This Is Home

Bad days. We all have them. Watch this video. 5 minutes of your life well spent - trust me.

My dad in Vietnam On September 1, 2007 my father passed away from ischemic heart disease , which is a fancy way of saying his arteries were so blocked that blood couldn't travel back to his heart. It's been six years since his death, but the wound was ripped open last year when my mom and I found out his death was tied to his military service in Vietnam. It's not fair, I lamented, It's just not fair.  Agent Orange, which was an herbicide used by the U.S. military in Vietnam, has been linked to the deaths of many veterans. The official list of health complications includes 14 different diseases, but ischemic heart disease didn't make the list until three years ago.  The heart wrenching part of all of this is that several individuals have told my mother that the doctors knew  Agent Orange was the cause -- they were simply told by the government to keep it under wraps. Awful. I'm not all about debating government conspiracy theories, but that was compl...

This year has been a time of adjustment.  My home. My job. My friends. My church. I've held on, and I've let go.  I've stumbled, and I've grown. With a few weeks separating me from 23, I continue to dream. If only's, what if's, I hope's. . .  They each follow their beaten paths in my mind.  As I lie awake, I painfully realize that the old adage rings true. It isn't until something is gone do you wish it to be yours.