2021 is starting to feel like 2020's evil twin. That is a more pessimistic view than you are used to hearing from me, I know, but it's been a rough couple of weeks. Last Saturday we laid my grandmother to rest. She was 83, she was joyful, and she was very much a central figure in my childhood. As my last living grandparent, it was hard to see her go. Even though I had all of my grandparents for a big portion of my life, the era when I could go have a conversation and inevitably gain some wisdom from them ended sooner than I wanted. Her funeral was last Saturday.
The following Monday I lost a good friend. Greg Mitchell was a local farmer. He had been working with me for several years hauling cattle from pasture to pasture, and to the processor. He loved life and always had a smile. If you didn't have much time, you didn't want to run into Greg. He could talk the horns off of a billy goat, but that's what made him who he was. He was generous, and always willing to help do whatever needed to be done. At only 62, Greg left us way too early, and he is already missed badly.
Don't confuse Greg Mitchell with my other friend Greg Casey, that is still in Emory on a vent. He is still getting stronger, and they are hopeful that he can come off of the ECMO machine soon.
We are still planning for a good year. Spring is coming and I'll be able to keep busy with all the work that lies ahead. The optimism will hopefully be back next week. For now, though, I'm sad. My heart feels heavy. We just never know when our time is gonna be up. Be ready. Have a relationship with the Lord. Love the people in your life to the best of your ability. Enjoy this journey, we only get one.
