For years, I've had the following poem by Ralph Waldo Emerson (maybe) hanging in my office:
Success
To laugh often and much;
to win the respect of intelligent people
and affection of children;
to earn the appreciation of honest critics
and endure the betrayal of false friends;
to appreciate beauty,
to find the best in others;
to leave the world a bit better,
whether by a healthy child,
a garden patch,
or a redeemed social condition;
to know even one life has breathed easier
because you have lived.
This is to have succeeded.
However, after having children and determining that things are seldom as perfect as I'd like them to be (including my behavior when dealing with them!), I think I'm going to change it out for a very wise quote I just received by e-mail:
"If you can't be a good example, then you'll just have to be a horrible warning."
Surely it's better to just set a lower standard than to continuously fail at perfection. :)
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4 comments:
I've always suspected you were my psychic-cosmic-unexplainable counterpart.... chemical engineering degree... from Nebraska but moved to Houston... married with one young girl and one young boy.... And now the Ralph Waldo Emerson poem. I have had that hanging on my office wall for at least 10 years. Quit freaking me out!
It only counts if you've also given up hope and are to the point of being happy with survival. :)
I have two small children... I work for a living... and have little to no me-time. Of course I am happy with simple survival!
Key check of the cosmic twin theory... you don't still have a bad habit from your college days of needing Mountain Dew to get through your day, do you?
Mountain Dew was my vice in high school - now it's Dr. Pepper and coffee. But definitely never anything diet. I don't trust the stuff.
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