When I'm gone

After reading my last post, my brother-in-law ELSALSERO asked me how I wanted people to remember me. In his case, he said that he hopes that people will remember him as a nice person who was never too busy for a conversation, and always genuinely interested in that person's well being. In my case, I hope people will remember me as someone who lived his beliefs, could be counted on when it counted, and left things better than he found them. The first part - living my beliefs - is especially important to me. When my kids were born, I decided that I wanted to be a good role model to them. In my mind, that couldn't be "do as I say, not as I do". Therefore, if I think something is important for my kids to do, I need to make an honest attempt to do those things myself and lead by example. For instance, I hope that JD and AJ will have work/life balance, be healthy and fit, have a relationship with God, and be genuinely happy. A couple of years ago, I couldn't claim to have any of those things in my life. I'm still not there 100% - and may never be - but I continue to strive for improvement each day. I owe that to my kids and I owe that to myself. As Charles Swindoll, the American writer and clergyman, put it, "each day of our lives we make deposits in the memory banks of our children."