I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”
-Maya Angelou

April 1st, 2006 was definitely a low point in my life.  I can still remember sitting in our apartment in Albany when the news came in that my inseparable friend, Tim Moshier, had been killed while serving in Iraq.  In the years since his death I’ve been married, taken a new job, started a family and moved to a new state…and smiled…a lot.  I’ve often said this but in this terrible loss came, perhaps, the greatest gift I could be given, namely the gift of life.

There’s the typical “gift of life” that all of our brave soldiers give us.  Their sacrifice allows me to spend time worrying about what color the roof will be on our new house we’re building and whether or not we should upgrade our hotel room in Disney for the one day that we’ll be there in April.  #1stworldchoices.

The gift of life I’m talking about is deeper and much more personal than that.  The gift of life I’m talking about is the undying sense that whatever happens in this world, short of tragedy with my own family, needs to be kept in perspective.  A bad car repair, troubles at work… a speeding ticket, they’re all just not as big of a deal anymore.  Tim gave me that.

As I watch my boys grow, I gush a bit to see my childhood in their eyes.  Take this recent picture of a neighborhood party.  The “Circle Gang” if you will… Ry and Coop have friends who’re growing brotherly bonds…one fully equipped with flaming red hair and a penchant for the creative. They have each other.  As it turns out, that’s a lot.