I Remember - image 1 - student project

It was only yesterday my sons were little, and like a blink of an eye their voices are broken, facial hair is showing and so are their teenage mood swings, it has been such a wonderful yet troublesome journey.

I look back at the time I was studying while living we were living in our old house.

I remember waking up at 3 am on both the Saturdays and Sundays to complete my assignments while the boys were little, such peace and quiet, it was the only time I could focus, the rest of the days there would be children's shows playing in the background or it was family time.

I also remember how I would lose myself in the light of a candle and my thoughts would slowly drift away into nothingness, the silence was so loud and so intense was the feeling of peace; I often long to go back and live those moments again.

As I type these words, my life is flashing before my eyes, not like they say when you die but with the many beautiful pictures of how my wife and I spent our time together with our sons, and how wonderful it is to know I have them with me during these trying times - we are still in lock-down in Melbourne Australia and the roadmap out of is as murky as the leaders behind it all but we spend many weeks in our house happy together.

We are transitioning into a new chapter, the house we have built is ready, and soon we will be moving in, and all these fond memories of both the old house and our current rental are so warm and cozy, and they fill me with joy.

I am no longer afraid of death, I might not be around for long, death is something I have come to grips with, I embrace life, my life is beautiful because of the love I have for my family and also because the Almighty has shown me compassion in my darkest of hours.

I have danced with lady death many times, and I have come out on top, that is why I believe G-d has a plan for me and it is yet to unfold, don't ask me what it is, it might be related to these words I am typing; will they become part of my destiny? Who knows.

I have no more tears or sadness, I only have happy memories, and all the frustration I once felt with my stalling career have been reconciled with the little joys I have experienced day by day, including watching my dog sleep on his bed in my office when I work remotely, he is such a good boy.

I should also be grateful I still have a job, many people have lost theirs due to the pandemic, and my heart goes out to the many who for no fault of their own have lost it all, I pray every moment for divine intervention, for miracles to manifest in their lives, they need help, we all do sometimes.

I am also grateful for my recovery, a few months ago I was operated on and now I have officially beaten cancer a second time, and I am almost back to normal, running and exercising even though my left shoulder is still not right, but rather than complain, I rest, I focus, I meditate and take a deep breath knowing I will heal in due time because I am allowing myself to rest in a quiet place both in mind and soul.

I must admit, I took Dani's class because I am mapping my book, I did write one before but it did not have a positive and happy ending, even great tragedies have a silver lining, and this is what I want to do for mine - To inspire the reader to find the strength and courage against the odds, we all have a choice to be victims or victors...

I remember how my childhood was filled with trauma, but as I grew, I discovered I had the power to beat such adversity and I made a choice to become a better me, and the only way I could do that is to heal that inner child, to become my own best friend and start smiling at the world.

When I was in hospital I remember Georgine, she was a young nurse who looked after me for most of my time there, she had beautiful dark skin, she was sweet and she always had a kind word. She was like an angel to me, and she was like a rainbow in the dark. This is not a love note, but a thank you note to Georgine for being so wonderful to me.

I remember April too, she was another young nurse who shared my birth day, and turned out her father is the same age as me, so we used to joke while I was under her care.

Finally, I also remember who I really am, I had forgotten all these years but now I know who I am, my hero's journey has led me to this point, and it is a happy time in my life, yet it is a bit confronting with our new challenges but, we are well equipped to weather the storm, calm seas have never made skilled sailors and here at home we are setting sails to a new shore, we are entering a new chapter in our lives together in our new home...

Love to you all.

Louis Salguero

UX IxD and Product Designer

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