Let me take you down memory lane. Roughly 15 years ago, my parents had an open house to celebrate the completion of their newly built home. A large event attended by extended family and close friends stands out in my memory, not because of the celebration and joy that potentially comes with a new home, but with a short exchange my father and I had.
Toward the end of the evening a debt regarding life choices started – the things people have done, the choices they’ve made, the career paths they’ve chosen – and I boldly state the expectations for life, as well as my desires for life. No sooner than the last words roll off my tongue, my father turns to me as says the following:
Be careful, you could end up like me.
Being the cocksure, strong minded, nothing is going to stop me from achieving the life I want individual of the time I respond in kind (or what I saw as an appropriate response at the time):
I will never end up like you.
My comment was not a criticism, I simply did not envision my life to turn out in the same manner that his did. From life choices to career choices, I simply could not picture it happening.
As time has passed, and I look at my life, I can officially say that his comment was spot on – if not slightly prophetic. I’m not imply my career decisions matched his, nor am I saying he is unhappy with how his life was lived up until this point. No. What I believe my father was telling me at that time, so many years ago, was that I had the potential to wake up one day surprised by how life unfolded.
Looking back, I believe he was trying to say that life is a journey and that I may be surprised as to where I find myself during my journey. My inexperience limited my understanding of “you could end up like me” to only financial or material matters.
Aide from him being right, which I do now believe, ending up like my father is not a bad thing at all. He’s an incredible man, a man who I couldn’t truly appreciate until I experienced some of the ups and downs life has to offer.
