Please don't tell any of my co-workers, but there are some occasions when I become a sentimental old sap. I usually do a pretty good job of hiding it and I am proud to say that my reputation as a “crusty old coot” among my co-workers is well deserved and well entrenched. There are times when all that changes. Any time little Kennedy Holbrook comes around to visit me, I admit my heart turns into a big blob of jelly. There have been Hallmark Christmas movies that have had the same effect. There are also times when a song will come across on Pandora that will hit me in a similar way.
Earlier today, I was listening to one of the many music channels I have selected on the Pandora music service. I often listen to music with one side of my headphones on my ear and the other headphone placed directly behind my ear. There are a couple of reasons for this, the primary reason being I can hear my music and if someone wants to say something to me, I can hear them (although it's often convenient to pretend I don't). This particular way of music listening harkens back to my radio DJ days. Even then, I rarely had both sides of my headphones over both my ears. My headphone habits are not what conjured up an unusual level of sentimentality today. That can be attributed to a song I heard by a Christian music artist named Wayne Watson. Some of you may be familiar with his music. Those of you who aren't, I encourage you to check him out on the YouTubes. You might hear something you like.
The particular song I heard is one I had heard before, but this time, I paused and really reflected. The title of the song was “A Season in Your Path.” The song is about the people who come into our lives. Sometimes for a long time, sometimes just briefly. But every time, I think there's a purpose behind it. There have been times when people have “crossed my path” and there's something I have gained from the encounter. Other times, I feel it was the other person who may have gained something. As one line in the song so eloquently put it, “Content, at times to be the wind, and at times, to be the sail.” I have been so blessed in my life to have many wonderful, amazing people cross my path at one time or another. I am sure I will continue to blessed by many more. In a way, I can say you all have crossed my path, in one way or another. For that, I can truly say, “I'm richer for the happy and the sad; I am thankful for the season in your path.”
Okay, that's enough sentimentality for today. I'll gladly go back to being that lovable, cranky old coot so many of you have come to know; just living life here on the “sunny side.”