My Landmark Family

This weekend I attended the funeral of an old friend. He was 38 years old, married and had 2 kids. He was the type of guy that knew everyone and made everyone feel like they were his best friend. He just had that type of personality.

Last I heard there were over 800 people that attended his viewing and funeral. He had recently gotten his 1000th friend on Facebook and I guarantee he knew every single person, most of them were probably at the funeral. He was loved by so many. That was evident. All you had to do was look around. Every single one of us had a story to tell.

There were 2 things I learned at the funeral yesterday. 1. I don't have enough pictures of my family. 2. I want to love people where they are. I don't want to take my relationships for granted. There were so many people at the funeral that I had not seen in over 15 years. People I didn't recognize and those that didn't recognize me. People who have been a huge part of my life yet I never took the time to tell them.

If nothing else, Darrin's death brought us all back to the place we began this journey. The kind of place where time stands still. The place where we pick right up as if we had never left. There is a bond that holds us together. A bond that has kept us together through the years. We may even bleed blue and gold. Who knows?!

So, even though I don't make it home much these days, and even though we have all grown up and have lives and families of our own, I love you all. You all have made an impression on my life in one way or another. Let's not wait so long to get together next time.