<![CDATA[lenn®: Lori Ann Pryor April 27, 1976 – Febuary 22, 2005:
I am weeks away from having my first child, something I lived in fear of until recently. I was afraid that something might not be perfect, that I might have to live through this whole experience again, that I wouldn’t ever be able to handle it. I got over that this year and I am so excited to be a Dad and am ready to take all I learned from Lori and others in my life and be a better, more compassionate, more enlightened father and human being. I firmly believe that everything happens for a reason in each life. I know Lori left us when she did and how she did for a reason too.
I’m very sorry, Lenn, to hear about your sister. But I know the birth you’re about to have will be just the end of a beginning of something you will treasure, too.
I’ve been thinking about how to write about the way we are friends and family for a few days. I recently reconnected with a very dear friend and it has been a joy. My wife lost a good friend last week when the woman’s abusive boyfriend doused her with gasoline and burned her to death. We had to sit the kids down and explain why they would never see Bright, the friendly energetic woman who had started her own business and was raising two kids the same age as ours. It changed my wife’s view of life overnight, destroying the day-to-day worries she’s been experiencing as a first-year teacher; it made us sad, it gave us a greater sense of the value of each day.
Life is a wonder, even if it can all be explained.]]>