Hey!

 One afternoon, we were traveling back home.  Home is Aiken, South Carolina, where my wife and I grew up.  We are both from small towns outside of the city we still call home, 26 years later.  On this afternoon we had our young daughter in the back in her car seat.  One of us sees a sign "Hay for sale" and begins to break the silence with "HEY...HEY...HEY!" and a pause to end with "Hay for sale."

Now that we have other life distractions and at times get lost in our own thoughts, we still have a daughter that will break the silence after visiting sick and aging family over this holiday long weekend by announcing Hay for sale.

At times in your life you will not  be able to feel happy.  Times will seem overwhelming.  But when you have a moment, make a moment that might last a lifetime.  That first moment was about a dozen years ago.  She is  now 17 and it was a breath of fresh air to get away from my current thoughts of life, work and making decisions on where the next five to ten years of life need to take us, when she said from the back seat, "Hay for sale!"

Maybe fifteen years from now when she has a husband and family we can go on vacations together and she will start that with her family.  Maybe I will be a grandfather for some time and I can surprise my grandkids with the Hay for sale fun we started with her and she has enjoyed to continue.  It is simple and silly, but always lightens the mood.  I do not remember who was the first to start that moment but I am glad we all three own it as a family and share the quote together.  It was such a great thing to have after my daddy passed away; I like to think it has also helped to get my wife through such a time as this with her mother and father passing away in the time span of 14 months of each other.  It is not always the best of times, but make them and share those best ones during the worst. 

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