Turning Point

There are moments in our lives which serve as turning points. We may or may not recognize them at the time, but eventually we look back and see the significance in those moments.

I want to share one of my turning points with you here. It was Valentine's Day about 16 years ago.

My church was having a Valentine's Day dinner. Of course, it was mostly for couples, but it was open to everyone. I went, despite the fact that I was neither married or even dating. At one point in the evening, they opened up the microphone for people to get up and offer some words about the person who meant the most to them. Husbands got up and waxed-poetic about their wives, and vice versa.

For me, it was an opportunity to publicly acknowledge the love I had for my parents.

I clearly had love for my parents, so that's not what this is about. Until that time, I had been trying to run out from under their identity. I had always been "Ed and Sarah's son". I had done many things, gone to many places, had many great triumphs in my life. But it always bugged me that no matter where I went, they weren't "Corey's parents", but I was lost in their idenity.

But it was this night that I really began to embrace the honor that it was to be identified with this extraordinary couple. I don't recall the things I said. I am probably the only one who remembers that I even spoke that night. I just remember that that particular evening was a turning point in my life, and my relationship with my parents. We've never been the same since.

In the final days of my mom's life, I am thankful that it's not some mad scramble to think of all the things left unsaid. This isn't a time of clearing the conscience. It's a time of togetherness. The bond we've built over the past 16 years has made this time what it should be. A time of thankfulness. A time of reflection. A celebration of life. An appreciation for a life well lived.

As a soon-to-be 44 year old man, I am honored to be Ed and Sarah's son. Long after they've both left this world, and even after I have, it's my dream to be remembered and thought of as being the product of these two amazing people. I have been so blessed to know them, much less be their son.