August 15, 1981: From Mom…

Yes, it’s about time that I acknowledge my mother here in this creative space… and what I have found to share with you from her is also about time.

Though this project has been off my daily tasklist for awhile, I think of it often. A lot of great things are happening for me which I’m very thankful for, and increasingly, my busy days are merging into the nighttime spaces where, in the past, I’ve been successful writing creatively. Would you laugh if I told you that lately, I’ve just been too sleepy for any of that? That’s the truth of it.

The date today is Wednesday, October 22, 2008: two weeks from now, the United States will have a new president. On Monday morning, my wife and I stole a moment to go early-vote, and in my Wednesday afternoon, I fenagled a moment for a date here. Diving into my writing archive with a mind toward delivering something optimistic from an earlier time where I completed an epic task and stood ready to take on the world, I quickly honed-in on “Ask and Receive,” something I wrote on July 8, 1985, the day I was flying home after completing my U.S. Air Force basic and technical training. That poem is an artistic achievement I’m really proud of; I still find its words to be inspirational, and the memory of seizing that moment in a busy airport is something I’ll never forget.

I recently completed putting the furniture together in my new office, in our amazing home on Boone’s Park Street where every day I savor everything I’ve been fortunate enough to earn or have come my way. In my home office, the furnishings are new… for the first time ever in my life. The old ones have all been repurposed, right straight down my short family tree. With the shuffling that’s occurred to lead to this, and now having a little more handy storage space, I suddenly have easy access to some of my more obscure paperwork, which includes an old UCF folder containing some handwritten documents. That’s where I have the handwritten “Ask and Receive,” right from the airport that day, written on some Air Force stationery I bought during my two months at Chanute Air Force Base. But when I cracked open that folder, what jumped out at me was a poem written by my mom, Lila (Ridings) Darnell. As you can see, it’s dated from just over 27 years ago. This is one of many handwritten poems I have from my mom which I’ve collected in that same folder. It’s fair to say that I hold many of the words written by my mother to be as important as any I’ve written myself. Her work is so good, it set an early standard for excellence in anything I have ever tried to do in words. She is so thoughtful and bright that she showed me how writing can reach hearts and brighten them… both through her own writing, and through other literary works she has introduced me to. She has always written letters and poetry as part of carrying on with what life brings her, and the strength of her spirit is always radiant. Two last things I feel are worth mentioning here: She has maintained an upbeat optimism through every challenging situation I’ve seen her face… and finally, I think you’ll agree, she really has lovely handwriting (grin).

She’s also a lovely mother… and that she is mine, I sincerely count as my greatest blessing.

Through all of these odd pitstops along the trail of years from 1966 (when I was born) to 1981 to now, time has been many things. America will have numerous presidents over the years to come, and time will tell all eventually. For me, there is much to be proud of, and in that light, now and in the days to come, my mom has the following advice for me to keep in mind. Her gift of wisdom transcends all things past and present, and is a constant reminder to me of just how awesome a parent can be.