Lessons from the Chrono-Synclastic Infundibulum

Sounds good John, sounds very very good. Time to get a few myself :)

Well done on the journey, it's one i'm yet to take - but it's so true that the skills (and the lessons learned) build up over time to make us very strong people indeed.

Keep on inspiring!

Narelle

PS I replied to your post to me a little late - was a bit tied up - thanks for that.

Glad your back also!!
Sounds like it was such a special time with your daughter and oh the wonderful memories you created for her and the family and most of all YOURSELF..we allneed that boost sometimes...

I am so with you on the fact that the past is just something we will never ever be able to change, only deal with, and hopefully move on without it affecting us beyond control. I too have had rather a uhm vividly bad/horrid experiences in the past from situations where i realize i kept myself in, instead of moving on.....but once i did it took years to get to the point of realzing that i can't change all that, i can only heal and move on to tomorrow from all that...and USE IT AS A LEARNING TOOL MOST OF ALL>>> and then there's always that bright shining FUTURE that awaits us all...no matter what obstacles we are going to face, and as bps we KNOW they will be a waitng that is for sure, but with a good attitude toward being able to overcome, support systems, and the realization that this too shall pass and years from now we'll look back and say WOW i made it through that!!!

You are inspiring in sharing your realization that the past can't change, so many of us seem to revel in the things that affected us so deeply, and true it sure as heck isn't easy to get over them, heck still dealing with some myself, but but but......HOPE and POSITIVE attitudes (like you always display) and the understanding that the Sun will come up tomorrow...one way or another, may be cloudy but then again where would we be without the rain and the times to slow down and relax outta the storms and whirlwinds......soooo thank you for sharing about the wedding, i was so anxious to hear how it all went for you..

OH and how fascinating that you lived in New Zealand, as an apiarist i am so interested in that special honey they have there....you know they use it in hospitals and etc now....it is amazing...well, i won't go into that but trust me honey HEALS>>>even did experiment on myself when i cut off half my thumb instead of antibiotics that seemed to not help at all i switched to honey (homegrown tehee, from OUR apiary here) and well, it healed over in about 4 days and then believe it or not BOOM better....I know rambling here but when heard of New Zealand had to share that....can't remember the name of it but it is the ONLY HONEY IN THE WORLD LIKE IT>>>>only from certain plants that grow only there....love to hear more about the area and the experience so share share share!! tehee..

Glad your back safe and sound and jet lag didn't get ya toooooo much......heck, a day ahead of us all, that is an accomplishment to just face today and you had today and tomorrow!! tehee....So glad it all went well my friend....so glad...and congratulations...

and remember this I am SURE you were a better daddy than you realize, no we could ALL look back and see our mistakes with our children but love is unconditional and she knows that and that is the MOSTimportant thing of all from a daddy......trust me, my daddy always showed me that, even when he had to punish/spank me for my behavior (back in the day that was the norm....and I NEEDED It !!! ) but anyway, she knows dear John, she knows the love is unconditional and trust me that means the world far more than anything you could have phsyically ever done!!
glad your back.....now more posts please!!teheee....no take it easy a while heck of a trip!
your friend

ctrygirl

Relativity is a funny things.  Time expands...and contracts.  How do the days move so slowly, but the decades pass so quickly?  We'll probably never know.

But do know this:  None of us are ever the parents we "want" to be.   No matter how much we are there -- or not able to be there because of long working hours, geographic distance or physical illness -- we always wish we could do more as parents.

I think as long as our children know we are trying, that is enough for them.

Having grown up with a mostly psychotic (poorly treated) bipolar mother and a workaholic father, I can't say that EITHER of my parents were there for me as a child...even though I was technically raised in an "intact, two-parent home."   Sorry, nobody was home in that home.  It was just me and my little brother.

Needless to say, I didn't have much of a relationship with my parents by the time I was grown and moved away.  So it was startling to me when my long-emotionally absent father started writing me letters while I was at college.  Who was this man and why was he writing to me?

It took us many years to create a relationship, but decades later we have one I never could have envisioned as a child.  I ran his business for almost 15 years so we saw each other daily and got to know each other as adults.  Now, when he's in town, he eats dinner with me and his grandsons most nights and they know him far better than I ever did at their age.

Time is a gift.  We all feel guilty about past, but there's no better time to make up for lost time than the present!