Random thoughts on life.

I am learning that I should post here more often. This is just the second time I have made the attempt and finding something of value to share here is quite the mental exercise. There are many things on my mind that could be shared I'm just not sure that anything I might share is worth the time of anyone who might read these thoughts.
Yesterday was Mothers Day and we had a good day together (Cindy and I). A lazy start to the day with a very slow pace all day. Over all the years we had children in the home I did not always appreciate this holiday and never gave it the thought or effort that would adequately express to the funniest (and most fun) woman I know exactly what my feelings for her are. So yesterday was an opportunity for me to make the day a little more special than it has been in years past. Without a lot of detail I just want to put it out there that yesterday was a little more special. A nicer gift was shared with my sweetheart, a lot more thought and effort was put in to planning the meals and other activities of the day. Resulting in Mrs. Mahan (Cindy) having the reminder that my feelings for her run deep, and my greatest desire is for her to be happy.

In Nicholas Sparks "The Notebook" he gives expression to my feelings in a way that I cannot,

"You are my best friend as well as my lover, and I do not know which side of you I enjoy the most. I treasure each side, just as I have treasured our life together."

"We fell in love, despite our differences, and once we did, something rare and beautiful was created. For me, love like that has only happened once, and that's why every minute we spent" (spend) "together has been seared in my memory. I'll never forget a single moment of it."

Upcoming events in the lives of the Mahan family have me thinking about the love that develops between a man and a woman that leads them to make a commitment to one another. Kelli will be getting married in a few weeks. We are very happy for them. I have observed her and Tyler over the years they have spent getting to know each other and have several thoughts to share here. Their relationship is the catalyst that has brought me here but the observations have stretched over a little over a decade of daughters and son dating and falling for and in love with those they have married (or will marry).

In "The Four Loves" C.S. Lewis wrote,

"To love at all is to be vulnerable. Love anything and your heart will be wrung and possibly broken. If you want to make sure of keeping it intact you must give it to no one, not even an animal. Wrap it carefully round with hobbies and little luxuries; avoid all entanglements. Lock it up safe in the casket or coffin of your selfishness. But in that casket, safe, dark, motionless, airless, it will change. It will not be broken; it will become unbreakable, impenetrable, irredeemable. To love is to be vulnerable."

As my children have begun to have the experience of dating and seeking to find someone to love, it has been my observation that they do become very vulnerable. Most of them have finally come to the realization that they should be good friends with someone before the romantic aspect of love should be explored. Some of them are still trying to figure out how to be friends with the one they have fallen in love with. Both roads are not easy, but the latter is the more difficult.

In "My Sisters Keeper" (no I have not read this - just love the quote) Jodi Picoult writes,

"You don't love someone because they're perfect, you love them in spite of the fact that they're not."

Only one has walked perfectly on this earth. We all have foibles and weakness and selfish natures. Sometimes it takes another to help us grow out of weakness into strength. Each of our children have had to overcome obstacles in their relationships. Sometimes of their own creation and sometimes that of their partner or another outside influence. I think all (including their dad) have grown in ways that are remarkable and each have gone down paths that are unfamiliar to me and have shown a resolve and strength that tell me that their Mother has done a great job schooling them and preparing them for life.

I'm done for now. You will find more new here soon. Thanks for dropping in.