“You must bury your old ways, burn the
dead wood.”
That sounds easy until you realize how much
dead wood you have grown comfortable carrying.
Eventually, you have to ask whether
something belongs in your life simply because it has always been there.
I value the past.
There are traditions worth protecting,
lessons worth remembering, and people whose influence deserves a permanent
place in our hearts. Growing older has made me appreciate those things more.
The distinction is knowing what nourishes
you and what holds you back.
Today is my Father-in-laws eighty-fifth
birthday up in heaven. On his sixty-third birthday he gave his daughter’s hand
to me. I don’t celebrate this day with that girl anymore. Each September 25th
is a reminder that we didn’t work hard enough, we quit…..
Sorry PopPop…
