The sky was blue and the sun was shining and suddenly clouds starting moving in, visibility dropped to nothing and the winds raged all around us.

That’s how my wife and I spent Saturday afternoon perched atop Fort Hill at Vicksburg National Military Park. As the wind whipped rain swirled, lightning exploded all around us as a sudden storm decided to darken our beautiful summer afternoon.

As we sat in the car waiting for the sun to return we talked about our week. We’ve had a rough week to say the least. Just like the storm that blew over Fort Hill, we had one rip through our lives in the middle of the week.

We’ve had a little incident that will define our family for a while and possibly for years to come. Everything seemed to be chugging along beautifully with sunny skies all around us, when like a fast moving storm our lives were turned topsy-turvy.

I must admit that the incident hit me hard and has taken my breath away. It was hard to concentrate and my mind wandered constantly. My wife’s stuck close by and just like an old fashioned wagon train, we’ve circled the wagons. That’s what families do.

My wife’s and my parents live 1,000 and 2,000 miles away and can only offer advice from afar, so we lean on each other.

Just like that storm Saturday, our storm will blow itself out and the sun will return. We’ll be a little wiser and I’m sure probably a little grayer.

The whole thing has made us appreciate our parents and what we put them through even more. We provided our share of heartache to our parents, yet somehow they continue to love us.

I know I gave my mom more heartache than I could have ever imagined. I did the same to my dad, and he still reminds me whenever he can. That’s what fathers do. Most of his heartache was because of the heartache I was giving my mom.

Families stick together and so will we.