Life Goes On
Above is a picture of my brothers and me holding our childhood photos in the home I grew up in in Anderson, Indiana. Mom will be 92 on the 25th of this month and is still living there. It was a really special that all my siblings made an appearance (one by phone from Florida) as we passed through. I was glad they had the opportunity to meet Rebecca to see firsthand how special she is and that Rebecca was able to experience how special my siblings and their spouses were too.
Prior to Anderson and on our way from Charleston, IL, Rebecca’s hometown, we made a brief stop in Indianapolis to visit my youngest daughter, Alexis, and her partner, Kobe. Life as a couple and as young independent adults has begun for them and they have made a nice cozy home for themselves. And of course, on the selfish side, I was stopping to see Alexis to fill-up with her amazing Kangen alkalized purified water that she markets and to get some of her healthy holistic food snacks, energy bars and protein balls, that she has created and sells. As her father, I highly recommend both at AlexisFawn.com!
Once we arrived in Anderson, I drove Rebecca around reflecting on what was and pointing out all of the changes. Nothing stays the same, nor should it. I drove her past where my dad worked his whole life, the schools I attended, through the neighborhood in which I grew up, sharing many stories along the way. I even shared the story of causing turmoil and being hunted by police as I scurried and crawled through fields until I safely arrived home through the field behind our house. And I also pointed out the liquor store that my friend, Brian, would put on my glasses and go in and buy beer for us in high school. But don’t tell mom about them, because she still doesn’t know!
After Anderson we drove and stayed in Auburn, Indiana at one of the hotels, the Auburn Inn, that the real estate development and management company, Focus Group, I worked for developed and managed. I had spent a number of nights and days there performing my corporate oversight duties. Driving to Auburn, we passed another hotel Focus developed, the Carlton Lodge, in Fort Wayne, in which the Marriott Courtyards modeled after. That Carlton Lodge was where my good friend Greg and I first met. He was the hotel’s maintenance man. He and his wife, Jill, must be soul family members with my family, because both Greg and I ended up living in Valparaiso and in the same neighborhood. Plus, Jill’s sister lived in Anderson next to my brother, Dan, and they were good friends with his family. Pretty wild, right?
As we drove to Auburn on I-69, we passed a sign to exit to get to Ball State University where I attended college. This made me reflect on the many friends of Hurlbut Hall that still get together for reunions over the years. The only residence hall to ever have college reunions! I hope Rebecca gets to meet them too.
After our stay in Auburn, we drove to Midland, MI to my daughter Heather’s house for my granddaughter Abigail’s first birthday. See her picture with me below wearing the t-shirt I bought her with this on it, “This Baller is Now 1!” She will be a basketball player (and many other amazing things). My oldest daughter, Jessica, and my granddaughter, Hadley, were able to join the party via Zoom with great grandmother Elaine and Heather’s best friend, Emily. The party day, Saturday, August 7th, was spent with my daughter’s husband, Aaron and family and was special as always with them. Very blessed to be part of their family!
It was pretty apparent that life goes on after these few days and why we need to enjoy the moments in love, appreciation, and awe for life as life goes on with or without us and always will. Enjoy!