Growing up in
the Midwest, I remember the first snowfall and the first real accumulation of
snow. Out would come the snow pants, the heavy woolen socks, the stocking hat
pulled snuggily over the ears. Then we’d don the boots- with buckles, no less- pull
on the heavy warm jacket and mittens, and out the door we’d go. Growing up next
to a river, there would be the necessary cautions to “stay off the ice because
it isn’t thick enough yet.”
A snowflake on
your tongue. Snowball fights. Snow forts.
Igloos and tunnels and snow angels.
After every last
bit of energy was spent and after we were more than soaking wet, with cheeks
red and lips sometimes cracked, we’d trudge up the back stoop, strip off all
the outer gear and hang it up to dry.
Then there was
Coco with marshmallows, maybe a graham cracker or two, sometimes with peanut
butter.
I’m a lot older
now and to be honest, I’m not all that enamored with snow or the cold anymore.
That’s the reason we left Wisconsin. I
believe that unless the temperature matches my age, I shouldn’t have to go
outside. But I also know that changes in weather, sometimes chilly and
sometimes down right cold, happen, so I live with it. Barely.
Like my parents
did so many years ago, and not just with boots and mittens and stocking hats
and heavy socks, and like parents and teachers and mentors today, we try to protect
our kids from the ice and the cold. We
try to protect our kids from a lot more than that.
We build up our
kids, and we help them avoid the potholes and pitfalls that lay in wait. Heck,
we know that they’re there. Chances are, we tripped and stumbled and fell
because of one or two of them.
Each of us in
our own way and as best we can try to strengthen our kids, get them ready for
the big ol’ world outside the comfy confines of our homes . . . their homes. Some are better at it than others. But I believe each of us does the best we
can.
It’s never
easy. Parenting, like teaching, is a
tough and rugged contact sport. WWF has
nothing on us! Nothing. When it comes to our kids, any kids, I think
there isn’t one of us who wouldn’t take a kick to the head before we’d let
anyone kick our kids. I think each of us
would put ourselves In Harm’s Way before something would happen to our kids.
And when
something does happen to our kids, there is anger and a desire for swift
retribution. What is that old saying
about not messing with the cub if you don’t want mama bear after you?
And then we come
to our senses, barely, and we gather up and hold and protect and reassure. We build back up and reinforce so that the
next time . . .
And there always
will be a next time. No matter how we
prepare, no matter how we might wish it away, there will always be a next time.
So . . .
Knowing that we
can’t protect our kids . . . ourselves . . . for or from every eventuality, we
can take solace in the fact that there are guardian angels among us. Those folks who look out for us and who come
to our aid when we need it, when we least expect it, when there is no one
else. There are those guardian angels
among us who suddenly and quietly appear by our side, who are with us step by
step, and who might not say a word, but will, by their silence and a gentle
hand and a willing ear, let us know that we are not alone.
Are you a
guardian angel when there is a need? Or
do you leave that to others? Being a guardian angel takes a commitment and it
takes courage and it is sometimes messy.
Especially in this season of giving, something to think about . . .
To My Readers:
From An
Enthusiastic Reader:
“These are some
of the most amazing books I have ever read. I'm working on the last one now and
have been waiting ever so impatiently for it to come out. I started with the
prequel and the other ones were out already, with the exception of the last
one, which is now. From that book, I went straight to downloading the rest of
them and read them back to back. I couldn't put it down. If you are someone who
likes to read I highly recommend these books!”
Book Three, Splintered Lives:
A 14 year old
boy has a price on his head, but he and his family don’t know it. Their
vacation turns into a trip to hell. Out gunned and outnumbered, can this boy
protect his father and brothers? Without knowing who these men are, how many
there are, or when they might come for him? Book Three of the Lives Trilogy, Splintered Lives, is now available in ebook and paperback on
Amazon, free on Kindle Unlimited. http://www.amazon.com/Splintered-Lives-Trilogy-Book-ebook/dp/B017RFXY9Y/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1447079283&sr=1-1&keywords=Splintered+Lives%2C+Joseph+Lewis
Book One, Stolen Lives:
Two thirteen
year old boys are abducted off a safe suburban street. Kelliher and his team of
FBI agents has 24 hours to find them or they’ll end up like all the others-
dead!
Book Two, Shattered Lives:
Six men escaped
and are out for revenge. The boys, recently freed from captivity, are in danger
and so are their families. The FBI has no clues, no leads, and nothing to go on
and because of that, cannot protect them.
Prequel, Taking Lives:
FBI Agent Pete
Kelliher and his partner search for the clues behind the bodies of six boys
left in various and remote parts of the country. Even though they live in
separate parts of the country, the lives of FBI Kelliher, 11 year old Brett
McGovern, and 11 year old George Tokay are separate pieces of a puzzle. The two
boys become interwoven with the same thread that Pete Kelliher holds in his
hand. The three of them are on a collision course and when that happens, their
futures grow dark and dreadful as each search for a way out.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00MG2JAWE?ie=UTF8&at=aw-android-pc-us-20&force-full-site=1&ref_=aw_bottom_links
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Thank you for your comment. I welcome your thought. Joe