Journey XVI Week 3
Always Helping Others
We're Celebrating THREE Monarch Birthdays this week!! Happy Birthday to.... Julia Howry- Second Monarch Birthday; Leslie McConnico-Third Monarch Birthday; and JoAnn Herness- Third Monarch Birthday!! HAPPY BIRTHDAY MONARCHS! Thank you for sharing your Monarchness with us! (left) Austin High Track- Julia Howry sprints to the finish with a her larger than life smile and personality. (middle) Lady Bird Lake, SUP & SIP- Leslie relaxes on her SUP board while enjoying time with friends and the tranquility of Lady Bird Lake. (right) Lady Bird Lake- JoAnn takes pleasure in a morning of yoga on the dock, followed with kayaking.
“Success has nothing to do with what you gain in life or accomplish for yourself. It’s what you do for others.” — Danny Thomas
Action: From a smile, an ear to hear, or a physical act—everyday enjoy helping others by giving of your unique time, talents, or treasures.
Lessons, more lessons and even more lessons. They never seem to end. After the majority of all conversations with my father I feel like I've received a good dose of wisdom and goodness. At first, not all of the lessons appear clear and I actually don't even think he's being intentional in teaching me something, rather he's just being himself. But when I reflect on his words and my time spent with him I'm always grateful for the lessons I learn.
Many of you have heard me talk about my father, have read about him in one of the journals or have met him. You've heard me describe him as a rugged Indian Chief with very dark/red skin, white hair and piercing brown eyes that to this day can sends chills down my spine. However, the reality is he's a teddy bear with a heart of gold, is extraordinarily selfless, and is most fulfilled when he's helping others.
These admirable characteristics haven't always been obvious to me. His looks can be very deceiving (he can look downright mean and scary) and his words direct, but once you get to know him it quickly becomes apparent that his primary intent is helping others.
My dad is very handy and can repair, install and build just about anything. It's very rare that I come to him with a plumbing, electrical or structural problem that he can't fix. In addition, my father is extremely practical and doesn't believe in purchasing something that he can build or hiring anyone to help unless it's absolutely impossible for him to do (which is rare). As a result, he's built me a few pieces of beautiful furniture and when Russell and I were getting our last house ready to sale, the long list of inspector to-do's were fixed by him and my step-mom. As a result, we secretly hired a moving company or else they would've tried to move us too!
So, here we are present day and the baby is due on January 22. For those of you with kids I'm sure you'll agree that preparing for a baby is like preparing for a party. It's forcing me to tackle the laundry list of to-do's that I've put off forever! Therefore, this summer we started "the list" and it's not small. I won't go in to too much detail, but it entails moving my office into another room, knocking down a wall in the new office for French Doors to be installed, a possible kitchen remodel, new floors and a clean and organized garage that my Tahoe can fit in. Sounds like fun, doesn't it?
As you might expect, SUPER DAD (and Step-Mom) have come to the rescue again and have provided tremendous help. BUT, what I forgot to tell you is as handy as my dad is, he's also that slow. For example, the beautiful furniture he's made me has taken as long as five years for him to complete. Furthermore, some of the things he started on this summer still aren't finished. As you might expect, this can be frustrating but it's so hard to say anything because all he's doing is trying to help and save us money. Plus, I know it brings him great joy to help his adult children.
Therefore, when I last spoke with him we discussed when he would come down to complete the office wall and French Doors. He proceeded to tell me that it would be Monday, Labor Day. He briefly explained that on Saturday he had to help complete a home construction job for one of his friends who he had been helping for over a month (and working every evening on for the past three weeks). Then on Sunday his oldest sister (in her late seventies) was moving out of her house into an apartment for Seniors and he was going to help her move.
After listening to him talk about all of the ways he was helping others there was no way I could be frustrated because MY doors weren't installed and MY two pieces of furniture still are completed. He's doing everything in his power to help so many people and the truth is I need to take lessons from him and get out of myself and offer help to others like he does.
Furthermore, how in the world could I be upset with the man who is still teaching full time (Jr. High!!!) when he could retire. Rather, he chooses to continue teaching because he wants to be a positive impact in the lives of his students. Beyond that, he and my step-mom attend EVERY family function despite location or time of day and just bought a bigger mini-van to accommodate more grandkids.
My Dad's amazing and I'm thankful that he constantly reminds me what being a great neighbor looks like as well as showing me what a selfless and helpful heart looks like, much like the dad's in this weeks video. Question, which one is your dad or husband???- HA!
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