I hope you had the same magnificent weather on this Monday’s Memorial Day that I did. It was a porch-sitting day for sure with a soft breeze, low humidity, and blue skies. Lawnmowers were a soft backdrop to the voices of children I heard playing in a pool across the way, birds were singing to their new little ones in the trees, and a baseball game’s cheers were heard in the distance. It was a great time to just reflect on how I wanted to spend this coming summer. Have you set goals for the summer yet? I did.
My thoughts turned as always on holidays to time spent with my family when I was growing up and our Memorial Day traditions at Smith Mountain Lake. With two parents who were WW II veterans, it goes without saying there always were flags flying near the dock, stories about their memories of service to others during the war, and our day was always culminated by a family cookout. Dad always asked about school or my work and Mom always asked about the children and how I was managing school, work, and children.
As I prepared for our picnic this first weekend of summer 2015, however, I remembered how on holidays and throughout my life, I was learning my family’s values and traditions. My previous life’s traditions motivate me to this day. How about you? I always thank my family in my prayers for teaching me about how important it is to serve and to help others less fortunate. They also taught me how important it is to
work hard and how others are less fortunate when they are out of work. They especially taught us that if you have a goal you can achieve it if you plan and work hard and that it is a waste to let time, your life, your career just slip by. So what did you learn?
Beyond how to celebrate a holiday, what dreams and traditions did you inherit from your family? Are your thoughts about work related to messages you learned from your youth? Do you want that promotion because of your parents’ expectations of excellence from you? Has your self-esteem suffered because you do not earn the salary you
expected when you went to college? Do you think about retirement more now because it was what you always planned on doing at your age? Are you thinking about how to stay active and engaged in the community now that work is not your first priority? Join the club. Summer was announced to us all on this week’s Memorial Day. What are you
going to do with this time? Let me know about your goals and dreams.
Best of Luck this Summer. Kathy