is still healing from a
painful break. Hannah is in Pitt with her boyfriend’s family. So on this day of
celebration, it’s just Em and me. Last night we went to a movie, and today, she’s
hanging out with a couple of friends.
At the end of this
week, Em has her college orientation. It’s her first, Kim’s and my third. So
far, each has been different.
Wil went to an art
school in downtown Milwaukee. The orientation was maybe a half-day. Hannah went
to a large university about two hours from home and we spent the whole day
there. We dropped her off and she went one way and we went in a different
direction and hooked up at the end. Em chose to attend a small school in a
large city. Just as in Hannah’s case, Em will go one way and we’ll go the other
and meet up at the end.
While Kim and I
will join the ranks of you who are, or will be at some point in the future,
empty nesters, I am choosing to look at this as a Celebration of Life!
Life moves
forward, not backward. Certainly Em is moving forward with her life. Just as
Hannah graduates in December and then enters grad school for her education
certification and license, and just as Em begins that four year or so journey,
Kim and I enter a new phase of our life. It’s a Celebration of Life!
And next week on
July 11th, Kim and I have our anniversary. Twenty-four years
together! A lot of adventures, a lot of very happy times, and some sad ones as
well. Certainly worthy of a Celebration, especially for me, because Kim put up
with me all these years. Heck, she deserves a medal!
And one day later
on July 12th, we will remember our son, Wil. I wouldn’t call it a
Celebration, really. It is too sad, too painful, and he was taken from us only
two years ago. No, not a Celebration, but a remembrance. Not sure what we’ll do
for it. But I’m sure there will be funny stories and some “I remember when . .
.” Probably some tears, some in private and some together.
We, you and I,
Celebrate . . . Life in many different ways. Some of our Celebrations are
personal like birthdays and anniversaries. We Celebrate success in our jobs,
advancement in our careers. We participate in the Celebrations of the successes
and achievements of those in our lives.
To me,
Celebrations of Life are acknowledgements of what has taken place. It is
recognizing our past- what we’ve achieved, what we’ve overcome. But
Celebrations of Life are also a glance forward, a look ahead.
You see, Life
continues to move forward. Life doesn’t stay put. Life doesn’t go backward. It
is constant, ever changing, ever moving. Celebrate the moment you’re in. Take
time to notice and take stock. Enjoy who and what is around you. But also, Celebrate
and acknowledge your past and where you’ve been, where you’ve come from, but always,
always, move forward, look ahead. Celebrate . . . Life! Something to think
about . . .
Live Your Life,
and Make A Difference!
To My Readers:
Please feel free
to connect with me at
Twitter at
@jrlewisauthor
Facebook at:
https://www.facebook.com/Joseph.Lewis.Author
If you like to
read thriller/mystery, check out:
Book One of the Lives Trilogy, Stolen Lives:
Two thirteen year
old boys are abducted off a safe suburban street. Kelliher and his team of FBI
agents have 24 hours to find them or they’ll end up like all the others- dead!
They have no leads, no clues, and nothing to go on. And the possibility exists
that one of his team members might be involved. http://tinyurl.com/Stolen-Lives-J-Lewis
Book Two of the Lives Trilogy, Shattered Lives:
Six men escaped and
are out for revenge. The boys, recently freed from captivity, are in danger and
so are their families, but they don’t know it. The FBI has no clues, no leads,
and nothing to go on and because of that, cannot protect them. http://tinyurl.com/Shattered-Lives-J-Lewis
Book Three of the Lives Trilogy, Splintered Lives:
The FBI knows a 14
year old boy has a price on his head, but he and his family don’t. With no
leads and with nothing to go on, the FBI gambles and sets up the boy and his
family as bait in order to catch three dangerous and desperate men with
absolutely nothing to lose.
The Lives Trilogy Prequel, Taking Lives:
FBI Agent Pete
Kelliher and his partner search for the clues behind the bodies of six boys
left in various and remote parts of the country. Even though they don’t know
one another, the lives of FBI Kelliher, 11 year old Brett McGovern, and 11 year
old George Tokay are separate pieces of a puzzle. The two boys become
interwoven with the same thread that Pete Kelliher holds in his hand. The three
of them are on a collision course and when that happens, their lives are in
jeopardy as each search for a way out. http://tinyurl.com/Taking-Lives-J-Lewis
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Thank you for your comment. I welcome your thought. Joe