Do Work!

It's been a while since my last post.  Admittedly, I've been busy and really just haven't been feeling that creative.  My day today started out well.  It's a Saturday and got to sleep in.  Got to go help out with some Friday Night Lights last night and got in a little late.  I love FNL.  It takes me back to when I played and reminds me how I absolutely love this time of year.  Made me get a little reminiscent.  Had to mow the lawn today and primarily that is where I get a lot of thinking done.  I think about surgical procedures that we do and if there is any way that we could do them better or quicker.  I think about things that need done around the house.  Today, I was just thinking about the life that I have and share with my family.

I'll just say it:  I love my life.  I love all there is about it.  I love my wife.  I love my kids.  I love my house and where we live.  I love my job and what I do for a living.  I love my friends and the fun we have together.  All of it.  Good and bad.  Every last minute.  Great days, shitty days.  They all come with it and I'll gladly take them all, because I love it all.  I love the place I am at in my life.  I love where we are.  I don't really mean our physical address, but just our sitz en liben.

I didn't get here by chance.  I got here by hard work on my part and on the part of my family.  When it came down to it, we did work.  We put in the time and the sweat and got the job done because we had a goal and knew that it had to be accomplished.  Nobody put this in our lap.  We didn't just happen into where we are.  We didn't luck into it.  We bled, sweat, and sometimes cried to get where we are and we are proud to be here.  We worked for it and because of that, I believe we have the right to be proud.

From the earliest time I can remember, my parents constantly preached hard work, sweat, and determination are what it took to survive in this world.  (Yes, Dad.  I was listening.)  Something must've soaked in!  It is the major ideology that my wife and I try to instill in the boys now.  When I was a freshman in high school, we had a house fire that basically gutted our house and we were forced to begin anew.  In order to begin, we had to prepare the lot for us to put a house on.  It took a lot of work!  I remember digging out the area for the concrete pad to be poured.  Every time my brothers or I would bitch about not wanting to do the work, my Dad would remind us of the goal.  We needed a house.  Not to mention the fact that looking back, I saw my Dad working so hard to make sure that goal was accomplished.  It made an impact on me.  (The example that parents give makes a difference!)

Hard work pays off.  Do you want to play football?  Put in the time in the weight room and working on your technique for your position.  Do you want to be a surgeon?  Put in the time in your undergraduate work and make the grades to get into medical school.  Do you want to be a mechanic?  Put in the time and effort working on cars and learning how they work.  THE PURSUIT IS PROOF OF THE PASSION!!!

I wanted to practice medicine as a Physician Assistant.  I went back to school, finished my degree and did the work to get it done and get into a highly competitive program.  Once in, I put in the time to make sure I graduated at the top of my class.  I actually graduated with honors and was nominated by our faculty to receive the distinction of Pi Alpha, which is a group that honors PA graduates for their scholastic achievements, leadership, and citizenship.

Why do I say all this?  Nobody gave this stuff to our family.  We worked hard.  We DID WORK!  I am proud of where we are.  We may not have the best, or the greatest.  But, by God, we are proud of it.  We don't live in the best, most expensive neighborhood.  Our kids don't go to private school and we don't wear designer clothes.   You know what?  We're proud of all of it because we earned it and it's ours!

Lesson?  You want something, go get it.  You work for it.  You earn it.  Expect everyone in this world to try and cut you down and take away from you what you've worked for.  You have a dream?  Protect it.  You nurture it, feed it, care for it, and put work into it...it will come to fruition.

DO WORK!