Julie

Time has its way with us.
It takes us from youth to maturity and it cares not a bit whether or not we are ready for the journey. The idealist in me often turns my thoughts to the dreams that childhood gave me. The realist in me forces my mind's eye to look at life not as the idyllic playground of my happy youth, but as a brutally harsh environment that is uncaring of my feelings or my fears. Yet there is a part of me that knows something else is true. Beyond a doubt it knows with a certainty reserved only for those times in life when possibilities are ripped away and all that remains is the one single outcome of inevitability. This part of me knows with just that certainty that there are people in this world whose primary purpose in life is to enrich the lives of those around them in a way that few could imagine. My sister Julie is one such person.

She personifies in my mind the unique qualities of someone who does things not only for herself, but for her family as well. She is raising her two daughters to be the absolute best that they can be, and in the same motion is raising the bar for my life achievements. Forcing me to evaluate what I am doing and where I am going in a way that shows me that no matter how difficult it may seem, perseverance will win out and achievements will be mine. She doesn't know that I feel this way. Or, at least she didn't until just now. That's because she would never think of herself in these terms. She would just say that she is doing the best she can for her family and herself. And that is exactly my point. Her example is there for me (and anyone who knows her) to see and it is an example of how life should be lead.

And, on top of all of that, she is beautiful. She has ever and always been beautiful. Her physical appearance has changed ever so slightly over the past 20 odd years and as far as I can see it has only improved itself. I was struck with these thoughts just tonight as I viewed a recent picture that she sent me.

She stated in such a matter of fact way to me that this photo was taken by her 12 year old daughter to be used on the dust jacket of her latest book. Now, since I know her, and I know of the book she is referring to, I am not instantly surprised by the comment in and of itself. It happened as I looked at the picture longer and longer, and thought more about what that nonchalant sentence really meant. That's when it struck me. My sister’s 12 year old daughter has taken a photo to be used on the dust cover of her mother’s book. I am fairly certain that these circumstances are rare for most families. Proving once again to me that she is an exceptional woman with an exceptional life.

These thoughts raced through my mind, took a few hairpin turns and eventually wound their way here, to become words on a screen. Words waiting for a casual reader to happen upon them. To absorb them into thier minds and come a little closer to understanding something more about the author. That is why they exist. In short, they are waiting for you.