My world seems to be tumbling down around me. My father is very, very sick… my family is extremely tired… business is difficult due to the world economic crisis and a city I love had and attack on it yesterday. (The police chief and two others were gunned down where my parent’s live.) It’s as if all of my dreams, hopes and ambitions are being suffocated.
What do I do? I could give up! But that’s not an option… I’ve been in this position before in life… in some ways. What happens when things seem hopeless? What are our options?
Right now I’m very sad! It would be very easy to give up, to not have hope. The problem is that I have dreams! I’ve made so much progress towards my dreams and yet I have some obstacles still to over-come. I have people that are relying on me… People who now have jobs that didn’t before!
I have some one in particular that I want to hire… She’s in a wheelchair. I haven’t met her, but she came to interview while I was with my family. Mary, my office manager, was very impressed with her. Unfortunately we just had started a new program in conjunction with the government and all of the slots had been taken. She took a taxi to visit us. This had to be a stretch for her financially. We’re about 20 miles from her home town. She’s able to take the bus if I am able to hire her. Mary was deeply moved by her desire to want to work. Giving jobs to disabled individuals is a major part of my dreams and now Mary’s dreams as well… I currently have around 22 employees… around 10 have disabilities.
In some ways I’ve never been so scared… everything in my life seems precarious and fragile. Right now things seem impossible, but yet on the horizon there are many positive things… 2009 could be the year that everything changes! The question is… can I make it that long?
Life is always interesting and challenging. I always say… if it was easy, everyone would do it!
I’ve never lost a parent before. Every one tells me… no matter how prepared you think you are… you’re not.
How do you keep your dreams alive? How do you maintain hope when things seem hopeless? It’s about faith. It’s about perseverance. It’s about stubbornness. The most difficult thing for me right now is to just do what needs to be done. There’s so much to think about… so many memories. My life is getting ready to change forever…
It’s easy to feel sorry for ourselves… In the last two months… I fell and broke my arm, we experienced the hurricane in Galveston, my Dad has been very sick, business is almost non-existent, a town I love is wounded and I’m sure there’s more if I think about… but these are the highlights.
OK… some things have happened in the past couple of months that seem overwhelming. It’s called life!
There have also been some good things that have taken place… in the midst of my Dad being sick, the whole family has spent time together… and we’ve been able to be ourselves, enjoy one another, have family arguments… but most of all be together and be with my Dad.
Next blog… more about hope, maintaining dreams!
(Some of my dreams are listed in the Mission Statement listed on the right hand side of the page.)
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2 comments:
You're too stubborn, Charlie, to let the world get you completely down. The pain and bad times exist to make us all appreciate and savor the good times, and life will get better. Just remember that you've still got your sanity and good humor -- and that no one can take that away from you.
Sometimes Charlie life is just too sad. Your post brought back so many memories of my own father dying before he should have or better, dying before I wanted him too. I remember leaving the hospital and people were going about their lives. For several minutes I was a bit angry at it because something so important was happening to me that I wanted the world to stop and recognize what I was going through. Nothing stopped. But I will always remember the kindness of people who knew and said something and didn't pretend that it was life as usual for me. So I am sorry. There is nothing else one can say other that perhaps you need a pair of those slippers Deb is selling to catch a few tears.
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