Life Goes On

I haven't paid any attention to this blog since 2013. I really forgot that it existed. You get busy, and life goes by. Blink an eye and six years pass.

I wouldn't have thought of my blog now, but I noticed the Blogger icon on the National Park Service's site for the Wright Brothers National Memorial. We're planning a vacation soon, and the hotel is practically across the street from the memorial. I clicked the icon . . . flashback.

I reread a couple of my posts, and the memories made me smile. I still talk about that last winter on The Mountain. That was crazy snow, and I doubt I'll experience anything like that again. The kids are MUCH bigger now, and there are a lot of memories filling the years since 2010. By the way, my prediction came true for my daughter; she cheers for snow days now.

I'm feeling nostalgic these days anyway. My wife lost her dad in October. I lost my uncle two weeks ago. I was close to my father-in-law. I've known him since 1993 when I started dating my wife. He was a retired physics teacher, an ordained minister, and a hell of a father figure. He lived for his family, and that included me. He treated me like a son. I want to tell him how I feel.

I wasn't as close to my uncle, but he was a great man, too, and I loved him. He was a Seabee in the navy in the 1960's. He loved his Seabees hat. He loved Virginia Tech. He loved coaching sports, and he was good at it. He continued to coach even when he had to use a wheelchair. Mostly, he was a great dad and a great husband and a great uncle. I feel bad for my aunt and cousins.

Losing people is obviously sad, but life goes on. My oldest is close to getting his license. That's scary! My middle child is a freshman in high school. He is perfecting the art of being a teenager. My daughter starts middle school next year. They all sing in school choirs and play instruments (and video games) and drive their parents batty. That's the way it's supposed to be, right? These things make me smile.

I also smiled when I read one of the nicest comments I've ever read on a blog. A very nice gentleman left a very nice comment on one of my posts. Imagine, a positive, inspiring comment on the internet. His comment inspired me to make at least one more post on this dusty, old blog. Maybe this post will inspire positive memories (and some sad ones) in 2028.