Karen

It was almost on this day eleven years ago that the world lost a special person. No, it wasn’t a big celebrity. No, it didn’t hit all the big media outlets and become a major worldwide story. It happened as if a whisper of a leaf rustling in an early morning breeze. It was a short story of just a loving, intelligent, giving lady, wife, mother and friend.

Time has moved on in its usual almost cruelly frenzied pace. Some perhaps have forgotten, or at least, put it to the back of the minds and I must confess there are times when my past escapes me but almost every day I’m reminded of the loss. More importantly I think I’m reminded of what I was blessed to be a part of rather than the loss. That is another perhaps healing aspect of time moving forward. In the immediate aftermath of such a tragedy you naturally, if for a time, grieve about what you’ve lost. I personally became at least doubly blessed to have a special lady become a part of my life after that horrendous event. Real love is such a rare commodity and to find it twice in ones life is even more exceptional.

This lady I speak of who passed on was Karen. She was special to many people. She touched many lives and for twelve short years was a special mother. I know her daughter misses her every day. One of the very special benefits in having a daughter is you can look at her and be reminded of her mother. It is even more special and perhaps at times poignant to be reminded of her mother when her mother has moved on to the Lord’s house. Karen left a legacy. I thank God for that legacy.

Below I’ve included her obituary to remind us all of her and I hope many of you were as blessed to know and love this special lady as I was. Don’t grieve for what we lost. Celebrate what we gained.

Twenty Ten

A new year is upon us. It’s a time for new beginnings at least in the psychological sense. It is time for some of us to make those hideous resolutions that tend to be a waste of good energy because for the most part they are not adhered to for very long. I may not be much different in reflecting and trying to make changes but I don’t do them in the formal sense of a resolution. It just seems like an appropriate time to think about how you’ve behaved in the past year and what you might try and do differently this new year.

Here’s a brief list of what I am considering. As with many of us I need to lose some weight. So that’s on the top of my list. I need to work hard and become more valuable to my new company and although that is not a resolution per say, it is a goal. I need to organize my home life better. I need to try to prioritize the things that need doing and actually DO THEM. That is a lofty pursuit at it’s minimum. I would do good to be more charitable to those in need. I need to spend more time making sure my wife knows just how important she is to me. That really should be enough of a list. The weight thing I will work at and hopefully make some strides. The job thing is really a responsibility that I must do. The house thing I really need to work at if I still want it to be standing and an actual dwelling of value. The charitable thing will be important to my soul. The wife thing is not something I need to try and be successful at, it is the most important thing on the list.

So there you have it. Behold my list of hopes and dreams. As I watch with wonderment the continuing sagas of different souls on Facebook, be they friends or family, I wonder what might be on their lists. Share them with me if you like. Post them somewhere as I am if you must but understand when you make them a public statement you are then obligated to make a full report at year’s end. I will do that if for no other reason to make me accountable for another year. May your 2010 be filled with a amazing list of realized hopes and dreams!