Everything isn't coming up roses, however...

Yellow daffodils bloom in the flower bed next to the front door. The cherry tree is covered in blossoms and little grape hyacinths are blooming unexpectedly all over the yard. I'm glad it's spring and we're not approaching winter, because Brandon had a way of making it springtime with his positive attitude. The healing is beginning but it will be a long road. I'm reading a book about grief now which says that grief takes as long as it takes. It's different for every person. But loss is as much a part of life as love is, and without one, we wouldn't feel the other.

I've thought many times how easy it would have been for Brandon to sink into a deep depression and stay there, complete with the 'why me' attitude and its twin sister 'life sucks.' Although Brandon visited there occasionally (and rightly so given his challenges) he never chose to stay there. He usually called me or Chantel and we'd talk. Sometimes he worked through it right then and sometimes he didn't. Occasionally we'd tease him and call him "Eyeore" and that usually helped, but sooner or later, Brandon always came back around to be a man who was grateful for the blessings in his life. None of us will ever know what kind of courage that took for Brandon to see, as Shane put it in his talk, "the glass half-full" when he struggled with both mental and physical limitations. I'm proud to call him my son and he will be always be an example to me of how to face adversity with courage and determination.