Dear reader,

At a certain stage of adult life many of us find a unicorn-person that’s apparently real and not imaginary, and appears to be the perfect wing-person with whom to negotiate the minefields of life. We pledge ourselves to that person and embrace an amorphous mixture of independence and dependence. Marriage balances the fusion of psychic energy and clairvoyance along with physical resources added to the communion. As we focus on that one beloved, we shed our buddies and pals and let our “growing up” family take a step back into the shadows. Eventually we form our own individual family and nurture an ever budding ecosystem from all the new life evolving in the amalgamation.

Later, it is our turn to step into the shadows as our progeny take flight and thus the circle of life begins anew on a different plane of time. In the shadows, we realize that we still play an important role in the continuum.

We can gently guide and influence our children and grandchildren, hopefully mitigating some of the vicissitudes they face in life. One can be proactive in this capacity by imparting some of the wisdom we have collected over time when visiting, in our cards and letters and at key events in the lives of those loved ones.

Patrick Wood

Publisher