Enjoying The Journey

In my second book, "Choose Your Path", I talk about creating a unique journey through life. Learning from those who walked before us though never stepping directly in their tracks. I love to challenge myself along the way in life for with adversity one learns intimately of their weaknesses and more importantly of their strengths.
Getting my cancer into remission was no easy feat but it gave me and those around me proof that it was possible to do. So when I relapsed, which I've now done three times, my wife, family, friends and I believed that we could beat it again and again and again. Throughout life, it remains clear that choosing the right friends, doctors and most importantly, wife are key factors to my survival and overall happiness.
My family and bloodline are favor beyond belief. Both my father and mother came from modest beginnings and instilled in me values that I can stand by and pass on to future generations. Charles Sr. served in the U.S. Armed Forces for 25 years. Discipline, honesty and respect were coached daily. At times it was brutal to have a father who made every moment a teachable moment. Now, as a parent, I realize that his strictness was his love language and he was simply trying to protect me from and or prepare me for the pitfalls I would eventually encounter. Dorothy, my mother, a once model turned RN, was the yin to my dad's yang. The epitome of flowing like water, Dorothy can make good out of any difficult situation. She was my first call from the emergency room the night Candice and I received the news of my possible diagnosis. My mom hopped on the first flight out to Los Angeles and never looked back. She never went back to Florida. She came out of retirement to help bring me back to life and through that challenge found life for herself in Los Angeles. Within two years of landing in L.A. she became one of the most sought-after private duty nurses in the field. Taking care of high-powered CEO's, Academy Award winning actors and directors as well as past President's wives. I had a front row seat on how to turn a tough situation into an opportunity to sharpen your skills and reinvent oneself.
No one has more influence in your life than the person who you wake up with and lay your head to rest with daily. My wife has become the cornerstone of my existence. Each day a small piece of my hardened exterior gets chipped away. My father was tough so I had to be tough and my toughness has carried me through extremely challenging times but more effective than toughness at times is kindness and love. Candice is love. I've never met a person so caring about folks that most would have written off time and time again, myself included. Her love for me saved my life when she convinced me to go to the emergency room twelve years ago. Her love for me brought us back together after nine months of being separated because I was not ready for marriage at the time. Together we persisted and together we created the miracle of life. I got to know myself. I chose my path. And now I present to you the third book in my collection of poems, "Enjoying The Journey". The road has not always been straight and the topography can change on a dime, but we have to flow like water and embrace adversity. For change is growth and growing pains are temporary but the positive changes of growth can be everlasting. I wish you all well and no matter your goal in life, if you want it, I encourage you to NEVER QUIT in your pursuit to achieve it.