Last Lecture 2

I was sitting with a group of men talking a week ago and someone said "Wouldn't it be cool if we wrote down our prayers so that our kids could read them sometime in the future?" It made me think of some letters my Grandfather wrote to my Grandmother during their time away as she went back to her hometown doctor (whom she trusted more than their local doctor) to give birth to my father. The letters just take me back to a time that I can only imagine because it is so much different than today - but it is inspiring to read his words. Inspiring because his feelings are real and they remind me so much of the love that I saw years later when Grandma needed lots of care - and there was Grandpa. And he still had plenty of love to shower on me too!

I am still thinking about the last lecture because we all have a chance to pour out our feelings over time - but part of me is kind of envious of Randy Pausch because of his focused eloquence and passion. He knows what he has to do and he is doing it. Can we do the same thing without knowing the end is near?

I think we can. My friend said it well when he talked about writing it down. I know someone else who writes a letter to her daughter at the end of every year to review the year - the ups, the downs, the memories. I think that is cool.

But I want to do more. I started a habit several years ago where I record 'emotional' moments with my children by writing them a letter about the event. What happened, how I felt, and what I want them to remember from it (why it was special to me). My only rule is that I cannot share any feeling on paper that I do not express to them face to face. Someday I look forward to sharing the letters . . . but today I rejoice in sharing the feelings.

Viewing of the Last Lecture

I just finished watching the youtube video called the last lecture. In it, a professor gives his last lecture - an honor usually reserved for retiring professors. Randy Pausch gets to do it because he is terminally ill with cancer and only has a few more months. Randy is funny, engaging, creative, friendly, outgoing - - and a father of three small children. I will not go into the content because it is best viewed live - and youtube makes that easy. The one thought that comes to mind is a good news/bad news idea.

The good news - for most of us fathers we do not have to face such an ending, leaving a wife and three small children behind.
The bad news - for most of us fathers, we do not have to face such an ending, leaving a wife and three small children behind.

I repeat myself because many of us might not be saying all the things we want to say and doing all the things we should be doing - and changing that is difficult. I will share one thing about the video - Randy was not angry but grateful for the chance to open up and share. Sometimes we all need a kick in the pants to openly share things with our children and get by the "I will get around to it later" statement.

Randy did well with his words, and he inspired me to share some of my own. It should not take some bad news to move our hearts a little and get our priorities straight. Watch the video and take a few moments to jot down some of your own thoughts - then SHARE THEM!! Have a good day.