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As much as I love my sons, my wife is my number one priority! My
Family and the Art of Love wife and I made vows together and have watched those vows become
our guidelines to a beautiful relationship. I would say we are a union
Pat Patterson
of two great forgivers! As parents we are the bows who bend and let
our children (the arrows) go swift and far. “For even as he loves the
When I was a younger arrow that flies, so he loves also the bow that is stable,” Kahlil Gibran,
man, I thought that the The Prophet, 1982. My sons brought back the arrows to us in the form
love of adventure was all of grandchildren!
I would ever need. Why
would I get married All these years later, you might think being free to enjoy life’s adven-
when I found love in ad- ture once again, free to travel the world, could be all you would hope
venture and discovering for! Well, grandkids are pretty good motivators to stay closer to home.
life with my buddies? When they hurt, you hurt. You laugh, play, train, teach, and dance
Yes, I did have female with their imaginary friends, then send them home with hugs and kiss-
friends and occasional es and “until next times.” The love does not stop once your family
romances, but those grows up around you, not even when you are no longer around them.
Pat & Cindy Patterson Family were short-lived. Our families become our future legacy, sharing our thoughts and ad-
ventures. Sharing our love. As Mahatma Gandhi said, “Where there is
As time passed, I found that most of my social sphere were getting love there is life.” One of the things I treasure at the Club at West
married, and the limited romances I engaged in became few and far Park is meeting others whose lives have been filled just as full of ad-
between. However, my love of adventure and discovering life’s sur- ventures, family, and love-- truly the most precious foundations to
prises had not diminished. One of the most demanding and surprising build a life upon.
adventures was going down to the bottom of the Grand Canyon at
Phantom Ranch. My friends and I would gather our fishing gear and P.S. “You are led, when you share your loves, to an enchanted life of
head down a couple days before New Year’s Day! Fishing in the inner happiness, which unsharing others cannot know,” Richard Bach,
Phantom Creek off the Colorado River was great but the hike in and Messiah’s Handbook, 2004.
out was daunting.

We did that hike with many friends over the years. After a while, I
found something was different -- I was getting lonely. Sure, boat
camping in the upper portion of Lake Mead every summer with girl-
friends and all those buddies were great times. We played guitar, sang,
drank, and laughed until dawn! To make it truly fun we left all our
dogs and kids at home and we became the kids once again drinking
and dancing all night! I loved that rule because I did not have any
kids!

I had an epiphany while living in Ventura, California, enjoying scuba
diving and photography at the local college. As a safety diver for the
college dive team and search and rescue diver for Ventura Sheriff De-
partment. I realized I needed a partner. No, not a good ol’ buddy but
deep partnership, maybe with one of my girlfriends. I found her and
fell in love. Our adventure had just begun together. But something Ralph & Ann Jahr Family Joe & Rebecca Wicker Family
was missing. Yes, you guessed it, those kids I once thought were so
annoying...

Three boys later and the adventure begins anew! Campouts, boating,
roasting marshmallows over the campfire. Our sons added a new dy-
namic to camping I had not found with my buddies at our “childless
retreats.” “When you learn what this world is, how it works, you auto-
matically start getting miracles, what will be called miracles,” Richard
Bach. Yes, these boys were our miracles. I can say that--now that they
are all grown up and have families of their own. Bringing up three
boys was a challenge, one filled with both tears and triumphs. Our re-
turn on investment of sleepless nights, diaper changes, and the occa-
sional E.R. visits worked out alright: our boys grew into champion
athletes, talented musicians, and most importantly, genuinely good
men. We were also proud as they each walked the stage with a high
school diploma, and four years later went on to graduate from college!
Our family cried together, grew angry together, laughed together, but
most of all we found that precious deeper level of love together. Roy & Yvonne Vanoni Family RaeDeane Woods Family

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