Time with three of the grandchildren. Hall of Fame
induction for CU Coach Ceal Barry. Holding 9-month-old great nephew, Joseph,
for the first time. Coffee update with another retired teacher and good friend.
Father’s Day this past Sunday. Wonderful opportunities to celebrate and a
reminder of the importance of time spent with friends and family.
Lots of miles put on the car traveling to Illinois, then
on to Knoxville with a stop in Nashville for a short time before going back to
Illinois, and then home. A reoccurring thought, throughout our travels, was how
blessed I am that Jon and I are healthy enough to be able to do all we want to
do.
We spent time with people we haven’t seen in a long time
at Ceal’s induction. It was a time to reminisce, a time for stories, laughter,
and a time to hear all that is happening in everyone’s life. Throughout the
weekend, we heard stories of the impact coaches had on so many lives. It was
the importance of having an opportunity to play a game they loved and to be
able to get out of challenging environments to go on and make an impact on
others’ lives. It was all about connections and the importance of how much
people cared and showed their caring through their actions.
Stopping on our way back to the farm, we saw Dan, Holly,
and Joseph. It was time to catch up on my nephew Dan’s finishing his residency
and getting ready to begin his Fellowship starting July 1st. It was
hearing from Holly about going back to work and juggling work and family, and
it was extra special watching Joseph explore his world. Thank goodness for baby
sign language as Joseph was ready to eat and let his parents know by signing.
Watching Teagan play T-ball brought many memories of when
our kids played. It was coloring, putting together Legos, watching Kyan
crawling at break neck speeds and climbing up on the dishwasher to “help.” Checking
out all the newborn calves (LOTS) and the girls “helping” with getting the cows
ready to classify. One of THE best parts was catching fireflies!! Unless you’ve
been in the Midwest you may not know about these as we don’t have them here in
Colorado. Jason made sure there was a glass jar with holes in the top and a
little grass to put the fireflies that the girls caught.
Thanks to Jon and his willingness to “drive Miss Daisy” we
missed hitting two deer and made it home safely. The car now registers over
200,000 miles. Many thoughts of all that Jon is to our children and
grandchildren. He is someone we all can count on to do whatever it takes, is
open to help in any way, is there to listen and help in whatever way that may look.
My thoughts from these 8 days…(1) hearing the
grandchildren say please and thank you when they needed something, (2) coming
home and finding in the mail a thank you hand written note, written by our 8
year old granddaughter along with a picture, (3) the best way to know what’s
going on in someone’s life is to ask questions and totally listen to the
answers without interrupting, (4) realizing we’re all in a position to influence,
inspire, and empower others through the giving of our time, focus and being
present, and (5) it was saying and hearing back “I love you.”
I wish you an opportunity to sit down and reflect on how
you’ve spent your last couple weeks. What are your thoughts? What do you “come
away with?”
Suggested
book: The Go-Giver Leader by Bob Burg and John David Mann
Quote: “It’s
the little details that are vital. Little things make big things happen.” John Wooden
