* some of the people I talk about in this blog entry are either not referred to by name or their names have been changed for their privacy. People come into your life for a reason, a season, or a lifetime. Reason - Usually a short time. the purpose is sometimes obvious and sometimes unknown. Once that friendship is no longer part of your life, you can usually reflect on it and see the purpose, the lesson in it, and what each of you was needed for. Season - Friendships for a period of time. It usually happens because of common interests such as work (coworkers), school, the same group of friends, or whatever the connection may be once things change such as a job, graduation, marriage, divorce, death of a loved one, or some other life event, the parties of the friendship tend to slowly fade away from each other and eventually, the season ends. Lifetime - This friend will always be a part of your life and you in theirs to be part of each other's successes and failures, to love and s...

 I've been feeling the urge to write but lately, the inspiration has escaped me. This morning I was listening to my niece/friend Barb's Facebook live and she talked about a loved one of hers who for a year or so hasn't heard from her adult child nor does she know where her child is. This made me think of the longest and scariest five minutes of my life. I was about 28 years old, shopping in a little second-hand shop with my youngest son, Jacob on my hip, and my four-year-old son, Seth by my side. While browsing through the baby clothes, I could hear the bells that were attached to the door of the little shop ring with customers going in and out. Each time I heard the bell ring, I would look to see who was coming or going. With the baby still on my hip, reaching for the hanging clothes, Seth sat by my feet playing with his little wrestling figurine. As I continued to sort through the clothes, I was still aware of the bell of the moving door, but I stopped paying attention to...