Life’s a Dance…

This week’s musings were inspired by an old song I heard last week by John Michael Montgomery, who is also one of my favorites. I’ll share the song to help you follow along with my thoughts as I travel back in time…

While listening, I started thinking about all the different dances and dreams I’ve pursued in my lifetime. The earliest I can remember was the original plan to be a professional basketball player. Having a grandmother who was 4′ 10″ (on a good day), my genes were working against me. My mom once worried about what I’d do if I grew up to Granny’s height. My dad replied, “Well, the world needs jockeys!”

In the early 70s, the average height of an NBA player was 6′ 4″, so that became my goal. I read all the biographies of players from that era, and Pete Maravich became my favorite. Back then, we only got three TV stations from our rabbit eared TV. So, if I got to watch one game a week, I was lucky.

Getting cut from the 7th and 8th grade teams didn’t discourage me and by the time I was a freshman, I was a starter and on my way. I went on to enjoy a good high school career, but when KP outgrew me and became a better basketball player, I knew those dreams were dashed. I really didn’t have a backup plan, so it was off to college to play a little football and hopefully figure things out along the way (by the way, I ended up at 6′ 2″).

Through college and most of my 20s, dreams were hard to come by and mostly unrealistic. Growing up was turning out to be harder than it was supposed to be and left me wondering if I could just go back to school – forever. Jumping from job to job, I never saw a future in anything I did. At least one of those choices brought me to Chicago where I found hope again and my dreams began to flourish.

It took a year, but when I found myself in the bar and restaurant business (the “people business”), dreams began to form again. More and more locations with an even bigger house, nicer cars, and fancier clothes drove me forward. There was just one thing missing as I plowed forward…a partner.

When Amy came into my life, I realized the dreams I was chasing were not a good life plan. They were great for the day, but also very selfish and ultimately unfulfilling. Not being a very good dancer, I had now met a partner willing to take the time and teach me the steps. It was time to Pivot!

Early on, Amy started uncovering what I really loved…traveling, mountains… and on a cruise to Alaska, she saw my passion for horses. While on a horseback excursion up into the mountains, along a roaring river, her dad pulled her aside and said, “This is what he needs to do.”

A little more than a year later, Double Lucky Ranch came about, which was supposed to be the prelude to our goal of building our retirement property out west. We were told early on that the best way to make a million in the horse business is to start with two. This turned out to be very true for us, so it was time to learn yet another dance.

And then October of 2023 came along… Thoughts of hiking a mountain were replaced with the reality of possibly needing to build a wheelchair ramp. Taking in fresh pine air was replaced with the possibility of breathing through a ventilator. Growing old with Amy was replaced with the thought of me not even making it to 65. Having ALS sucks. Having your dreams crushed is just as bad. If I wasn’t going to have years, I became determined not to waste the days.

When I first fell in love with Amy, I once wrote her in a card: “I never thought that forever would be too short a time to show you how much I love you.” Now I was faced with two to three years to make that happen and looking forward toward the future became looking forward to only tomorrow.

Here we are – two and a half years later. Our dance has extended longer than we could have conceived. Our dreams have sprouted again. Horses are no longer a part of our lives, but we always travel to the mountains at least once every year. And one thing that will never change is a long-range view of the western sky from the back deck.

The new vision for what lies ahead has transformed from a hundred acres with horses in the pastures, to a couple of acres in a mountain subdivision. We’re heading out soon to look at property in the Smoky Mountains. A place to build a dream home with that western sunset view. A piece of land like this ought to do the trick…

It’s taken more than a few blessings and a couple of miracles to get us here, but here we are. Thanks to your thoughts, prayers, well wishes, and good vibes, I’m able to envision what it would be like to write with this view. (I bet it will make me a better writer!)

And I’m planning to learn a couple of new dance moves to keep Amy entertained in my old age, since she’ll remain forever young.

This week is coming to a close and so am I. It’s great to be able to share with you my visions that go beyond next week. Find joy wherever you can, then share it.

Have a great weekend.

God bless.

Coach