2026 began rather horribly for me. In the space of two months, three of my former colleagues lost spouses or passed away themselves. February rolled along, and I received a phone call that my brother-in-law is now in hospice because of mesothelioma. He can’t carry on a conversation without coughing through it, can’t do stairs any longer, and has since moved in with his youngest daughter’s family. But that wasn’t the end.
One day after his birthday, my son-in-law, Quaevon, received a phone call that his grandfather had passed away. This was a significant blow to Q because his grandparents helped raise him. While in high school, Q lived with them because he didn’t want to change schools after his mother moved to a different district. And to make it all the worse, his grandmother passed away exactly one year to the day Q received the phone call about his grandfather. In the time between both deaths, his grandfather lost his home because of a lightning strike and the resultant fire. His grandfather was blind, and the new home he was living in before his death was foreign to him. For a blind person, familiarity is key and comfort.
Couple all of this to the deaths in Minnesota, the detaining of children and infants, and with many, their whereabouts being unknown.
The beginning of 2026 has been difficult and ugly. But while ugly, it is not the end nor will it never not change.
I am reminded of that each time my grandson, Mason, age two and a half, calls me Papa and asks his mom and dad when he will get to go to Papa and Ahma’s house. Or when I see my new granddaughter, Olivia, smile at me. I am also reminded that 2026 can still be a good year when I read an article or watch a video of Josh Allen visiting children in a hospital and the time he spends signing autographs and talking with kids. Many athletes do the same, but what I enjoy about Allen is that he does it with so much energy and enthusiasm. Each time an article appears, or a video pops up, it makes me smile.
There is one video I saw recently that brought happy tears to my eyes. It was of a middle school football team and what they did- on their own without their coaches knowing about it- that was special.
My wife spent almost thirty years teaching middle school kids. I did my student teaching in a middle school way back in my early career for one semester, and more recently, worked in a middle school part-time for almost two years. Middle school kids can appear to be feral at times. Hormones rage. Kids acting without thought or reason. Middle school kids can be messy at times. Not all the time, and perhaps not all middle schools. But …
This particular story I watched was a beautiful example of middle school kids doing it right, going above and beyond self to give a teammate and classmate a “moment.”
The boy is autistic and has boundary issues. He hugs everyone. The kids, and in particular his teammates, are used to it. They hug him back. Some will even see him coming and say, “Hugs!” to him as a welcoming gesture.
During a football game, the team came up with a plan, unbeknownst to their coaches. It was decided to get the ball as close to the goal line as possible and then end the play. Sure enough, at about the eight or nine yard line, the running back took the handoff and could have easily scored just by walking in. Instead, he knelt down at the one yard line. No one was around him. As I said, he could have easily walked in.
But in his own words, in a quiet voice and with tear-filled eyes, he explained, “The score wasn’t important. My touchdown wasn’t important. It was a chance to give a guy something special.”
That guy was the autistic teammate who seldom received the opportunity to play in a game. Timeout was called. The running back ran to the sideline and pushed and prodded the autistic kid onto the field and told him to run to the huddle. In the huddle, his teammates explained he was going to get the ball, and he needed to score a touchdown.
He did, and his teammates rushed him and cheered for him. Probably for the first time in this kid’s life. “It was a chance to give a guy something special.”
When I was principal at a small school in Wisconsin, there was a senior who had cancer. Because of his condition, and because of the many surgeries he had, David couldn’t play in a game. Until one time …
The coach, a remarkable man, spoke with the opposing coach and told him about David and that his team wanted to get David the ball. The idea was for David to run a simple five yard stop, catch the ball, and then he would run out of bounds so he wouldn’t sustain injury. To make it fair, on the very next play, a senior captain, a tackle, would move before the snap, causing a five yard penalty, giving back the five yards David had earned with his catch.
I don’t remember if we won or lost that night. It doesn’t matter. What mattered was that “it was a chance to give a guy something special.”
Yes, 2026 started ugly. And just as in life, 2026 will have beautiful and memorable moments, too. That’s life, isn’t it? Highs and lows. Good with the bad. Joy with the pain. It’s life. We take it, live with it, and in most cases, grow from it. Something to think about …
Live Your Life, and Make A Difference!
To My Readers:
I want to give you a heads up. I am no longer on Facebook or Threads. Someone hacked my account for the third or fourth time, and I’ve chosen at the moment to not build a new page. Maybe sometime in the future I will try again. I also have a new Instagram account.
You can connect with me, though, on Instagram, BlueSky, Substack, TikTok, and X (formerly Twitter).
My Social Media Links are:
Website https://www.jrlewisauthor.com
BookBub
https://www.bookbub.com/profile/joseph-lewis
Goodreads
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/18689711.Joseph_Lewis
LinkedIn
https://www.linkedin.com/in/joseph-lewis-67917b28/
Instagram https://www.instagram.com/thrillercrimewriterjrl/
TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@josephlewis1084
Substack https://tinyurl.com/2m5ckdvh
X (formerly Twitter) https://x.com/JRLAuthor5364
BlueSky https://bsky.app/profile/jrlewisauthor.bsky.social
I have two sales and signing events coming up for those of you
in the Fredericksburg, VA area.
On Saturday, Feb. 28, I will be at Barnes and Noble in Central Park, Fredericksburg, VA from 1:00 to 4:00 pm. I will have all ten of my books for sale and signing. I hope to see you there.
On Saturday, Mar. 7, I will be at the Howell Library (formerly England Run) located in Stafford County, at 806 Lyons Boulevard, Fredericksburg, VA from 11:00 am to 2:00 pm. I will be in the library lobby, just inside the main doors. Hope to see you there!
Of course, you can always find all ten of my books, including my
two latest books, Fan Mail and Black Yéʼii (The Evil One) on my website
at https://www.jrlewisauthor.com
Picture of Football Players Courtesy of Mike Benson and Unsplash
Pictures of Mason and Olivia Courtesy of Joseph Lewis
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Thank you for your comment. I welcome your thought. Joe