day........recaps.....109

Have you had defining moments?

     I don't mean marriages, births, or deaths.... but  other moments that changed your life in major ways?
     Some of you only know me through the blogs.  So, to refresh you on  my life, here are some defining moments.
     In 1998 my wife was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis.  Talk about defining moments!  She has gone from a fairly active lifestyle to shuffling slowly short distances around the house.  It changed our lives.....a defining moment.
     In 2001 daughter Julia took a 3 year position with Nestlé in Switzerland.  She is still there.  This started out as a negative, but it really is a positive.  We have been able to travel to places we never would have gone:  Paris, Normandy, King Ludwig's castles in Bavaria, Colmar, Venice, Milan, Florence, Tuscany, Prague..... and all the small towns in France and Switzerland we have visited. 
When she left, I was crushed.  My baby was thousands of miles away.  Don't get me wrong, I still miss her terribly.  But she has had a good life over there and we have been able to share that life for weeks at a time these past 19 years. 
But honestly, Jackie's traveling days are over.  MS is not a kind disease.
     April 9....2015.  Defining moment.  Unstable air mass, tornado warning, we head for the basement.  I look out the back window and see  trees airborne in the park.  After it passes, I go to check on Emily's house and discover it is gone.  So are most of the other houses on her street.
     Not just damaged.  Gone.  She was at work, her fiancee was on his way home, so thank God no one was in the house.  In fact, no one suffered major injuries  in our area.  Everyday I give thanks that they were spared.
     True, she lost a house, two dogs, and almost everything she owned.  But she and John were able to rebuild their lives, get married, and return to "normal."
     Don't get me wrong, lots of other important things happened in the last 15 years or so..heart attack, retirement, additional stents for minor blockages, bike trips to Holland, a trip to Cuba, seeing the Grand Canyon for the first (and only) time.
     I suspect at some point 2020 will be a defining moment in most all of our lives. Like all moments, there may even be some good in this one...although it is hard to see at this point.
     Hope you had a safe July 4th.
     Stay safe.  Stay healthy.  Wear a mask.
Peace and Love