Things my father taught me:

·      Do it well, do it right, whatever it is – washing dishes, laying brick, writing essays. Even if you didn’t want to do it in the first place, do it right because someone is counting on you.

·      Don’t take yourself seriously, at all. Human beings fart and snort and stumble and say the wrong thing. Go with it.

·      Love completely and show it in the way that seems best to you. Not everyone wants flowers or jewelry, sometimes love is better shown by loosening the lids on jars before you put them in the fridge, by standing close with a strong arm ready, by looking at your spouse with the same sparkle after 50 years of marriage as you did after 50 days.

·      See joy everywhere. Joy is a choice and we can sit around and worry or watch a four year old create a block tower big enough to hold her imagination.

·      Do what you love; even if you have to do something else to make a living, do what you love as well.

My Mom and Dad, before they were married, before they had 10 kids.
See that love - that never dimmed.