Family & Friends

Where we came from, how we got here.  Don’t for a minute think you did everything on your own.  Without family and friends, you likely wouldn’t have made it.  That’s a bond that goes to the core of who we are.  Respecting that bond is what it’s all about. For most, your parents did the lion's share of raising, training, and disciplining. Families were the beginning point of your journey, an introduction to living that gave form to who you would become. In a wink, you started to grow, think for yourself more, and meet other people. Those who we are close with at the start give us guidance, help us figure things out.  Before we can ever figure life out on our own, we rely on others to show us the way, point us in the right direction.  These first steps help us to think for ourselves, do for ourselves. As we grow, we meet many friends along the way who think like we do, who are figuring life out on their own terms.  Some are there at a certain point in our lives and for circumstantial reasons, float away on their own path. Then, there are friends we meet who are embedded into the very fabric of our lives, remain close year after year.  These are friends who know our thoughts, our strengths and weaknesses, who look to us for advice, seek our guidance. In other words, the connection we have with family and friends is nothing less than the thread of life, an attachment not unlike that beloved coat we put on each year at the outset of cold weather.  Gives us warmth, pleasure, protection, seasons worth of memories.  We put on the coat and say, 'Hello, old friend.'

Read on to discover family history, one-off chance encounters, mysterious tales and adventures, all uncovering wonderful glimpses of some who have impacted me, taught me.  With what is revealed, it is hoped that my family and friends bring you closer to yours.