Big Brother Blog: The Best Things in Life

Monday, November 30, 2009

The Best Things in Life | The BridgeMaker

Posted: 30 Nov 2009 03:08 AM PST

the-best-things-in-life1

Life becomes precious and more special to us when we look for the little everyday miracles and get excited about the privileges of simply being human. - Tim Hansel

Article written by Alex Blackwell. Connect with me on Facebook.

My son's friend died on Thanksgiving morning. Andrew, my younger son, visited Alex in the hospital almost every week during his illness. For the last two weeks, Andrew spent his evenings at Alex's house along with several other 17 and 18-year-olds playing video games and eating pizza while their friend watched and listened.

This group of young men must have brought life and a sense of normalcy to a house preparing for the worst. Thursday morning Andrew received a text message informing him it was over. His friend was gone now. There's no doubt Andrew will be changed forever.

Andrew honored Alex before our Thanksgiving meal. He toasted his life and his courage. My son said he was thankful Alex was his friend. I could sense Andrew was struggling to understand the meaning of his death.

Sitting at the table with my family, I was thankful we were together and healthy. Life does not come with a guarantee or a schedule. We are often forced to live Life on its terms. It's a dance that is sometimes exuberant and is sometimes somber. When the dance becomes both, the melancholy of the moment provides the opportunity to take an inventory of the things we do have and to ignore what's missing or what we think we should have.

The best things in life aren't the things we have, but rather who we get to share these things with. The best things in my life were sitting with me on Thanksgiving Day. With my family, everything else is all the sweeter:

The morning's first cup of coffee
Hearing good news
A parking space close to the door on a rainy day
Becoming less of a parent and more of a friend with Brandon
Mid-October in Kansas City and its display of changing leaves – simply beautiful
Resisting the pull back to a place where I no longer want to live
Blasting my favorite song on the car radio
An unexpected compliment
Reading a good book on the beach
A cold beer at a baseball game
Fresh sheets on the bed
Feeling Mary Beth next to me every night
Sunday dinners with the family
Giving a gift from the heart and then savoring the reaction
Hearing the first Christmas song of the season
The peacefulness of the early morning
My father-in-law's recipe for spaghetti sauce
Feeling confident and letting the world know it
Learning to hunt with Andrew
A hot bath on a cold night
Saying, "I love you."
New York City with Caitlin
Reconciling and starting over with my sister
Picking the fastest moving checkout line at the grocery store
Forgiving and letting go of my mother
The feeling after a workout
The wok-roasted chicken and Sushi at my favorite Asian restaurant
The guilty please of watching Glee with MB and the girls
The 20-minute commute each morning to consider the promise of the day
A series of green lights on my way back home
The welcome-home kiss
Sitting on the couch with Rascal curled up next to me
Being surprised
Witnessing Emily's confidence soar
Helping my father heal
Falling asleep to the rain
A Diet Pepsi once (maybe twice) a week
Feeling free from the past
Believing my faith will return after a setback
Sharing family stories when the six of us are together
Remembering to play more
The smell of popcorn
Hearing "I love you."
Feeling that I am enough
Carving out time to write everyday
Providing the basics, plus a little more for my family
Appreciating exactly what I have