Thank You Reprise
I would like to extend a thank you to all my friends (and family) who supported us during this difficult time. I carried my 85 year old grandmother to her final resting place on a rainy October day. Although that sentence paints a very dark and grim picture for some people those of us who knew her during her last days realize that the will suffer no more. She will be missed, but her life and legacy remain. All of her hard work--along with that of my grandfather, and my father, comes to a culmination in the future that I and my sister have received. Our generation is blessed to have been seeded by such great, hard working, loving, tough, God-fearing, and admirable people as my grandmother. It is God that created us with a will to work--and I believe my family got a double portion of work ethic (along with good looks).
So the final chapter closes. Another life has left us an example to follow. I, for one, am encouraged by how Hazel L. Duvall lived, loved, and laughed. She will be deeply missed, but life must continue. One day my friends and family will lower me into the earth from whence I came. I pray that my life will be as respectable as hers was. She will be missed.
How did I end up here?
I'm feeling a little introspective tonight. I was pondering the very small amount of time I have existed on this little rock we call home and thinking about all of the things that have come and gone in my life. Friends, relatives, new friends, new relatives; my life is in no short supply of awesome people. It's interesting to consider that I have only been here for 26 years. I never imagined as a little boy seeing my father grow old, my grandmother pass on, nor would I ever fathom that some of my favorite people would pass on to another phase of life or lose touch. I love the simplicity of being young and without care. I long to return to it.
I miss the hot summer days playing with June bugs and the sweet smell of the flowers that my grandmother grew. I miss vacation bible school and the obligatory craft time. I miss fishing for Bream at the dock I used to swim at during the spring. I miss late night fudge rounds as a reward for singing "Froggy Went a Court'n" while my granddad played the guitar. I miss decorating the christmas tree. I miss opening presents. I miss snow cream, snowballs, and icicles. I miss warm winter nights cozy in my bed wherever it may be--completely comfortable and in full trust that nothing scary or out of the ordinary would happen that night. I miss running around the coffee table at 5AM in the morning yelling nonsense. I miss playing basketball in the summer evening. I miss the smell of the country--my home.
There's so much that has happened in my life that I cherish. Memories are the one thing I pray that God grants me the favor to maintain no matter how old I get. It would be a great tragedy to lose any of the memories that I have been blessed with in my life. I do not want to ever forget where I come from or who I really am in the deep places.
Apologies for a heavy, personal post--but that is indeed how I feel at this moment. I am not afraid to share because I know that some of my readers share in those memories and will without doubt appreciate the nostalgia. Do not mistake me, dear reader, for despite the awesome memories of yesterday I plan on moving forward and making as many new memories as God allots me time for my tiny section of the universe. Life and love thrives in His presence, and that is exactly where I like to make memories =).