Today was an interesting day.  For a lot of you, it was a typical Sunday, not so much for me.  I have not seen my mom in a while, and that is my fault for being too busy and not making the time.  Today, she, my sister, and I went to dinner and just hung out for a while.

It was cool because before my dad died, all of us would get together either on Sunday or Saturday and have dinner and just do things that families do.  So today was a pretty fun, as we ate and talked about what was going on and a good time was had.

We need to be sure to do this more often.  I’m a pretty private person, well, somewhat private when it comes to my family.  I don’t really talk about them much, and I am thinking about changing that.  It helps me to keep my focus and to remember all the good things in life.  We’re not a particularly close family, so when we do things, together, I like to remember them.

I guess the point I am making is that family is important.  Weather that family be blood relation, family by marriage, or just people you have in your life who you deem worthy of being family, they are all important people.  Never forget that.

Spend time with your family.  Get to know them if you don’t know them very well.  Family is all that some of us have, and it’s a shame not to make the most of them.

Today is Valentine’s Day, some love it, some hate it, some don’t have anything one way or the other to say about it.  I used to hate it, but lately I’ve been reassessing a lot of things in my life.  And today was a great chance for self examination and growth.

For those of you who hate this day because of the commercialism that has been added on to it, that is fine.  You go ahead and hate the day.  I used to be you, so I know some of the bull shit that you will use as your excuse.  For those who say it is just padding the pockets of the 1% who control the greeting card industry, that same argument can be made for the shoes on your feet, and the food you buy at the grocery store.  Are you going to stop wearing shoes and stop grocery shopping?  I think not.

Tonight I was reminded of what the day really means.  Wait, 1st and foremost, I have always been, and will always be a man who makes it a point to show those that he loves, that he loves them, all year long.  Over dinner tonight, and it was damn good food, I had the pleasure of some great company.  The conversations that we had reminded me of a few things.

1. Always show & tell your loved ones that you love them.  It is amazing that we forget this simple act.
2. Kiss those that you love.  And I am not talking about some long drawn out kiss where you are trying to clean out their throat, but  sometimes just a simple kiss can convey a lot of things.
3. Hug people dammit.   I love being hugged and l love to hug.  It’s a great way to convey a message to someone.  Do it more often.

The time that we have is precious.  Don’t waste it.  I know it sounds a bit cliche, but you have to make the most of every moment that we have with people.  I said it earlier, and I’ll say it again, show your loved ones that you love them ALL YEAR LONG.

My mom just called and needed my social security number.  She is going down to have her name put on the deed to the house, and wanted to try and add my sister and I while in the process.  When you lose a parent, there are a lot of things that have to be taken care of that most people never really think about.

This entire process has forced me to learn some things the hard way.  They were things I needed to learn, but this is just not how I wanted to learn them.  For those of you who have been praying and sending positive thoughts to the family, I thank you, and ask that you continue to do so.

MJJ