Are there lilac trees, in the heart of town?

Today is a dear friend's birthday; and it is also the same day my father passed away in 1997.

Happy Birthday to my doppleganger girlcrush Allie

My friend was born a little bit before 1997, but this date is always a tug on my heart. It is a tug on my heart because my family is splintered, my parents are gone, 3 of my siblings have died,

I am left with two sisters who for some reason have excommunicated me from their family love. I am no longer invited to any family event that they are concerned with, and if I attend a play my sister accompanies, she acts if she does not know me. If I try to help my sister who is not in good health, it is a struggle between my love for her and her love for opiates. Today is the perfect example of how we -- and when I say 'we' I mean ''me'LOL – – need to let go of the past, hold onto the things that are precious, and love one another.   

My brother who has come to live in Lexington in the last six months has been away for over 20 years. He was happy in Hickory, North Carolina, but he was convinced to come here and try to reunite with his teenage son. When when that did not happen as it was supposed to, Addison was thrown out on the street, and told to go to the Hope Center, where he lived for a few weeks until we found him a living situation. He's now working, happy again and on his way to a better life.

As it turns out, I am now his advocate. As it turns out, now I am the one given the opportunity to help him and give him a hand up. As Fate would have it, somehow the good Lord has brought both Addison and I through this terrible storm in our family in the last year since my brother Tom died. I am so grateful.

Thanks be to God for giving me a backbone; it bugs a lotta people;
it has fortified my belief  in kindness, justice and truth.

Peace y'all and thanks for reading all this...and Happy Birthday to Allie!

Kimmy