Script from just about every evening of my life:

• Cliff: I’m home! (Kathryn & Chase doing homework now for about 90 minutes)
• Kathryn & Chase: Hey…
• Cliff: How was your day?
• Chase: Great!
• Kathryn: (aggravated) FINE! We need to finish this page!
• Cliff: Okay, I’ll go get changed for dinner
• Kathryn: Yeah, go do that.
• Cliff: How are you feeling?
• Kathryn: I’m tired. I swear, I don’t know how I’m going to make it. Please fill my sake cup.

This morning, I don’t know why, I just felt different. Yesterday, I finished reading a beautiful book called Heaven is for Real by Todd Burpo:

Heaven is for Real

My girlfriend Beth gave it to me after this summer. She’s always good for a dose of “Jesus Juice” and I have learned to quit resisting. It may take me a while, but I always get around to reading or watching whatever she suggests. Chase started reading the book first. I was still embroiled in Shogun. After reading each section, Chase would inevitably start talking about what he had just read and I would shut him down in my attempts to keep him from “spoiling” the book for me. How dumb am I? I decided to sneak the book while he was at school so we could resume our “book club”. The book is only about 163 pages and I was able to finish it in a day and a half. I could have done it in a day, but someone’s gotta get dinner on the table.

Heaven is for Real is not going to be nominated for a Pulitzer. It is not Hemmingway or even John Grisham caliber writing. The story itself is beautiful and true. I won’t “spoil” it for any of you who might be interested in reading it, but I know you won’t regret it. There is nothing like hearing about someone else’s tragedy or even near-tragedy to make you take that extra breath before you “lose” it, to feel grateful for the things you have taken for granted, and say things you should have said a long time ago and every day since.

Script from this morning:

• Kathryn: Hey Cliff
• Cliff: Hey
• Kathryn: I want to say something.
• Cliff: Okay (suspicious & wary)
• Kathryn: I just wanted to let you know… right now… I am not feeling tired. I am happy. I am grateful for how hard you work for us and I respect you tremendously.
• Cliff: Thanks. (cue hug & big smile)

One of my yoga mentors is Jennifer Smith from Balance Yoga in Atlanta, Georgia. She has this great way of simultaneously stretching our minds and our bodies. One day she posed the question of: “What comes first? The Smile? or the Happy Thought?” Then she said that studies have shown if you smile hard enough for long enough, the thoughts will follow. If smiling at your husband causes him to shrink in fear, maybe you aren’t doing it enough. Remember remember remember.

Until next time…