Do what's in front of you...the image can be changed.

Could be here today!

Good morning son! Well, here we are again one week later. How's your week been? I'll bet you're glad you're where you are right now. It was 102 degrees in Springfield yesterday! Not one of your favorite things...heat! It's been very hot here this week and the humidity and dew point have been off the charts. I've been trying to paint all week and it so hot and the humidity so high the paint would half dry before I could get it to the wall! Dad, Jamison and I stayed in the living room all day yesterday with the air conditioner on. We slept with the air on in the bedroom until 4:30 am this morning. That's a first since we've been in Troy. Dad and Jamison have been talking their walk between 5:30- 6:00 am these days. 

There's a wonderful breeze this morning, it feels so good as I sit propped up here on the couch having a "conversation" with you. We have flash-flood warnings here from 2 pm today through 2 pm tomorrow. We should be fine. We sit on a hill and have a solid rock wall behind us. However, we are surrounded on two sides by a cemetery so I hope the residents don't decide to come for a visit!

Our Troy family are in Maine for a couple of weeks visiting with Bill & Nancy and then for family week. I bet they're have a great time. They live in the water when they're there...as they should.  Tanya is "chicken-sitting" and house sitting this time around. Dad went over the other night to give a hand. He said they had done pretty well. They must have done okay last night because Tanya didn't call. Either that, or she's still chasing chickens!

I worked on a project for 12 hours yesterday. I started in the studio but the heat ran me out. Poor dad, I had project scattered all over the living room. I was printing, cutting, gluing, literally everywhere.  Poor Jamison, spent most of his day on the back of the couch. He was probably afraid I'd glue him to something. Kinda like dad use to be when I painted; afraid to stand to long in one place, afraid I'd paint right over him!

Bill, our fearless leader, Halloween 2008!

Oh, I think I forgot to tell you, or maybe I didn't know yet, anyway, Bill Spiry set for his bar exams a couple of weeks ago. He has to wait seven weeks to hear but I have no doubt that he passed and is on to another great adventure in his life. I still miss working with him. We had a great partnership at work and did some great work but I am so thrilled that he's found his true calling. The world is going to be a better place because Bill is doing what he does best. I'm excited to see him hold up that piece of parchment. As you know, events in our lives can sometimes be painful in order to get to where we're suppose to be, doing what we're suppose to be doing. (He may "shoot me" for this picture, but I just couldn't resist!

I don't know if you've seen the commercial or not, (Do you have television in heaven? I guess you really don't need it do you?n I mean, can you just look down and see everything going on or does it appear like a hologram on a big white cloud for you to see?) I digress. Anyway, back to the commercial. It starts with a young lady sitting in a library in front of her computer and she's talking about when people get older. Like she'd know what that's like. She's all of 20 years old! Anyway, she's talking about how she's concerned about her parents not having any friends and relationships in their "old age", or something to that effect, so she got them involved on line. She's says her parents are up to 18 friends and she's up to like 687, and you know, "that's what life is all about". The whole time she is talking they're showing her parents with friends, attending events, riding bicycles etc. Her parents are living their lives in the real world. She's experiencing her friendships via the Internet. While both are good and have a place it made dad and I both sit up and take notice. Can't say that about commercials much any more. Anyway, the first time I saw it it really hit me hard. That was me; me and dad! All the things we talked about doing when we retired; the things we were going to do and see when we got back here, what's happening. We're back in the same "rut" we were in the last 42 years of our lives. Getting up and doing what's in front of us, just like we taught you all those years. The trouble is, we've never changed what's in front of us. Well, after a long, teary-eyed conversation with a very dear friend last week, dad and I are going to change a few things. We're going to change some of the things that "are in front of us" and get out of here and do some things. In August we're going to Main for a week, September we're going to the Brimfield Antique Show, in October (and dad doesn't know this yet) we're going to Vermont overnight and check out the foliage and November, we're still working on. In December, our trip to CA to see grandma and family. However, part of the family, the Taylor family, are currently in the process of moving to KY. They're flying out on August 13th. They'll be in for a Christmas this year like they've never experienced before! Anyway, back to our conversation about doing what's in front of you. Yes we have to do that, get up and do what's in front of us. What dad and I have lost sight of is that we can change what's in front of us. With a little more saving and a lot more planning we can see and do those things we want to see and do...so, we're going to do that. It might not be on a grand scale, but it will be.

You were never a project, always a best friend and son.

My project I'm working on took me to tons of pictures yesterday. It was a lot of fun. Yes, it did choke me up a couple of times but I had a great day doing it. Such great memories we all made together. I'm so glad we did. I'm so glad you were here. I'm so glad that we had the years we did to love each other, laugh with each other and at each other. To hug each other, to cry with each other, to share with each other, to argue with each other; dad never has understood our communication method, but it worked for us. It always sounded like arguing to him but we knew we weren't angry or upset, we were just sharing our views with each other. I loved doing that with you. You challenged me. When I'd make a statement you made me back it up. So many times it made me reevaluate my opinion and decide if that WAS what I really believed or was I just quoting status quo. You changed some of ideas and opinions by having those open and free conversations. I loved those times. I'm enjoying these one-sided conversations these days too though. Even I'm the only one talking, I can still hear you in my head and heart saying, "are you sure about that mom".


Until next week, be Aaron, love mom