Counting Our Blessings!

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Our brave handsome son Jimmy is alive and smiling at the dawn of 2006, and he says, "If the loss of my vision is permanent, it's not going to ruin my life, I'll find ways to do the things I want to do and enjoy life, you'll see dad."

Jimmy loves the guitar I gave him for Christmas, it was my beloved Gibson, but I prefer to play acoustic, and he likes electric, so it's the perfect gift at the right time I think.

I enjoy hearing him down in his room playing softly into the wee hours of the night, it soothes me to sleep at a time when I'm experiencing insomnia and have been very restless & worried.

Observing Jimmy's courage during these extremely difficult days has made it easier for Peggy and I to deal with too, but I realize it's still very early in a long long period of adjustment, and he is going to need plenty of support.

Jimmy's working on pumping back up that buff physique he sported a few months ago so we set up a weight bench on the deck to assist in his efforts.

I don't know if I've posted this before, but just 48 days after Jimmy's wreck, another local kid, Nathan Hoover, 22 years of age and also a carpenter, went off Forest Road 2N02 in exactly the same place as Jimmy & Lindsay did, but Nate was killed. It's a small town and we knew Nate, and his parents too, from our years at the Post Office, but the magnitude of their tragedy puts our suffering into perspective doesn't it?

We are here, we are healing, and we are thinking of you all as well...

I, for one, am hoping for a more fruitful and much less traumatic 2006!

Love,

Jim