Family is more than genetics. Family can be your best friends and best friends can be your family.
My father was recently diagnosed with primary progressive aphasia (PPA), an identity stealing degenerative brain condition. While his body may remain healthy for some time, it will rob me of my father, my role model, and the person I have spent my life emulating. I have always been proud to be called "his clone" (although it isn't always intended as a compliment.)
The first step towards getting somewhere is to decide that you are not going to stay where you are. -J. Pierpont Morgan
My 2012 theme was balance and while I didn't always achieve it, it has become a mindset.
This year is about renewal.
What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us. -Ralph Waldo Emerson
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Eriko’s first produce - I hope for much more!
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Thanks to this site (http://soccergoalplans.com) and the neighbor for inspiration … I need to get a net and Jerry will have a backyard soccer goal!
Think of Yourself
I was in Nagoya last week, on our last night, in the 8th floor of a commercial building at some kind of pasta restaraunt. Momo was scarving down pizza, Jerry was laying on my lap, and I was chatting with Eriko's mom about my career.I told her I had four "things" I wanted to accomplish:1) Be a father2) Hold a leadership role3) Start a company4) "Retire" a professorThrough broken Japanese, broken English, and Eriko, I explained that my milestones were at different points in life - first learn from others, than do yourself, then teach others. But constant through all of these was my responsibility to be a father - and without intending to, I conveyed my concern that I could not balance these things.She told me (via Eriko) something that has stuck with me - "think of yourself." As you consider your career, your next move, what you want in life - put your family aside for the moment. Don't let concern cloud your vision - think freely. Perhaps it wasn't so much that her mother said things to me, but that Eriko agreed and encouraged me.What will I be, when I grow up?Photo post
