Repost of a repost of "My Family"

(Something really weird happened.  I posted this and it even went out in the email to those who get this by email, but it did not stick to the blog?????? Don't ask me what happened, cuz I don't know!?!?!?. Anyway here it is again and hopefully it will stick this time.)


This is the very first post I put on my other Blog: The World's Best Blog. As you probably know I am changing the format of that to make it primarily a Photography Blog, so I wanted to clean off most of the stuff that is not related to photography. Most of it is not worth taking a second look at but I wrote this with my heart and wanted it preserved.  So I have copied it to here where it really belongs.  This was originally published on September 26, 2007, when I first began that blog.  I have left it exactly as it was written.



----------------Original Starts Here-------------------
I will not say a lot about my wife. She is far too dear to me to put her on public display. Let me just say that she is the most important and best mortal influence in my life. She has given me wings to fly and at the same time has been an invaluable guide and helper.

You could say that most children come in to most families kind of by chance. That was more true back when my children were born than it is today. Today there is so much more "family planning". I lead with that introduction to tell you about my oldest son, because he did not come to me by chance he came by choice, because when I chose to marry his mother he came as part of the package. I not only knew that going in but I happily accepted it. When I fell in love with his mother I quickly came to love him also. That has been over 30 years ago and I have never not loved him as if he were my natural son. I'm certain that there were times when he really doubted that, but the mistakes I made were not made because of lack of love, but mistakes of lack of know how. His name is Wade and I'd like to tell you just a little about him. Wade is one of the most honest people you will every have the pleasure to know. You may not agree with him but you will never doubt that you know where he stands and what he believes. He gives his employer more than an honest day's work every day. You can count on him no matter what as his word is his bond. If he tells you he'll do something or be somewhere or whatever he might tell you, you can count on it. It will be done, it will be done right and it will be done when he says it will be done, and probably a little better and a little sooner. Wade tries very hard to come across as a tough old curmudgeon, but if you give him a chance you'll see he's a teddy bear in disguise. He will do everything he can for whoever needs it, especially if he calls you his friend or a member of his family. Wade is a wonderful father. He loves his children as deeply and completely as any man can. There is nothing more important to him than his precious children. They always come first.


Let me tell you a little about my son Eric. Eric spent his first nine months of life sharing his mother's womb with a twin brother. Sadly his twin died of a serious birth defect only a few hours after birth. If I were to try to come up with just one word to describe Eric it might be "resilient". And I would like to put the adjective "incredibly" in front of it. Like everyone, all of my children have had their struggles and challenges. Eric's have been very different from the others'. I won't go into detail but he and those who know him know what they are. When I look at Eric I see a person who would have had every excuse to have been a real problem child and gone the wrong way, but he has not. He has always fought the uphill battle and come out a winner. He said to me, not long ago, after a particular struggle in his life when I was very worried about him, "You know me, dad, I always land on my feet." I firmly believe that he does and the lesson to be learned by many here is that he does, in no small part, because he believes that he always does and always will. Eric is a devoted husband and father who loves his family with all his heart and wants the very best for them. He not only wants it, he is one of the hardest working people I know, so that he can get it.


I have three sons, three men I could not be prouder of if they were the presidents of the nation. Each is so unique and different from the other. My son Dustin has been said to be marching to the beat of a different drummer and I am so proud of him for not only marching to that beat but doing it with passion and conviction. Certainly one of the things I admire most about Dustin, and there are many things, is his passion. Dustin is like a bull dog with his jaw locked on the ring of those "bulls" that are important to him. As I muse in future posts one of the points I want to spend some words on is the importance of passion in our lives. Dustin is a giving person, almost to a fault, if that is possible. Money may be very tight, there may be no time left over, his strength may be spent, but if there is a need he will find a way to do whatever he can to fill that need. Dustin genuinely cares about people, all people, and that is one of his great passions. Like his brothers and sisters, his first passion is his family. He loves and cherishes his family and cares for them with all the tender feelings a great father can offer.


I have two amazingly wonderful daughters. One of the best things about these two are that they are best friends and always have been. Maybe part of that is because we moved around a lot in the military, and the one thing they could always count on was each other. I am so happy that they love each other so much.


Kathryn was our first daughter. What a joy she is and has been. She started life so shy that we were really nervous, but when she came out of that she was 180 degrees out of that. Kathryn is a natural leader. Whenever there is a group Kathryn is usually the instigator for new ideas and especially activities. Because of that we've always called her our "Party girl". And yet she has the innate sense to know when someone else needs to lead and she not only lets them but encourages them. Sometimes in today's world the title "Party girl" may carry negative connotations. Not so in Kathryn's case. When she gets a group together it's always for good. People come away from those events better than when they went in. Kathryn's children must have been some of the most choice spirits in Heaven to have earned the right to have her as their mother. There could not be a more choice, loving, thoughtful mother than Kathryn.


Melissa is our little caboose. And, we could not have picked a better one. Besides being a very best friend to Kathryn, she has always brought special joy to her mother. Melissa has always been so good about going and doing things with her mother when the other children had grown a little beyond that and Jeanne needed her. The best word I can think of for Melissa is just plain Sweet. She cares so much about all living things. If you have a chance to know or be around her you just know you are loved. Jeanne and I were both raised in those Victorian atmospheres where love was understood, not expressed. Sadly we were much the same way with our own children. Melissa has done more to try to break us out of that mold than anyone else could have. She is so thoughtful and considerate. She simply makes all those around her happy, happy that they are with her. Melissa has not been blessed with children of her own yet, but she treats each of her little nieces and nephews with such love that they all feel like she is their other mother.


Each of our children have selected a sweet spouse. I'm not going to spend any time on them, because I will let their own husbands or wives sing their praises in another venue. I will simply say that they are also the parents of my precious and choice grandchildren and that speaks volumes.