Happy Birthday Stewart

Today is my little boy's twenty first birthday.  I know that everyone says it, but it bears repeating.  Boy, the time sure does go fast.  I don't like to brag, but he is a wonderful young man.  Thoughtful, caring, intelligent, athletic. sense of humor.  On second thought. I do like to brag.....

I've been thinking lately about what Stewart has meant to my life.  It got me to thinking about what Teddy Roosevelt said when he was asked about going on an hunting trip after he was president.  He said something to the effect that it was his last chance to be a boy.  And that is exactly the way I feel about having Stew around here growing up.

I started to remember all the things I would have never done or learned about if Stewart and his sister Aleah hadn't come along.  I would have never known Elmo,or the Count or Gina or Hooper.  I would have never known Fred Rodgers or Mr. McFeeley.  Or Bill Nye.  I wouldn't have known what the Magic School Bus is, or Barney.  Would have never spent so much time in the parks or on playgrounds.

I doubt if I would have ever gone to a soccer game.  Must have been to well over a hundred by now.  I probably never would have gone back to the zoo, or the museum, or the Domes.  I never would have went to a train museum.  And the trips to Chicago for Science and Industry, or the Field museum, or the planetarium, or the aquarium.  Never.  I would have never gone back to Disney World......

I got to be a Cub Scout again.  Oh, Stew was the scout, but I was the "Den Mother" and got to do all the stuff with him.  He was a better scout than I was.  And what about all the family vacations we took.  Probably wouldn't have gone to half the places if the kids hadn't been here.

And then of course there were all the athletic events, from rec to select teams to high school, and all the other stuff in high school.  I had the opportunity to do some coaching.  Met some interesting people.  Never would have went to a track meet.  Never would have went to a band concert, or to a band revue.  All things that have made my life so much richer.

And it has continued in college.  I think a trip to St. Louis is just a short jaunt now.  I get to follow his track team, just as I did his high school team.  I got to go to the Drake Relays.  I've driven like a maniac for five or six or twelve hours to watch him run for two minuets at a time.  All worth it. 

I continue to be impressed with what a fine person he is.  I never got a call from the police, or from school, or from another parent with some kind of problem.  He knows what he needs to do, and just does it.  He actually is the person I wish I could have been.

So here is my birthday wish for you Stewart, on your twenty first.  I know all your work will pay off someday, so I'm not going to wish that for you.  And I could shower you with material things, but you never were much for that type of stuff either (good for you).  My birthday wish for you will be that one day you have a son much like yourself, one who enhances your life as much as you have mine.  Love you, Dad

Do As I Say, Not As I Did

I had to go back to my first posting to kind of get my bearings back on the ol' blog.  That being said, a little bit of advice to my younger friends....

A long long time ago I was in high school.  I was just an average student, maybe a little above.  As they do in high school, they eventually got around to asking me what I thought I wanted to do with my life.  I told them I wanted to teach high school history.  To this day I remember what Dale Hayman, my high school guidance councilor told me.  "Take it from a history teacher, you'll never find a job".  I'm sure he thought he was doing the right thing, but what a pompous little man.  And I was a fool for listening to him.  I ended up drifting through college, graduated with my history degree, but not my else.  Should have gotten the teaching degree.

I am a mailman.  I got very lucky finding a job that enabled me to help support my family.  The benefits and schedule and vacation time has enabled me to enjoy my children, see America and to be able to see a pretty good retirement on the horizon.  But it is just a job.  It is boring.  There is really not much thinking involved, basically just the same thing day after day.  At least I don't hate it.  I get to interact with different customers (for good or bad) everyday, and I am outside quite a bit, so there are some things to be said for it.  And as for being something that was just temporary for me, it's too late to change now.

Which leads me to the points I want to make.  Everyday I see people trudging to their jobs in various offices and stores.  I talk to people that really hate what they are doing.  They don't want to be there.   Now I understand that sometimes you need to do what you need to do.  Good jobs are hard to come by.  That being said, I would suggest that you had better find something to do that you enjoy doing.  If you are indeed lucky, you will be doing it for 35 or 40 years--or more!  It is a long time.  Your life will most likely be happier earning a living doing something you like. 

So do some research, then listen to yourself.  If you want to teach, teach.  Be a banker, a chef, a salesman, a doctor, a plumber or soldier.  Do whatever YOU want to do.  Work at it, stay with it--you will be successful.  But try to do something you'll be happy doing.  May be one of the secrets of life......