Bittersweet Symphony

I'm absolutely swamped with work, I'm exahsted, but I need to write.

A quick note on the sweet... I'll write more about it later... The Illini are number 1, and heading out to Indy for step 1. But we already knew that. We've known that for a while. We'll see how that run goes.

The bitter note... I hate how fragile our lives are. Not just in the physical sense, but in every sense. How does one simple mishap completely alter our day, our week, our lives? And all for what? I'm not even sure. Even when the writing is on the wall, you are still shocked to see things work out, and you always fail to see the human toll, whether it be on a scale of a million or a scale of one.

One of my best friends from high school is going to be getting divorced. It's going to be nasty, I think. He has a young son, who is going to be 4 this summer. This was one of those high school romances. C and J were the first (and to this point, only) couple in our "crew" to get married. They had bought a house. C's business was going well. They had a great looking baby boy. From the outside, things looked like they were going to be just great.

But there were rumblings. For a few months, I had heard through the grapevine that things weren't good. Of course, I'm a 14-hour drive from home, so I haven't been through that neck of the woods in a few years. So, I just figured that things would work out fine. C had always been a little gruff, and it was natural that there was a little rumbling going on. Only this wasn't a little rumble.

Tonight, I finally got to talk with C. Things aren't going to work out fine. Lying, cheating, maybe even stealing. J did him wrong. And C said one thing that just stands out. "For once in my life, I can say that I was completely innocent." I just hope that he can keep it that way.
From what I heard, over the last couple years, C has grown up for real. He's become a man. He now has a son to look after, to fight for, to do right by. C's going to fight for his son. I think that he'll probably win. And I think that will be so much tougher of a task than he has ever faced. C's a man who didn't do college. C has tried to carve out his own his own niche with his own hands, trying to avoid a gift from his parents (who are wealthy). C has brought a business up from concept to execution, and has expanded to a 2nd branch. He'll do just fine.

But I don't think that he has faced anything nearly this challenging. There was something in the voice. A sober reality. C realizes that he is lost. He sounded numb, if that makes any sense. I know for sure that I this is well beyond anything that I have faced. My tough spots in life have always come without any true emotional attachment. C will be divorcing the only woman that he has ever loved. I've always put myself into positions where I know that I'll be stretched, but I know that I'll come out on top. I don't know if C is in a spot where you can even declare a winner.

I absolutely hate having to take a call from a friend where I have no idea what I can say. I don't often get emotional, but every once in a while that moment hits where you know that you need to mourn. Tonight was one of those moments. I don't know where things will move for C. I'm going to take a deep breath and just pray that C and his son emerge stronger from everything that will be happening over the next few months.

And something that I'm reminded of is that when things go awry, when things look the most bleak, there's something that's crucial to remember. You find out very quickly who your family is, whether by blood, by relation, or by choice. It's not always who your share your genes with that you're closest to.

So with that said, much love to my extended family. You know who you are.

In the meantime, I need to get back to work... no rest for the weary.

-Chairman