Getting Back To Basics
February 8, 2009 · by Tammy Adler
This past Thursday two of my friends had someone close to them pass away. One friend’s 41-year old brother died unexpectedly in his sleep and the other friend’s father died from emphysema.
When I heard about my friends’ father, I immediately left him a voice mail. Then something interesting happened to me. I had this almost overwhelming feeling that what I do day-in and day-out really doesn’t matter in the larger scheme of things.
You see, I’m a very busy person. Someone who likes to work a lot, volunteer, and work more. My friends would probably honestly tell you it appears my volunteering and work is my hobby, because they take up most of my waking days. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t always work 14-hour days or on the weekend, but there are several times when I do. My husband tells me I’ll never be able to retire and if I do, I’ll be so restless that I’ll probably drive him crazy. I’m not proud of this behavior and while I am constantly working on personally improving my lifestyle so I have down time, I realize this may be a lifetime vocation and continual learning process for me.
These two deaths profoundly impacted me. Perhaps I don’t take enough time out to smell the roses; it makes me wonder if I’m slighting my family and friends. Saturday I got back to my roots remembering our parents taught us when the chips are down, family and friends rally to their neighbors and help one another. I spent hours on Saturday making food and deserts for the two families. I delivered a crock pot of barbeque and cake to the very welcoming family of our friend who lost his brother.
On Sunday I visited the mother of my friend who lost his father. Her son and I have known each other for over ten years and have become dear friends. I never met his mother prior to Sunday. She graciously welcomed me into her home, along with my casserole and cake. Such a dear woman; she reminds me of my own mother. We visited alone for just about 90 minutes, talking about how she and her husband met, her children, her new condo, etc.
When I finally left, I got into my car and almost cried thinking about how much I may be missing by working so much. I made a promise to myself to work harder than ever to take more time for family and friends. You see, life is short and one never knows exactly how short.
It’s time for me to Get Back to Basics….
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