My inspiration

My son will graduate from high school in less than a week. It is amazing. He is the most wonderful young man I have ever known. He has handled life with such grace and openness and I hope for fulfillment and joy for him in the years to come. If I grow up, I want to be like him.

It is a bitter-sweet day for him because his mother died nearly nine years ago. It was a sudden and unexpected change in all of our lives. We had just gotten back from China, with our new daughter, his new sister. Life seemed on track, but seven months after returning my wife would be in a battle for her life, a struggle that would last a short six days.

I can only imagine how proud she would be. She would marvel at his talent and beam as she gazed upon the man her son is becoming. She would wonder at how much he is like her and me, the best of each of us. She would see that his sense of humor mirrors hers. She would see that he has her kindness and ability to be unconditional in his love and friendship toward others. Even when he is frustrated or angry with his friends or me, he works through that, learning something about himself and the other that somehow makes him a better person.

He has taught me so many things about living honestly. This blog is about living life. Life is happening whether we are engaged in it or not. I am engaging in life. I am happy and sad, excited and scared. My son has the world before him and the joy and excitement of what lies ahead as he embarks on the next chapter in his life. I too am embarking on a new journey...

Thank you son for being who you are. You are my inspiration for this blog... a life honestly lived and to write all that my heart holds.