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By Bob Perks
There are so many ways to measure success in life. While one sees the bottom line in their check book, the car they drive, the house and community they live in, another would measure their success by the number of friends they have and the amount of love they feel. But how does one measure a life? Your first reply might be in years, months, and days. The calendar seems to be the standard for many. At 16 you can drive, 18 is legal, 21 says you can drink, "Thirty Something" scares us, 40 plus is "over the Hill," 50 is a half century and so forth. But I have discovered a new measurement. "By the yard." We've been in this tiny house now for nearly a dozen years. We bought it because it was the right fit. It fit into our budget and our family fit into it. The kids had their own room for when they stayed with us on weekends. We had space to keep my office, and in every little corner there was a place to put a dog. Yes, we were cramped but we never really noticed. You see, although we could have used another bedroom, certainly another bath and ultimately a room just for my office, we never felt crowded. Any feeling of closeness was accepted as a measurement of love we had for each other. But time, fate and circumstance gathered together, held a meeting and little by little began to dismantle our home. At first it was my oldest son Keith. He just grew up and headed out into his own life. The expectations of family now fell onto the shoulders of my youngest son, Evan. He was fine for a while, but I could begin to see him withdraw from the silly everyday antics of the games we always played, the places we went on weekends and the time we spent together. One day he simply announced, he didn't want to come out. I was crushed. It took me some time before I realized that he had grown up, too. His weekend time became work time, friends time and oh yes, a few long hours of conversations with girlfriends. We became the victims of growing up. This new reality came rushing in on me one Saturday morning a few winter's back. I woke up to the sounds of children and adults laughing. I looked out my window and saw the new neighbors from on top of the hill sledding with their young children. They were playing on my hill, in my snow, the sacred spot where just a few years before, my wife and I did the same thing with our boys. But the times were different. Now there was just the three of us and my dog hated to ride on a sled. The next spring our sledding equipment was sold in a yard sale. As months followed, our back yard became more of a chore to maintain then a place to play. As our dog Daisy grew older she began to find her favorite places to "sniff" closer to the back door. Our small garden near the top of our property became less and less important to Marianne as she began to struggle with physical limitations in her life and this past summer I tried to maintain it but failed to produce anything worth eating. "It's a heart ache for me now," I said to my friend. "How can a yard be a heart ache? It's just dirt!" he said. I knew he didn't understand. Suddenly this old house seems much too small and the yard way too big. We want to move. We need more house and less yard. But there is just the two of us now. Our dog Daisy's passing closed the final chapter on this castle filled with love. Today I need to go out and rake up all the leaves from the yard. I really hate to do it. You see it's the only thing left in it. So I stood on my small deck this morning and looking out I saw a million moments, a thousand laughs, baseball, fireworks, picnics, parties, the spot where I fell on my knees thanking God for my first book and saving my son's life, super bubbles nearly running the length of the yard, squirt gun fights, a thousand flowers, sledding and a four legged best friend jumping and barking as we slid down the hill in fresh fallen snow. Yes, I found a new way to measure my life ... "By the yard!" "I believe in You!" Write Bob and let him know your thoughts on his story! Bob is a professional speaker, author, member of _________________________________________ From now on we will be offering our book, To order your autographed copy send a check or To preview the book by reading some of the stories visit: http://www.HeartTouchers.com/michael_t__powers/ AOL Users Click below: _________________________________________ Reader Feedback! _________________________________________ Thought For The Day: "A gem cannot be polished without friction, nor man perfected
"Take away the dross from silver, and it will go to the silversmith
"Remember you're never too old to hold your father's hand."
"If I had my life to live over, instead of wishing away nine months of pregnancy, I'd have cherished every moment of my chance in life to assist God in a miracle."
"One player was lost because he broke his nose. How do you go about Writer's Thought For the Day: "Usually, when people get to the end of a chapter, they close the book and go
"A foolproof method for sculpting an elephant: first, get a huge block of ___________________________________________ _ The copyrights to the stories that appear in __________________________________________ Video Imagery --Michael's Video Production Business "I thought of you first after my family sat down to watch Let me make you a video from your pictures or http://www.hearttouchers.com/video_imagery/ AOL Users click here: Video Imagery Would you like to see your story in HeartTouchers.com? AOL Users click here: Writer's Guidelines SUBSCRIBE: "I need a daily source of inspiration and encouragement To become a HeartTouchers.com Member send an e-mail Then get ready to laugh, cry, and be deeply touched UNSUBSCRIBE: All you have to do is send an e-mail with the word Give it a day or two to be processed... Do you feel as if life has no meaning for you? AOL Users click here: The Four Spiritual Laws |
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Touching Lives - One E-mail at a Time! Author Michael T. Powers - HeartTouchers @ aol.com
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