Is it really work/life balance or is it money/life balance? After all, work is a conduit to money for most people unless you're lucky enough to be in an endeavor that you find personally fulfilling (which I luckily do).
Easter is always a great time to reflect on such things. It is a spiritual time when life begins anew, and hope seems to be budding with each spring flower and Yankee win. Easter is also a great time to chat with my Pop about life and get his learned prespective from 83 years of quality experience.
Like many men, he spent most of his life in the endeavor of making money. However his, more than most, were endeavors that provided him great personal and professional fulfilment. His career provided for his family, and in his earlier career he provided for his soul as well. From all of that effort, time, and life experience one theme came shining through in our discussions this weekend; money is a fine way to be comfortable, but it will not make you happy. Happiness comes from health, family, home, and worthwhile pursuits.
I know, I know... it's a bit cliche. But it bears reminding, especially as we face a recovery that is moving at a glacial pace. But has this recession left us in a better mindspace about how much emphasis we will put towards money versus life?
This got me to thinking of one of my favorite books which I recently started to re-read. It's the five part trilogy of The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy by Douglas Adams, in which he kicks off the whole story like this:
" Orbiting at a distance of roughly ninety-eight million miles is an utterly insignificant little blue-green planet whose ape-decended life forms are so amazingly primitive that they still think digital watches are a pretty neat idea.
This plant has a problem, which was this: most of the people living on it were unhappy for pretty much of the time. Many solutions were suggested for this problem, but most of these were largely concerned with the movements of small green pieces of paper, which is odd because on the whole it wasn't the small green pieces of paper that were unhappy."
Happy Spring, and please remember to take a whiff of the budding flowers and to just listen to ball game on the radio.
And subject to my last blog, Pop met Ripley and thinks he's going to be a great one.
Monday, April 25, 2011
Sunday, April 3, 2011
The View From The Pop: Marking Time With Dogs
The View From The Pop: Marking Time With Dogs: "Certain days stand out as markers across our lives. Birthdays, of course, are a basic measure and today happens to be mine. But my birthday..."
Marking Time With Dogs
Certain days stand out as markers across our lives. Birthdays, of course, are a basic measure and today happens to be mine. But my birthday is not what has me thinking about milestones or reminiscing through my years. It is the passing of my dog, Oscar, that has my thoughts turning towards my years with him at our family's side. During Oscar's lifetime we built a new home, had our child, and raised her to become a bright and precocious second grader.
My daughter loved Oscar like a brother, and has never known life without him. Which got me to thinking that I have never known life without a dog either. Noel was a little dog that saw me all the way through junior high school. Berlin was a sweetheart mutt saw me off to college. While in college my future wife gave me Othello, who was with us as we entered the real world. Then came Oscar. Our handsome blonde Retriever with a huge body and bigger heart. All of theses amazing animals stand as chapters of my life.
Othello became a ward of my father when I moved into New York City. Othello became a chapter in my father's life as well, marking his entry into retirement. In fact they entered into their individual retirements together as the two of them were inseparable day-in and day-out. A morning walk along the shores of Lloyd Harbor, an afternoon of household tinkering not more than a few feet apart, and the occasional shared nap. They had the good life together.
My father had the unwanted task of putting Othello down when it was his time. My father did his duty well, but it was hard for him to say that final goodbye. So when it was my time yesterday to put Oscar in the car for his final ride, yet again my dad was the inspiration who helped me to handle the morbid duty with dignity and feeling. He told me that my emotions in the vets office would surprise me, and he sure was right.
My father no longer has a dog, so he loved Oscar when I brought him to visit. Dad says that he's just not willing to go through that last trip to the vet ever again after so many. After all, the man is 83, and he's raised and trained dogs all of his life. I'm may get to that point some day as well, but today I already started the new chapter, named Ripley.
Ripley is a yellow lab that just came into our home today for the first time and my eyes begin to gaze towards the milestones that will hopefully be marked in his chapter. If providence allows, Ripley will see my daughter off to college, my 30th wedding anniversary, and of course all of those Christmas moments, barbecues, beach days, snowmen, proms, promotions, and a few sad times too. Each will hopefully be marked with another handsome blonde head to greet me as I walk in the door each day.
I can't wait for my father to meet him.
My daughter loved Oscar like a brother, and has never known life without him. Which got me to thinking that I have never known life without a dog either. Noel was a little dog that saw me all the way through junior high school. Berlin was a sweetheart mutt saw me off to college. While in college my future wife gave me Othello, who was with us as we entered the real world. Then came Oscar. Our handsome blonde Retriever with a huge body and bigger heart. All of theses amazing animals stand as chapters of my life.
Othello became a ward of my father when I moved into New York City. Othello became a chapter in my father's life as well, marking his entry into retirement. In fact they entered into their individual retirements together as the two of them were inseparable day-in and day-out. A morning walk along the shores of Lloyd Harbor, an afternoon of household tinkering not more than a few feet apart, and the occasional shared nap. They had the good life together.
My father had the unwanted task of putting Othello down when it was his time. My father did his duty well, but it was hard for him to say that final goodbye. So when it was my time yesterday to put Oscar in the car for his final ride, yet again my dad was the inspiration who helped me to handle the morbid duty with dignity and feeling. He told me that my emotions in the vets office would surprise me, and he sure was right.
My father no longer has a dog, so he loved Oscar when I brought him to visit. Dad says that he's just not willing to go through that last trip to the vet ever again after so many. After all, the man is 83, and he's raised and trained dogs all of his life. I'm may get to that point some day as well, but today I already started the new chapter, named Ripley.
Ripley is a yellow lab that just came into our home today for the first time and my eyes begin to gaze towards the milestones that will hopefully be marked in his chapter. If providence allows, Ripley will see my daughter off to college, my 30th wedding anniversary, and of course all of those Christmas moments, barbecues, beach days, snowmen, proms, promotions, and a few sad times too. Each will hopefully be marked with another handsome blonde head to greet me as I walk in the door each day.
I can't wait for my father to meet him.
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