Its been an interesting day here in St. Louis.  It started pretty early and was pretty uneventful.  Tammy’s fist infusion went off without a hitch and she is feeling pretty good.  For me it was a long day of sitting in a nice plastic chair with lots of time to think about things.

Today was a beginning for us.  It’s interesting that one of my memories on Facebook for a year ago was, “Chicago, The Saga Continues.”  If you haven’t read it’s a good one.  We just so happened to be  a little bit north and west of here in Hannibal on our way back from Chicago.  It’s interesting how some things in our lives work out and some of them don’t.  It will be a quick trip.  Tammy has to give blood tomorrow and take vital signs about one-thirty and then we will get on the road back home.

As we were sitting her all day I saw a post from one of my friends who lost her husband last year.  The anniversary is tomorrow.  She is having all of the same feelings she did a year ago.  It breaks my heart.  She is lost in trying to find who she is in this new beginning, hurting from the past, and trying to live in the present.  My heart goes out to you my friend and you will be in my thoughts and prayers.

Wednesday another good friend is going in for surgery.  She is such a fighter.  My hope is that if you read this that Wednesday morning you might look towards Houston and send a whole bunch of positive energy her way.  Let Wednesday be a new beginning for her.  Let it be a day that the pain stops and she can feel good.  I would love to see a map of the world with all of the energy passing around it.  Our thoughts and prayers are so powerful.

Today I did a lot of thinking about the title of this.  All of us, everyday, are in some kind of beginning and some kind of ending.  We are looking through our past and hoping for the future.  Most of our lives we are somewhere in between the start and the finish of things.  Sometimes the beginnings are exciting and the endings are sad.  Sometimes it is just the opposite, we find out that because it was so hard in the beginning the ending is so much sweeter.  I don’t know what the answer is to living a good life.  I don’t try to plan my life anymore.  All I know is that some days I am going to kick life around.  Some days it will be a draw, and some days life is going to kick me up one side and down the other.  Every day I try to put myself into someone else’s life.  Especially when  I am getting knocked down, because I need to remember that no matter how bad I think my life is going, there is someone out there that is looking and me and saying how lucky I am.  I don’t have a monopoly on hard times.  I do have a monopoly on how hard I am willing to look at my own life and decide that I am still very blessed.  Our blessings really are not measured by our bank accounts or the cars we drive.  It is living a simple life  measured by the love we share with others and the number of people we can call friends.  If all of you are any measure then I am truly blessed,

Let tomorrow be your new beginning, by remembering the past, keeping hope in your future, and knowing that there is always an ending.  Most important, live in the present with love on your shoulder and friendship in your heart.  Thanks to all of you for your unending love and support.