I hope everyone is off and running today. Going to be cranking it up into overdrive once again today! I have lots of web work to do today, as well as several phone calls to make throughout the day. With that, one of those calls is of the fun variety, as I have to check in with legendary guitarist Michael Schenker of UFO and Michael Schenker Group fame today. Always fun to talk to Michael, as he's never really short of things to say and is always interesting. So the fun rolls on today.

Last night I spent a bit of time talking to a friend who experienced a close friend dying, quite literally, in her arms a couple of days ago. A year ago, I would never have been able to relate to that. Now though, after going through that with my dad, it just really brought back some very vivid memories. There's 2 chapters in LITTLE VICTORIES that deal with my father getting sick and ultimately dying; the two that I absolutely cannot read anymore and that hurt the absolute most to read. Still, it was interesting to give some perspective and be rewarded for it with some heartfelt appreciation for sharing what was, at it's core, one of the hardest things I've ever been a part of. As I wrote in the book, "how do you tell someone it's OK to stop existing?" It's so tough. Your emotions run wild, and in most cases, your selfish need for lack of change is your first instinct that leads to you telling someone, "fight on. You can overcome this." In most cases though, that's just not the case. I had a call with my dad before he died where we discussed him going to hospice, and it killed me to ask him if he was OK with us letting him die. It's just tough. Obviously it's toughest on the person that never comes back, but there's a huge mental stress that comes from surviving it. The best you can do on any given day though is make it through to tomorrow, and know that no matter what the outcome is, your intention was good. That's how I try to justify that time for me.

Alright kiddies...enough happy time writing from me. I really have to get to slaving. Be good, and make sure you end the day in a better place than you are right now!

Peace,

Chris Akin

Little Victories: A Tale Of Divorce Debauchery and Finding Happiness