Family is incredibly important to me. I am the second youngest of ten, with six sisters and three brothers. That feeling, the importance of family to me, wasn’t always the case. It grew as I matured. When younger, I took it for granted. My brothers were my friends, and we played together. My sisters, all older than me, took care of me, especially Betty. I was her “charge.”
The “charge” system was that an older sibling took care of a younger sibling. Betty bought me my first school clothes. When I was older, I occasionally spent a weekend at her apartment and spent overnights on holidays. She had always “been there” for me. Always.
While I was and am close to all of my brothers and sisters, I think the four boys were the closest, maybe because the separation of age was small. They were my first playmates, especially Jim, four years older than me, and Jeff, four years younger than me.
We had a treehouse nestled high in and anchored by three weeping willow trees at the edge of the river. But it was the green apple tree I remember the best. It was at various times a B52 bomber when we played war, or a fort when playing cowboys and Indians. It was easy to climb, and the branches were strong enough to hold all of us if need be. For the three or four of us, it was perfect.
Our big yard was home to our softball games, our tackle football games- yes, without protective equipment. We took our lumps and bumps and bruises and wore them as badges of honor, if not stupidity. All in good fun.
It wasn’t until I got my first teaching and coaching job in Wyoming that I realized just how important family was to me. At that time in the late seventies, there were three people per square mile living in Wyoming. Expansive. Somewhat desolate. Rugged, and yet beautiful. But also lonely, and it was that aloneness that made me realize how important family was to me.
For the longest time, even as I taught and coached, I considered the priesthood. That would have been a much different life, and it would have involved a much different kind of family. My consideration of the priesthood was born with my Catholic upbringing, taught by nuns, nurtured and mentored by priests, but in the early eighties, I had pretty much discarded the idea of being a priest. Pretty much, but not totally. Maybe another post on that someday.
After a coaching and school for a master’s degree in Nebraska, and then a teaching and coaching gig back in Wisconsin, one year as a counselor in Wisconsin, I moved to California. The writing bug bit me. But primarily, I was a counselor there for eleven or so years, then I became an associate principal.
It was in California that two important things happened in my life. The first was my decision to adopt a child. Being single, Guatemala at that time, was sympathetic towards single adults adopting children. But the second important thing that happened in my life was I met Kim, who also was also from Wisconsin. We had to travel 2,000 miles to find each other.
We got married and started our own family. Hannah was born a little over a year later, and one month and one day after she was born, I traveled to Guatemala for William. And then four years later, Emily was born.
We had our own family, the five of us. Even now, with Wil deceased, and with Hannah married to Alex, with their son, Mason, and the birth of Olivia about two weeks away, and with Emily married to Quaevon, it’s our family. Alex and Q might not have been born to us, and even though Wil was adopted, we’re family.
Family isn’t just defined by DNA or blood. Mostly, family is defined by love, by being together, by the feeling we have for each other- together or apart. Family is defined by the heart, by the feeling of protecting those we love and care for. That’s what I’ve come to understand as I matured, as I grew up. As much as I love the family I was born into, I love the family I am a part of now. That won’t change with time or death, with marriage or birth. Love grows. It doesn’t diminish or lessen. My family. Something to think about …
Live Your Life and Make A Difference!
To
My Readers:
All of my books are now available in three formats: Audible, Kindle, and Paperback. I am pleased to report that one month after Black Yéʼii became available on Audible, it was the fourth highest seller in the Black Rose Writing catalog. Black Yéʼii received a 2025 Maxy Finalist Award for Thriller and Suspense and previously won a Literary Titan Gold Book Award.
And my book, Fan
Mail became the third highest seller in the Audible format in the Black
Rose Writing catalog. Thank you to all who have purchased and read or listened
to my books. Don’t forget to leave a rating and/or review of my books. They
help with sales.
You can
find Black Yéʼii here:
Amazon
Link: https://tinyurl.com/25w95xcn
Barnes
& Noble Link: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/black-y-700-ii-joseph-lewis/1146257565?ean=9781685135379
Audible: https://www.audible.com/acx-promo
If you want more of the backstory to Black Yéʼii (The
Evil One) check out my previous book, Caught in a Web, which
is available in paperback, Kindle, and Audible. BestThrillers called
it “One of the best Crime Fiction Books of 2018!” It was also
a PenCraft Literary Award Winner!
You can
find it here:
Audible
Link: https://tinyurl.com/yw23zhfn
Amazon
Link: https://amzn.to/2GrU51T
Barnes & Noble Link: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/caught-in-a-web-joseph-lewis/1128250923?ean=9781684330249
Of
course, you can find all my books in all formats, their descriptions, and a pay
link on my author website at https://www.jrlewisauthor.com
If
you like what you’re reading in these and other posts 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.
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