by TheLoveofMyLife | Dec 16, 2016 | Love of My Life
On the way into St. Andrew’s Episcopal School this morning, I was already a little wistful thinking about the fact that this was Taylor’s “last” time to be at Lessons and Carols. Maureen and I have loved this service since he first sang “Mary Had a Baby” as a 1st grader. Now, he is a senior; Kyla is a freshman; and Katelyn is a 6th grader. As we drove, Katelyn wanted to read to me her Christmas present from English class. I’m glad she did, because it is the perfect expression of the love I always feel during this most wonderful celebration of what Christmas is all about, love. Dear Dad, The love that you and mom have provided me is more important than any Christmas gift that you can buy at a store. The time that you have taken to take care of us and watch us grow up is so breathtaking. You have been by our side throughout all of our lives. You have loved me when times got tough, and taught me how to love. The Gift of the Magi is a perfect story during Christmas time, because these two characters Jim and Della are sacrificing the prized possessions because of their love for each other. They are selling their possessions in the sacrament of love. Love in a family is a major part of having a well grounded happy family. I picked three things that represent the gift of our family. A gift to me is something that I will treasure forever, like all of the memories I have cherished with mom. My favorite memory...
by TheLoveofMyLife | Dec 13, 2016 | Love of My Life
“Can you imagine what it’s like seeing life from the other side?” For those that have followed my writing for a while, you know Teo’s Gelato on 38th in Austin is a special place for me. Last Wednesday, I was sitting at Teo’s, after dropping my youngest, Katelyn, off at St. Andrew’s Episcopal School for another day of 6th grade. However, what unfolded over the next few hours was definitely not routine. For that matter, what has unfolded over the last few days is beyond imagination, but when “your heart is open wide, you’ll believe it.” And, for the last hour, I have been having a conversation with Nicholas here at Stouthaus Coffee Pub on Lamar… yes, I spend a lot of time in coffee shops! Nicholas was here with his son, Finley. Finley is only 5 months old, and as I looked over at him, I remembered “wheeling” Taylor around the University of Texas School of Law when he was this age. It was my third year of law school. It was late 1999. Taylor had been born earlier that year, at the end of January. Fortunately, Nicholas and Finley decided to move over to the couch at Stouthaus, and Nicholas and I started an unexpected, yet powerful conversation. Quite frankly, this blog post on “Can You Imagine?” would not be complete but for the many nuggets of thinking that Nicholas unleashed in my my mind. This is the power of authenticity and vulnerability. It is why I like to talk with people so much. I’m lucky Nicholas was of a similar spirt this morning. One of these...
by TheLoveofMyLife | Oct 21, 2016 | Love of My Life
It is one thing for me to tell the story of the love of my life, Maureen. It is quite another when your children tell their stories of their love for their mom. On October 21, 2016, our son, Taylor Thompson, told the story of his love for his mom in a moving homily at the same Upper School chapel at St. Andrew’s where he held Maureen’s celebration of life 2 years earlier. Taylor is currently a senior at St. Andrew’s. He has been a Crusader since 1st grade. I remember walking into his 1st grade classroom with Maureen 12 years ago. It is amazing to think he will “walk out” in just a few months, graduate, and head to college. Watching him at the podium at his beloved school, telling his story of love, was a truly touching moment for me, his father. I had stood at that podium 2 years ago, “bookmarking,” in Taylor’s words the beginning of our journey forward without my beloved wife, their beloved mother. That Friday afternoon I sat with his sisters, Kyla and Katelyn, in the front row. These words from Taylor’s Facebook post about his homily frame his tribute better than any: Last Friday, October 21st, marked the beginning of “Year Three” since my mom’s passing. The first two years were about her. They were about remembering and honoring. They were about telling her story and creating her legacy. The first couple days of the third year have been different. They have been about creating our legacy. They have been about four people and their ability to change the world. Thank...
by TheLoveofMyLife | Sep 20, 2016 | Love of My Life
2 years ago, Taylor, Kyla, Katelyn, Maureen and I were all in Chicago. We had a grand time, watching a Cubs baseball game and a Northwestern football game. We had Chicago style pizza, visited our first apartment, our first house, and the church in which Maureen and I were married. Tomorrow marks the 23rd #powdereddonutday since Maureen’s passing on October 21, 2014, and the 24th since this joyous family weekend. As a family, we’ve decided the true first #powdereddonutday was tomorrow, the day Maureen and I renewed our vows at the altar of St. Matthew’s Episcopal Church, with our children by our sides. Typically, on #powdereddonutday, I share my words, however, today, I share Kyla’s. A little something she wrote in 7th grade. Maureen Time | 7th Grade | November 2014 My mom was born on April 28, 1964, weighed 7 1⁄2 pounds, was 26 in. tall, and was born in Antwerp, Belgium. Upon her passing, my mom was 6 ft. 1 in., had brown eyes, and weighed 147 pounds, having slipped from 160 due to her cancer. She was as tall as a giraffe on good days. 37 years later, after her birth, I was born in Austin, Texas, was 8 pounds 12 oz. My favorite memory of my mom was when she was pregnant with my little sister, Katelyn. She was like an angel from heaven. My parents went in for a check up like every mother would do when they are pregnant, but they got different news. They took a biopsy and told her she had breast cancer. Like anyone with cancer, they said, “lets find the...
by TheLoveofMyLife | Sep 6, 2016 | Love of My Life
As we prepared for our “house photo” with the Carters and our homeowners at the build site at the 33rd Annual Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter Work Project in Memphis with Habitat for Humanity, our house leader made an innocuous comment. “Look at all the dragonflies.” Then, last week, sitting at my favorite Chick-Fil-A in West Lake, there was another dragonfly, fluttering, perched on the window sill right by my table. Looking at me. A few days later, driving away from our home, there was another dragonfly. This time on my windshield. Almost guiding me forward. Out of the driveway. Into my day. As I noted in my post on my way to Memphis with our son, Taylor, for a week with Habitat for Humanity from August 20-27, as we approach the 2 year mark of the passing of the love of my life, my Maureen, I’ve come to realize that my life is heading into a “new normal.” Each day is not only one more day without the love of my life by my side, but each day is a new day of a new life. A life informed by Maureen and my love. Like the dragonfly, I am being forced in see in new ways. With new eyes. With new facets. I will admit it is hard. I have always been open about my grief and about my journey. I do this both for the therapeutic effect it has for me, as well as to be vulnerable in a way that may be useful to a fellow journeyer through life, whether they have lost a loved one or...
by TheLoveofMyLife | Aug 20, 2016 | Love of My Life
I am sitting next to my son, Taylor, officially a senior as of yesterday. Yesterday was the opening chapel of the new school year at St. Andrew’s Episcopal School. His sister, Kyla, had entered the chapel first, along with her 9th grade advisory. They both passed through the doors of the Upper School chapel where their mom’s celebration of life occurred 22 months earlier (Maureen passed on 10.21.2014 after an on and off 11 year battle with breast cancer). I stood in the back, along with many other senior parents, to be sure we got “that picture,” that picture we will cherish for a lifetime, that picture of our little ones growing up, pivoting into adulthood. Taylor and I are sitting on a Southwest flight to Memphis, and I am looking forward to the week ahead and not just because we will be participating in the Jimmy and Rosalyn Carter annual work project with Habitat for Humanity. I’m looking forward to spending time with my son. In a year, this part of Team Powdered Donut, the first child of the Thompson family, Taylor, will be walking back through these same doors of the Upper School chapel, heading out, not in. Heading into his future. I’ve also been looking forward to this trip, because it comes at an important time in my own life. A few weeks ago I woke up and realized that this is no longer just one more day since Maureen’s passing, but it is indeed the first day of my new life. It is an interesting moment in the grieving journey, because it forces you to...
Recent Comments