If He Only Knew What Lies Ahead
He officially entered this world on November 2nd. Welcome to Wayne Edward Judy Jr., or Wejie as we affectionately call him. His first few weeks have been eventful, especially after surprising us by showing up three weeks early. Well, actually he didn’t have a choice because of complications that forced the doctor to cut him out ahead of schedule. After spending his first week in the hospital, he made the trek home where his adventure begins. My sister Joy, and her husband Wayne, are first time parents so things promise to get interesting.
New Family Addition
Several months ago I found out I was going to be an uncle for the second time. My sister Joy and her husband Wayne are expecting their first child in November. It’ll be nice to have someone sharing my birth month, or maybe even my birthday. Our family is overloaded with August birthdays, five to be exact, and another on the first of September. They had their second ultrasound and learned they are having a son. That means another nephew for me to corrupt.
Preparing for a Much Needed Vacation
It’s been a long time, seven years to be exact, since I had a real vacation. Ever since I started teaching, the time just wasn’t there to take one. Whether I was coaching, conditioning, or taking classes, something always stood in the way. This time things are different, and even if they weren’t nothing is going to stand in the way of this trip. I’m going to see my daughter with a short detour to visit a good friend. This is more than just your basic garden variety vacation. It’s a vacation like it should be with no distractions or schedules to meet, just letting things happen as they may.
I’m leaving in a few days, but I’ve been preparing for weeks now. The physical preparation took a couple days. My things are already packed and ready to load in the van. The details are worked out for taking care of Will and my aquariums. Everything’s ready and in place except in my head. The mental preparation is where I’m battling in my mind. The drive will be a breeze. I’ve made trips this long plenty of times before so it’s not even a thought. I feel like I should have a plan or strategy, but that’s not what I want it to be like. I want it to be relaxing and peaceful while I enjoy every second along the way. I live in a place now where nature has been pushed aside in the name of progress, but I’m venturing to places where nature still abounds, places where I will feel right at home. I’m going to clear my head and just go along for the ride as long as it will last.
I’m extremely excited and thankful for being invited to take this trip. I get to spend valuable time with people in my life whom I love and cherish but distance keeps away. This vacation is also about more than spending time with my daughter and visiting friends, it’s about spending time with myself and being in a better place. I’m long overdue for a cleansing of the heart, mind, and soul. This vacation will afford me that opportunity. We’ll just have to see where it takes me.
Babe’s Gift of Divine Intervention
Many years ago I lost two important people in my life, one I was deeply in love with and the other I was anxiously waiting for her arrival into this world. It left a void that could not be filled by anyone else, or should I say any person. Instead, it was filled, or at least hidden, by the love and companionship of one animal. She was God’s answer to my prayers, the one in my physical life that kept me going day after day. She gave my life constant purpose and right up until her last breath on Earth her only concern was for me, but she didn’t stop there.
When Babe left the physical world and took her place beside God in Heaven, her love for me and my unwillingness to let her go sent her on another journey to take care of me like she had countless times before. For days, I was unable to leave the house or face other people and just the thought or mere mention of Babe would send me into an emotional collapse. She was my closest friend and had listened to my innermost feelings and thoughts for many years. She knew the one thing on Earth that could bring me peace again. She knew that even she could never bring me the feeling of wholeness that could only come from having one person in my life. That all changed one day with an email and a phone call. It was only then that I knew then why Babe had to leave my side here in the physical world. It was the only way she could give me what I had longed for all those years, my daughter.
Through Babe’s will and the hand of God, peace was returned to me by the very person I had anxiously waited for the arrival of many year ago, Brittany. Over the months that followed, we took it slow and got to know each other through emails. It gave me something to look forward to each day. We talked about faith, family, friends, music, school, sports, and just plain everyday life. The more I learned about her the more I thanked God for blessing me with her. Many years of countless prayers for her had been answered and she had been watched over and kept safe. She was the perfect daughter in every way, except that we had never actually met each other. Then one day I got an email telling me that she was coming here for vacation and wanted to meet me and spend time together.
What seemed like an eternity of waiting was almost over and as time passed and the meeting drew closer I began to grow nervous, something I’m not used to feeling, but there was always a presence there to calm me. The day came as I sat on the couch with my eyes closed and feeling Babe next to me waiting. When the door bell rang I felt a rush of emotion, and as I opened the door and Brittany came into my life, I could feel Babe leaving. She had brought me this far and given me one last gift and now it was her time to let me go. The time spent with Brittany that week, however brief, made my life. Life had come full circle and I no longer had to anxiously wait for her arrival, she was here, an angel on Earth delivered to me by an angel above. The daughter I have always loved in my heart is now in my life, and while she may never understand how much she meant to me all these years, Babe always did and never forgot.
My life has truly been blessed and I thank God every day for the people around me, especially for my angels, and I know Babe is sitting beside him looking down on me as we both finally share peace. She will always be in my heart and prayers for the greatest gift she ever gave me was Brittany.
