I had some photos on the camera that I am just now getting around to uploading.  Enjoy, and Happy Fourth of July everyone!

I started running in the morning before work a couple of weeks ago.  Not an easy feat at 5 a.m., by the way.  I figured this would help me in two areas: 1.) I’d have more energy during the day and 2.) I’d have a good shot at hitting my goal of 700 miles for 2008.  At about 20 miles per week, I would be right there; close enough for a last-ditch effort to pass 700.  Well, last night, the chances of hitting 700 pretty much went out the window.  It might be premature, but the ol’ knee is acting up.  I am not sure what the issue here is, but about .40 miles into my last run, something “shifted” in there.  It didn’t pop, snap, or any other of the thousand adjectives I have heard or read about knee injuries, just shifted.  I think I am going to stay off of it for a while – at least that’s what Dr. Courtney told me to do.  Looking to the positive, there is one good thing that came out of this:  I was able to cross the 200-mile mark early this week.

Janet Mary Lebeau (1936 – 2008)

Robert Tramell, a famous poet, once wrote, “A life is mostly remembered in bursts of short stories; beautifully interwoven with people, places, and events. A word, a picture, a smell can set it all in motion. And you can close your eyes and see it clearly; as if it happened only yesterday.”

Close your eyes and think about those words. We can all think back to a time when they ring true; especially when they are in relation to the memories we share of the life that was – that is – Janet LeBeau.

We each have our own individual memories. My first ones take me back to days many of you can also share: hot summer days spent at her apartment in Attleboro. Days spent sharing time together loving, living, laughing; eating lunch or dinner at Bliss Brothers; visits to La Sallete; and of course, the hours spent playing Skip-Bo, Scrabble, or Yahtzee!

As a whole, we can reflect on her reaction to our triumphs but more important, we can be comforted by her reaction to our failures. Failed classes, relationships, or some attempt at reaching a far off star were always met with a, “You’ll get ‘em next time”, “She wasn’t right for you anyway, honey”, or an “I’m so proud of you, sweetie. Just keep trying.”

As Tramell wrote, our memories – either those that are private and personal to us or those that we were blessed to share together – are memories we will take with us for all of our days. Just when we think they are gone forever, much like those memories of Gramma, a word, picture, or smell will bring us back to a time to relive those moments over and over again.

Thank you, Gram, for giving me a lifetime of memories to relive every day of my life. I love you.