Each summer, ever since 2015, my family takes a week’s vacation together, all staying in the same house. Sometimes we invite extended family to join us, and sometimes we invite friends. Each time, whether it is just us or with family and friends, the vacation is memorable.
There have been three favorite destinations together. The most recent, and probably our favorite, is the Outer Banks of North Carolina. But right behind OBX was our trip to Charleston, South Carolina and to Pigeon Forge, Tennessee. We loved all three and a few others, but OBX is probably our favorite. It is at least for me.
We share cooking duties and grocery bills, and we share many of the same activities together. We try to stay in a house with a pool. It’s nice to step out of the house and wade into the pool, but the beach is always there for long walks and laying in the sun. Sometimes, we catch dolphins playing off the coastline. One ritual that has become a staple of our vacation is our week-long game night. Competition mixed with plenty of laughter is constant. All good-hearted fun.
While on the vacation, the first date we celebrate is Kim’s and my anniversary. We were married on July 11th in 1992 in her small village of Valders, Wisconsin, in the small church that is shaped like an up-side-down Viking ship. Appropriate, because the village is filled with Norwegian and German folk. The house she grew up in is directly across the street from the church. Of course, her hometown is small enough that everything is within walking distance.
Our family grew. Hannah was born in November 1993, two weeks before my birthday, and William, who was adopted at age seven from Guatemala, came to us one month and one day later in December of the same year. In some respects, it was like NASCAR or the Indy 500 when the announcer says, “Gentlemen, start your engines!” Our little family took off and grew. Emily was born in 1998, one month before we made the move from California to Wisconsin. Two weddings and the birth of our first grandchild, Mason William, added to our happy family.
On the night of July 11th, Kim and I spend the evening doing something together. This year, we went out to eat at a restaurant made famous on a show hosted by Guy Fieri. We enjoyed it, but I think we enjoyed our time alone just as much. There is nothing like family, but spending the time, just the two of us, is pretty special, too.
The
second date we honor- not celebrate- is July 12, the day after our anniversary.
One date is joy and the other date is painful.
In July 2014, Kim and I traveled together for a school conference to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. I was a high school principal and was asked to attend by the district, and fortunately, Kim came along. During the day, I’d attend my conference sessions, while Kim would explore the city.
On July 11th, we celebrated our anniversary with a night out of dinner and sightseeing. Honestly, I remember little of what we did that night. It was completely and totally overshadowed by what took place on July 12th.
At 12:33 AM on the very early morning of July 13th, Kim and I were awakened by a phone call. We thought it was someone trying to reach a friend at the same hotel, but we were wrong. It was the sister of my daughter-in-law calling to inform us that our son, Wil, was shot and killed at 3:38 PM on July 12th, a bright, sunny Saturday afternoon as he innocently walked down a Chicago street. Wil was unaware he was caught between one gang, determined to kill a rival who walked just ahead of our son. In fact, the intended victim used Wil as a shield in order to get away.
Wil had no chance against a .45 with an extended magazine, but it only took one bullet to rupture a vital artery. Wil died two blocks away from his new apartment.
Vigils, interviews, and Wil’s celebration of life consumed the rest of the summer, and to this day, neither my wife, a PE/Health teacher, nor I, as principal of a large high school, can figure out how we functioned in the new school year. That year was completely, totally lost.
So, two dates: on July 11th, we celebrate our anniversary, and happily so. On July 12th, we honor Wil, sadly so. Two dates inescapably entwined in our family’s life history. One happy, one sad. One joyous, one horrific. Inescapable from one to the other. Something to think about …
Live Your Life, and Make A Difference!
For My Readers:
If you like what you’re reading and find a benefit from it, you can check out my other posts on my Website at https://www.jrlewisauthor.com under the Inspirational Blog tab. You can find all nine books, their descriptions, and links for purchase at the same site.
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I
was a featured guest on the Meet The Author Podcast with Rob and Joan Carter
this past week. In case you missed it, here is the link to catch up:
Video: https://youtu.be/vw9LoS2E2t4
Audio: https://www.spreaker.com/episode/caught-in-a-web-episode-165-joseph-lewis--60723992
I have completed two edits on my newest book, Black Yéʼii (The Evil One). The cover is almost done, and I can’t wait to share it with you. I’ve received three prepublication reviews, each giving it 5 Stars! The release is scheduled for January 2025, but it will be available for preorder in a few months and I will have author copies for sale and signing. I’ll keep you posted.
Here is the synopsis for Black Yéʼii (The Evil One):
The police fabricated a story about the night four members of MS-13 died in a tiny home on a quiet city street almost two years previous. George Tokay and his friends were not supposed to share the secret about what really happened that night. No one was to know the truth. But someone talked, and now MS-13, ruthless and wanting revenge, is back in town, and people are dying.
Can Detectives Graff, O’Connor, and Eiselmann find the killers and put a stop to the killing before anyone else dies?
While you wait, check out my earlier book, Caught in a Web because Black Ye’ii (The Evil One) is a sequel of sorts.
Caught in a Web
“This important, nail-biting crime thriller about MS-13 sets the bar very high. One of the year’s best thrillers.” –Best Thrillers
“…the right blend of tension and intrigue …” -Midwest Book Review
A PenCraft Literary Award Winner
The bodies of high school and middle school kids are found dead from an overdose of heroin and fentanyl. The drug trade along the I-94 and I-43 corridors and the Milwaukee Metro area is controlled by MS-13, a violent gang originating from El Salvador. Ricardo Fuentes is sent from Chicago to Waukesha to find out who is cutting in on their business, shut it down and teach them a lesson. But he has an ulterior motive: find and kill a fifteen-year-old boy, George Tokay, who had killed his cousin the previous summer.
Detectives Jamie Graff, Pat O’Connor and Paul Eiselmann race to
find the source of the drugs, shut down the ring, and find Fuentes before he
kills anyone else, especially George or members of his family.
Photo Courtesy of Lewis Family
