who are you?

Up until the beginning of this year (when I had my stroke) I was pretty certain I knew who I was. I was "the kite guy", I was "the kite pusher", I was "the kitekid", I was "Gone With The Wind Kites". Now I find myself unable to fly kites and I have had to close my business.Which begs the question, Who the hell am I now?

Wait a minute, wait a minute … that's not who I was, that's what I did for a living. Like many men my image of "who" I was somehow became entangled with "what" I was. Perhaps I come upon this legitimately as my father, after 36 years in the Army, was forced to retire. My recollection is he did not deal with it very well and they had to ask him to stop coming by the office "to check his mail", something he was apparently doing on a near daily basis. Hmm ... in fact the Apple doesn't fall far from the tree.

So, if I use the same method to define who I am now I realize that I am a slightly disabled, unemployed old man, dependent upon the kindness of others, that is unable to care for himself. Holy crap ... that is depressing and certainly not something I grew up aspiring to be.