We do.........

Hi!

Last year our family had the privilege of celebrating a couple weddings. This year there will be a couple more.

This weekend we will be celebrating with the lovely young couple in the bottom photo. Our nephew Dylan and his gorgeous wife-to-be, Brandi.

Dylan is the youngest son of the sister we lost to illness almost eight years ago. Eight years. It, at once, feels like yesterday, and forever. 

She would be so incredibly proud of him. He is a sweet, considerate man with a good heart. He is not without his faults, none of us are. But, he is a good guy, and he's happy. That's all his Mom ever wanted.

Doing big things in life, without that important someone present, is tough. First dates, graduations, weddings, babies, jobs..........

But, we do. 

We do, because they would want us to. They would want us to celebrate, be happy, and enjoy everything that comes our way to the absolute fullest. We honour their memory by getting the absolute most out of the life they had to leave. 

We do, because if we wait for the grief to leave us to have joy, we will be waiting forever. Grieving never leaves, it simply changes. It becomes more manageable with time, but it never really leaves.  

We do, because we owe it to the little ones. We need to fill them with enough joy to last them a lifetime. So, tell the funny stories, share the memories. We need to show them that they can still have joy, even after we are gone. We need to teach them how to be okay.

We do.

It's been another, gratefully, very busy week at the shop, making sure all the trailers that are needed for the weekend are complete........

I had a couple of days of running errands like a madwoman......

I didn't get to make much of a dent in my novel....will have to make up some ground in the upcoming week....

So that about does it for another week......

For Dylan.....................

May you keep your kind heart, not let life harden your gentle soul.

May you hold your wife softly, making each day better than the last, this is your goal.

May you cherish your time as a Daddy, be the person you want your children to emulate.

May you see the power and value of your presence, love and time make self worth elevate.

May you take life in stride, roll with it, walk through the crap storms, staying strong, remaining calm.

May you, above all, be happy, laugh lots, live big, it's the best gift you could give to your Mom.

Until next time.....

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