Happy Mothers' Day, Mom

Mothers Day has always been a special day in my life -- and for the last probably 10 years, I always spent Mom's birthday and Mother's Day with her. Particularly the last 10 years because that's the last time I got divorced and mom figured, "you don't have a wife and a family there, you got no reason not to come home!"  LOL. Her logic was hard to argue with, so that's the way it was. She applied the same logic to Thanksgiving and Christmas -- but she did let me off the hook for Easter and Halloween :-)

But this Mother's Day is different, because it's the first one of my life when I don't have mom -- because she got her angel's wings on January 26th, just a few months before her 85th birthday. So my vision is that she's up flying loops around heaven, with that incredible smile you see on this photo -- my favorite smile, because usually when we pointed a camera at her she made a face and stuck out her tongue in defiance -- then wondered why she had funny looks on her face in all the pictures we had of her! Over the years we managed to get a few other good ones, but this one is my absolute favorite.

There are so many things I could say about her, and honestly this photo belies the little spitfire she could truly be, but she was a mother supreme and a grandmother extraordinaire, and on days like this one there's a little hole in my heart, because I miss that grand lady...

I've a dear friend getting married today and I'm going to her wedding. That's a dilemma in itself because usually when I attend a wedding I'm either the photographer or the groom! (not saying how many times I've been married. LOL.)  I'm am so pleased to get to celebrate my friend's bliss... but today is mom's birthday... and tomorrow is Mother's Day, so today is bittersweet.

When she passed, I put together a Photo Tribute to Mom, and if you haven't seen it, I'd be pleased and honored if you'd take a peek: http://bit.ly/10i6j2I. But beyond that, it was best said, I think, by this beautiful image sent to me by my friend Honey Delapa which reads: "Long after we've said our goodbyes, our hearts will remember."

If you are a mother, then Happy Mother's Day. I pray that you leave the lasting effect of love on your children that my mother has left on us.  If you still have your mother... cherish her, and I pray that she's had the lasting effect of love on you -- and you on her -- that my mother had on us.

Happy Birthday -- and Mother's Day -- Mom!  We love you!

  

Independence Day

July 4, 1776

When in the Course of human events it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

The Declaration of Independence.  Can you imagine, Kelvin, how the founding fathers of our 13 original colonies must have felt, as they prepared that document to deliver to the King of England.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.

These words are all we typically hear of the declaration of independence.  After this passage, the volume usually lowers on the voices, the music gets louder and we're left to "remember" (or imagine) what the rest of the document says.  I've included a link here so you can go read what the rest of it says:  http://www.ushistory.org/declaration/document/  Even if you're not American it's worth reading in it's entirety... at least once.

A lot has changed in the past 236 years.  We don't talk like that now. The written words have not changed, but I think some of the definitions of what was written have changed --  via usage or convention or interpretation.  So the words are pronounced the same, but they don't necessarily mean the same things they did then.  In some cases that's good, and in others... not so much. But I'm not going to debate that here.

What I do say is that this document launched our nation, and I think it's wise to reflect on who we were and what we stood for as a nation in the beginning, because all of our greatness -- and any of our shame -- is an outgrowth of this document and the way we have interpreted or re-interpreted it over the past 236 years.

In any case, I am an American, and am intensely positively proud to be an American and to celebrate our Independence Day, today. And nowhere better in the world can you master your mindset to master your life, than here.
 

Have an awesome day.

Kelvin

Freedom Is Not Free

On September 13, 1971, I left mom's house (home), at the tender age of 17... and joined the Air Force.  I wasn't to truly understand how that made my mother feel until my baby boy, Michael, left my home on May 27, 2004 to join the Navy.  That felt very strange; painful at first, until I adjusted to it.  And although my middle child, Kelvin, Jr, joined the Army and left in January 2002 (just 3 months after 9-11), his mother and I were divorced and he didn't live with me, so I didn't get the full effect of how it felt to have your child leave you "for the military" until I faced it first hand with Michael.

In my family, my father served, 2 of his brothers served, and one retired. I've one cousin who served (and retired), I served and retired.  My two sons served -- baby boy for 7 years and Kelvin Jr is serving his 11th year.  We are fortunate and have not lost any of our family members in combat, but we're all touched by someone who did.

Memorial Day honors the men and women of the armed forces who lost their lives defending our freedom: our freedom to be, our freedom to do, our freedom to say.  Over the years, some of the freedoms that have been exercised, have even spoken harshly of the military which ensured that freedom, yet the men and women of the military defended those freedoms... just the same.

As we celebrate Memorial Day today, I encourage you to think of how different life might be had those men and women not given their lives, had those battles not been fought and won.  Look around the globe at the conditions in the countries that we have opposed and that have opposed us.  Now imagine living in those systems...and if you can't summons up some appreciation for the folks who fought against those systems.. then, there's a bigger problem at hand.

The phrase has become cliche, but the fact is the fact:  Freedom is NOT free, and I salute and honor the souls of those who paid the fee.

Have an awesome day.

Kelvin