Welcome to my website.   This site is for the friends and family who want to follow my journey of creating this book.  It is complete and being marketed for publication.  THE WILL TO LOVE is 62,000 words (230 pages) and spans the 46 years after mom was paralyzed from polio, during desegregation and the free thinking 1960's.  The personal essays and narratives begin with an overview of our family life and annual holiday celebration.  These stories would appeal to readers of Erma Bombeck or Jane Porter, with their deep humor and touching reality. The devil is in the details through the middle of the book.  These details include chocolate and finger exercises, a visit to a healer priest, when the nuns became militant and stopped wearing habits, wedding dramas of five children and a feud, that was horribly polite, but lasted 19 years, the rest of my parents life.  During their retirement years, the exceptional romance between my parents really bloomed.  As my dad stated once, "I'm a lucky man because no matter how mad she get at me, I still get to undress my wife every night." Thanks for visiting and happy reading!    The Will to Love     True tales of my sittin' mom From grade school to grandchildren, through funerals and feuds, with self-control and chocolate.   The ultimate love story took place in Cleveland, Ohio for over 46 years.  During my life, I got to see it –  more up close and personal - than the hundreds that learned about hope and commitment from my parents’ 57 years of marriage.  Mom was paralyzed from polio at the age of 31, regaining only the use of her right arm.  That was when she became "A Sittin' Mommy" and continued to raise her five children and run her home as a quadriplegic.  Even in retirement Dad considered Mom's daily care as worth it, to have her as the primary joy, in his life.    Let me introduce you to my mom and dad, Mary Lou and Richard. It's a love story and more.   They lived "every day is a beautiful day" no matter what life tossed their way.     "The Will to Love" frames their years, events and days.  My objective in sharing is to give you the chance to enjoy your life more and get a peek at two very human saints.  My mom and dad had a marriage that was so supportive and adorable I’d almost welcome total paralysis to feel it for a moment.  But they also raised me not to be stupid; any morning I can roll out of bed, stand up and walk is a good day. To some, the idea of living life as a quadriplegic in a wheelchair is as close to a death sentence as one can get, but to my parents, it was just another bump in the road.  This memoir is indeed a real life horror story, but written with the flavor of Erma Bombeck, every story is infused with hope and humor.  I am so pleased to be able to share my story with the world and I hope that its life lessons, humor, and hope will inspire readers just as it inspired me and my family. This story will speak not only to Catholics, but to anyone who believes in everyday heroes (Thanks, Dad!), miracles, the strength of family and most of all, true love. Mom and Dad lived with joy, no matter what, so even if events of my parents' life together seem to be examples of keeping your glass half-full while it’s being continually dumped out, they always had a reserve of love that instantly refilled their “cup” to again “runneth over with the abundance of grace.”  It is a continuing journey to hold true to what I know is possible.  For my parents, life was a daily renewal to achieve the impossible.     Thanks to my friend and artist Gale Herman for the picture of Two Roses on the Wheelchair Wheel.  She sat and listened to me for an hour as I tried to describe the image, then brought it to me a few days later.