Perspective
I went home to the woods this past weekend to attend my nephews high school graduation. Honey came with me and got to see for real the kind of community I came from. I can only assume he liked it. While I was home my mother put something into perspective for me that hadn't crossed my mind before. You see, I'm aware that I come from a poorer area, I'm aware that being raised in the country has created a pattern of thought very different from those who live where I live now. I very often preach gratitude and appreciation. I am quick to tell someone they don't appreciate what they have, you think someone is always going to be there for you. I simply assumed it was backwoods Southern raisin'. Then she said this: "You and your sister grew up with the understanding that your father was about to die at any moment." See, for us, there was no safety net. After his first two heart attacks in the early 80's the rest of his, and our, lif...