Inspired in '08?

I woke up early today before the sun came up. For some reason I do that off and on no matter how late I go to bed. I could hear the nursing sounds of Lauren and the soft sleepy breathing of my wonderful wife beside me in bed. On the other side of the room I could hear the light snoring of a stuffy nosed little boy. Michael had woken up some time in the night and navigated to our room and the little pallet we have for him. He hasn't been there in the past few nights so I am not sure what disturbed him in this night. No sign of Nathan in the room so I knew he was fast asleep in his own bed. Ahhh my little family was safe and sound for one more night.

My brain began to jump into thinking mode right away dang it! Immediately I knew no more sleep this day. What was on tap today? I began to go through what I knew for sure was going on today...Well lets see, Audra had to teach Sunday School at 8:00am and the boys would be in their respective Sunday School classes. Should I get myself going right away? Be efficient and take Lauren to the 8:00 Mass so Audra could go to 10:00am mass without the kids? That worked well last week. Sure, why not, I'll try that again. What else... hmmm? At about that time my brain shifted to how amazingly blessed we are. My brain shifted to some things that recently have given me a little clarity.

Lately I had been reading the blog of my ex-wife. A blog that is outlining her trip to Europe with her son and a friend, a blog that is a lifelong wish, a wish with a sense of urgency, Ann's wish. What a strange thing you may ask... why keep up with your ex-wife? Well, I have a new perspective on that relationship. It had to occur in my life. I would never be close to where I am now without it. It prepared me enormously for the rest of my life. More on that later... Anyways, my ex-wife has been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer... ugggghhh! She found out this past July and not long after got in touch with me. The two of us hadn't spoken in over 8 years but she managed to get in touch with me to tell me her unfortunate news. I was a little perplexed by the contact. To this day I wonder why she decided I should know her news? Not that I am not interested in her life. This was a person whom I knew very well but a person who betrayed my trust to the core... interesting how so much good can come from a unpleasant event. It is just that so much life has occured since we last spoke and our paths have totally diverged. No matter what happened between Ann and I, I think deep down she is a good person. She is a good person with a young teenage son (from a second marriage) that from what I know she has raised him on her own. Please keep Ann in your prayers that she may find health, peace, and happiness in whatever may come. At any rate hearing from her has been interesting for me and gave me a perspective of what faith, hope, love and forgiveness can do for one's life.

Perspective for me has also come in the form of some incredibly busy and productive work. I am aware that things can change at any time but with hard work comes good things... I have been fortunate to have two partners that I added recently to my business that have a lot of knowledge, work ethic, personal ethics, drive, and their skills complement my skills. We'll see what is in store for my business in '08 but the year is starting out great.

So, my early morning thinking got me out of bed and on to my laptop to begin writing. So what will I do with my realizations? I think I will try to do many good things this year and one is to begin writing about it.