No fancy graphics here. Just a few points to remind myself of as I finish up some time off and think about finishing the year strong.
My family and I go to Vermont for a week. We go to the Northeast Kingdom. It's not as desolate as it sounds, but it's beautiful, relatively unspoiled, and it's peaceful. We go there because we can hear ourselves think. I relax, reflect, regenerate and recharge. What follows is a couple of things I reflected on.
1. It has been twenty five years since I graduated from College. Hard to believe. There are some things I'm really happy about and there are some things I'm still trying to make peace with. I'm happy with where my life is. I can be doing better, but I'm not doing bad.
2. It has been twenty five years since I was diagnosed with Cancer. That's right. The day after I got my first job out of college, I was diagnosed with Stage III Testicular Cancer. In the scheme of things, it's one of the better ones to get, but the timing stunk! While all my friends were out causing trouble, I was going through surgery, chemo, and wondering whether I was going to be around in a year. I remember my first day of chemo. Halloween of 1983. I lay in my hospital bed, looking out over the parking lot. I watched people walking to and from their cars, wishing, with all of my heart, that I could trade places with any one of them.
I think of that terrified twenty two year old kid as I write this. I think about the challenging times that we are faced with, and I remember. As long as I'm on this side of the dirt, my problems aren't so bad. I"m alive. I'm healthy. I'm in a line of work that suits me. Is it what I thought I"d be doing when I graduated from college? Heck no! Wanna hear something funny, though? I'm proof that we turn into our parents. My Dad tried his hand at this many moons ago. He did it part time while he worked in Manhattan during the week. He did well, and he always wanted to do it full time. I think Dad was more of an entrepreneur than anything else, but Mom wanted the steady paycheck. My father got to see me be what he always wanted to be; a full time Realtor. Dad passed away in March. It's ok. He was 87 years old. I'm grateful for his life, for what he did for us and how, through this new career, I learned to understand him and give him some free entertainment. Pretty neat, I think. I'd be lying, though, if I didn't say I miss him terribly from time to time, though. I guess there's no easy way to lose a parent.
...except, in my opinion, to give thanks...for being ALIVE!..for being in a line of work that's so creative that has so many opportunities and challenges...In the last week or so, I thought about how I want to feel at the end of the year about work. Finish strong. Leave it all on the field. There's plenty of time. Plenty of time for more success. And there are miracles in this business. You know, the bones that fall from the sky that make a sales job fun. Aren't they one of the things that you love?
A grateful heart is hard to beat down.
Man, I can't wait to get back to work!
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