Each relationship you have with another person

reflects the relationship you have with yourself.  ~Alice Deville

My Personal Philosophies:

Above all else, FAMILY comes first.

Manual labor helps build character, so does having siblings.

Patience is a virtue, that I do not have.

Having only four cylinders has kept me out of trouble.

Everyone should have their own theme music.

Some of the things that make life worth living:

Driving the back roads through my hometown, with my window rolled down and my music up loud.

Sitting on the porch swing on a summer evening drinking a beer, with my dogs at my feet.

Listening to stories about the past.

When the power goes out, watching the lighting storms in the winter.

Sharing a good joke with my brother.

Doing just about anything, even arguing, with My Prince.

Spending time with my family (well most of my family)!

Alright, Now What?

I have reached a milestone in my life.  Graduating has closed so many doors and opened a whole new chapter to my life.  When this occurs I am motivated to sit back and reflect on the previous chapters.  I I take an inventory of all I have invested and all I have gained.  This has so far been the most significant milestone.  With the achievement of this particular goal and the events that have followed my very definition of my life has changed.  Events that seemed unlikely to occur have happened.  Relationships that seemed untroubled are experiencing turbulence.  I have never really believed in the concept of a predetermined life, or "a plan."  Events have occurred in a haphazard manner or because of my total influence and control.  The people that have come and gone shared only time.

Now I realize that the path I have chosen has been mapped.  Events that have occurred have guided me toward my destination.  The people I have encountered have all contributed to my knowledge and understanding of myself.  For the longest time my life was stagnant.  All at once huge and numerous changes have come about.  Most often when life changes it happens this way.  Without warning or a chance to prepare.  I feel as though I have been hit by a freight train.  If I attempt to get off I will get run over; so all I can do is hold on for dear life. 

My emotions are mixed but I trust in my higher power, who has brought me this far.  And with breathless anticipation I await my next destination.