The journey of a lifetime

Over the last week of July and the first of August, I took a very personal journey back up North to my hometown and farther. It was truthfully a journey I had been preparing myself for for quite some time.
It was a journey I knew I had to take alone.
It was one of the final aspects of a personal checklist I had mentally created for my Mom and what I needed to do for her after her departure from us.
It was a journey for her.
It was a journey for me.
It was a journey for my heart.
It was a journey for my family.
It was a sort of wrap-up and closure of a very important chapter in all of our lives...even though the grieving process does continue.
It was extremely personal.
It was a re-connection to my past, to those who have made such an impact on my life, to those no longer with us, to those I had forgotten and needed a gentle reminder of. A smile always present at a fond memory. A tear in the eye on some of those memories and how they have changed...a little different because of years long gone by.
It was a journey filled with memories, both difficult and joyous. Filled with laughter and with tears, but important nonetheless.
It was beautiful.
It was incredibly tough. There were moments I had built up in my head for months and months and months, even before she actually passed.
I knew I had to do this for her.
For her memory.
For my heart.
For so many things.

I am going to share this with all of you kind of as a window into it all, but also to be able to share the importance of taking these journeys. Finding solace in the journey, each step forward, always becoming more and more aware at the pull of your heart and soul.

It is so important and I truly feel like a changed man because of this journey I just took.

It is my sincere hope and prayer that you each get a journey like this one and can experience this...the struggle opens up into something else, my friends.