FROM THE HARD TIMES TO THE SWEET TIMES

From Bears (Barry Neil Kaufman):
WHEN I HELD HER HAND,THE TOUCH FELT LIKE HOME. When I looked into her eyes, time became timeless. Today, yesterday, now, forever. Through the soft focus of my eyes, she looked no different than when I first gazed at her, at 17. Now 50 years had passed & we made our love endure & grow bigger. Why? Because we took ownership of our own confusions, unhappiness and expectations. Because, we worked diligently on becoming students of ourselves even as we faced challenges. Because we stayed the course, as imperfectly as that may have been, refusing to give up on ourselves and each other, even as we faced the challenges of autism, of adopting children from situations of trauma, of raising a rainbow family of awesome kids as we reached out to help other individuals, families and children. The Option Institute. The Son-Rise Program. The Autism Treatment Center of America. The sky above, the earth below, the sun and the moon, the comings and the goings.

Five decades. 50 years, this year. It feels like we are still beginning. Like infants so excited to learn more and keep growing. But none of this could have happened without that first look into her blue-green eyes, that first kiss, without the dedication to work through the hard times to find the sweet times...and now, times sweeter than I could have ever dreamed. I have been so hugely blessed to hold hands with my bride, my girlfriend, my best friend, Samahria, who has taught me so much about love, laughter and deep caring for those around us.

All these years, in this moment, seem no longer than a single flash of light in a midnight sky -- on a warm summer night -- just like tonight. The sky above, the earth below, the sun and the moon, the comings and the goings. What we all have is happening right now -- and now -- and now.