I believe that life is an adventure. I believe that no matter how routine or mundane or trivial a day may seem, there is always something to be gleaned from it. My wife loves to take pictures, and this passion provides an avenue for realization. We purchased a new camera a few months ago and the moments she has captured are simply magic. The routine, the mundane, the trivial: I see them with new eyes – hers. »
My oldest daughter, Grace, hoarded spare change for the last year. I would find her squirreling away money, gathering it in her tiny fists and depositing into a pink plastic pig. Her focus was singular -- when asked what she was saving for the answer was consistent: The Minnesota Great-Together. The State Fair is colloquially known as The Great Minnesota Get Together; Grace, in her pidgin toddler speak, truncated it. »
Today I turn thirty. I weep for my youth. I weep for my hair. I weep for my pride. I digress. Thirty is not a substantial drama; thirty is a milestone. It is a milestone which I identify, acknowledge, and ignore. I focus on the following during this time of struggle and inevitable reality: I have a wonderful wife. I have a wonderful daughter. I have a wonderful life. The aforementioned realities are static not transitory. »
My daughter is a wonder. I arrived at the fair; a thick and sticky evening, the fading light clung to us as did the sweet smell of fried food. I was late. My wife and daughter had already spent the better part of the day at the fair enjoying the sights and sounds and smells; my task was to find them in midst of this Great Minnesota Get Together. I found them west of the Education Building, in the Kidway. »
I have learned to live with loss; I suppose we all do at some point in our lives. Today marks six years since my brother Chris passed away. Loss defines. I remarked to friends and family in the days after he was gone that everything mattered more. Each choice, each action, each in-action: each would be measured against a more perfect ideal and each would require meaning. After six years I have realized this pursuit is fruitless – I cannot find meaning and purpose where there is not any. »