“Take chances, make mistakes. That’s how you grow. Pain nourishes your courage. You have to fail in order to practice being brave.”  – Mary Tyler Moore

“If you have made mistakes, even serious ones, there is always another chance for you. What we call failure is not the falling down but the staying down.” – Mary Pickford

Some of you know my brother, some of you don’t, either way it doesn’t matter. What matters is what he has accomplished today. There is no need for me to air too much on the world wide web about his past but I will go on for days about his present and his future. Throughout the past 7 months he has been turning his life around and making the most of a second chance. There are many people that say there is no such thing as a second chance, and I disagree 100%. It’s what you do with that second, third, fourth chance. Moore is right, it’s how we grow, it’s how we learn and become stronger and braver than we were before. Pickford is right as well, failing isn’t falling down, it’s staying down.

Well my brother could have stayed down this time. Shoot, I can’t say I wouldn’t have if I were him. But he didn’t. He has gotten up, all on his own, and the progress he has made mentally and emotionally is awe-inspiring! He’s the only man I have left in my family and I am SO glad to have him back and in a great place in his life. I know he will only continue to rise from here and I can’t wait to be a part of his journey and see how he grows into the man I know he can be. We all make mistakes, take difficult paths, go through painful  experiences, but they don’t define us and we shouldn’t let them. They help to teach us about life and make us courageous well-rounded human beings. Without pain and challenge there can be no reward. I love you Nate and I can’t wait to be a part of your next chapter! Congratulations and Stay Strong!