THE JOURNEY: One one of my long sanity walks I suddenly had this image of a painter at the easel with a jar nearby full of different brushes of all sizes. The reason this is important is that immediately proceeding that image I was thinking about my family. Each member of the family represents a different brush. You know...some are long, some are small, some draw delicate lines and some are big and sweeping in what they leave behind. You can add color to a brush and get a totally different picture depending on which one you use. One son is a scientist who has to juggle a lot of things but be very precise at the same time. Although he might be a bunch of different brushes underlying ever thing is a very accurate one that gives sharp definition. One daughter who is a social worker is a typical long brush which has to paint the most complete picture quickly and with less detail. She has to size things up fast in her job as well as the family because of taking over the oldest female role. I have a middle son who is the film documentarian and probably has to be multiple brushes at the same time. This creates the most dramatic and colorful picture quickly before moving on to the next canvas. A totally complete picture always comes together in the end even though the colors seem scattered at times. Another son is the broadest possible brush that is really good at painting the clouds. His brush never completes the picture but is beautiful in color. The next son paints with one brush only, and with determination for his subject. He will paint off the canvas at times but will always return. The youngest daughter paints with the tightest wound brush you can buy. Driven to fill in the lines with her picture with no room for error. Barb painted with all the brushes available to create a completed family picture. I paint with a wide brush to create the frame for the future. An artist interprets what he sees, mixes the colors and shows respect to his subject by putting those brush strokes on a blank canvas. Even when we have lost someone, the picture was already created and lives forever in the mind of the viewers. Honoring those that are gone with as beautiful a picture as possible made from all those brush strokes is an incredible legacy to their lives.


THE PUZZLE OF LIFE

YOU START OUT AS A THOUGHT
PUT TOGETHER WITH LOVE

YOU GROW INTO A VESSEL
PUT TOGETHER WITH LOVE

ALONG THE WAY PIECES COME AND GO
CREATING A THINKER
PUT TOGETHER WITH LOVE

EVEN THOUGH DEATH IS AN ILLUSION
YOU MARCH TOWARDS THAT END
NEVER REALIZING YOU WERE PUT TOGETHER WITH LOVE

SO THE DAY COMES WHEN THE PIECES FALL APART
AND YOU REALLY FIND OUT
THAT YOU WERE PUT TOGETHER WITH LOVE