Which animal would you compare yourself to and why? So ask the Daily Writing prompt this morning.

An interesting question but one I didn’t feel like spending much time on. And I think I came across the answer on the second animal I looked up. I first thought about a cat but that isn’t it.

So I looked up the personality traits of Bears. And Google says they “are very gentle and tolerant animals. Mother bears are affectionate, protective, devoted, strict, sensitive, and attentive with their young. Not unlike people, bears can be empathetic, fearful, joyful, playful, social, and even altruistic.”

And why, well I feel I have these traits and I’m a bit of a bear to deal with according to my better half. I’ve had a beard my entire life. Well since I was very young. I’ve always been on the hairy side, not bear-like, but I do have chest hair

Like bears when I’m hungry I’m not happy. Like bears, if you think of messing with my family, remember the song title “Flirting with Disaster.” Like a bear, I have no trouble getting comfortable.

The Daily writing prompt asks – What is your middle name? Does it carry any special meaning/significance?

I’m not going to say my middle name because the only person who used that is my mother and when she did she wasn’t happy. And I want to remember her as happy.

I have a friend who uses his middle name as his name.

I don’t think I’ve ever used my wife’s middle name in talking to her. Or for that fact our children.

My group of friends is very into nicknames.

The Daily writing prompt asks – What is the last thing you learned?

I learned that looking at the daily writing prompt before I’m fully awake isn’t the best thing for a smart reply.

Okay, I’m waking up now.

Yesterday I learned that reaching out to people is sometimes extremely important to them even though you might not get a prompt reply or one at all. I’ve found that a meaningful email or text can make a big difference in people’s lives and sometimes comes back in ways that make it worth the labor of love, it was meant to be.

Find good friends and work hard at keeping the relationships alive and fun.

If you can help people by being a good friend, you’re making the world a better place.

The Daily Prompt asks “How has a failure, or apparent failure, set you up for later success?”

When I was young, coming out of high school, the thought was to continue to pursue Applied Art and Design as it was called in the day. I failed early on in this dream in the first year of college for several reasons. Most of which was a lack of confidence in myself and what I could do. It would have been hard to accomplish but really, I gave up.

And while some might not call it a success yet, I’m pursuing that dream of my life now and now there is no give up. Just a body of work I’ll be leaving my family, friends, and the masses.

Another failure of my youth was my drinking. I started too young and worst of all continued punishing my mother with a problem that my father had. One of the biggest regrets in my life doing that to her. Thankfully with the help of my better half, I got it under control in my mid-20s and stopped for a few decades. I can now have one and walk away from it.

The Daily writing prompt asks to “Describe a phase in life that was difficult to say goodbye to.

It was hard to say goodbye to the last 3 days. Spending time with my better half away in a relaxed setting and no obligations. Just ourselves to ourselves. Not that I don’t enjoy being home or with people. It’s hard to get that relaxed time to ourselves for more than a part of a day sometimes.

That’s my short-term answer. My real answer is below.

When our parents passed this was probably the most difficult phase of life and still is at times. The world changes if you have very loving parents and they are no longer there. Few know you better, are more supportive, and have unwavering love for you.

In some ways, I never want to say goodbye. When I visit my parent’s grave at Arlington National Cemetery I always stand there talking to them, updating them on events, their grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

I had to say goodbye to them at two very different stages of life. Dad died very young and therefore I was very young (9) and didn’t know how to handle it at all. Mom lived a long life but suffered from dementia late in life and as a caregiver that brought its challenges, now I find the humor in that was difficult to see at the time.

I was with them both when they passed. I never got a chance to say goodbye to my father, he was unconscious when I found him dying suddenly. I had time to say a lot to my mom while she was older before her mind started to slip and even then I would say things to her that I think she understood by the smile she had. But she was also unconscious for the last several days in hospice but I would talk to her all day long still.

Life does go on. I’m so busy with my children and grandchildren that I don’t speak to my parents every day now. Sometimes a wink or smile at a picture of them. Or I’ll see a 57 Chevy that my dad had and pause. I’ll be sorting some old things and run across something of theirs. I was cleaning my workroom and ran across an old medical kit from my dad from WWII the other day.

There is that phase where you are forced to say goodbye, but in some ways you never do.

So the daily prompt would like me to “Share one of the best gifts you’ve ever received.”

I’ve probably said before that my children are the best gift I ever received. Having children wasn’t easy for us, as it is for many people. So the appreciation and happiness for having a daughter and son is a gift that just keeps on giving.

To me people are gifts. My wife saying yes to my offer of marriage was a gift. My friends keeping my spirits up is a gift. My work friends making the job fun is a gift. And how could I forget pets who are family members that we didn’t know were special gifts?