Merry Christmas America…….
Forget the lectures, forget the sad stories, and forget the tragedies we watch on the news on a nightly basis. Forget about the darker side of life, the same repeated headlines in the newspapers. The same pain. The same crimes, time after time.
Hey forget about all that for a couple days, it’s Christmas time.
It’s a time for family, for sharing, for giving. It’s a time for the children. It’s the time for Christmas lights, powdery white snow in the trees, Santa Claus and his helpers, Family parties, office Christmas parties, last minute shopping. Nothing goes wrong in life this time of year…Be happy!
My partner Gary got the call today while he was at work. Dispatch advised him of a family emergency. His father suffered a stroke and Gary was needed at the hospital immediately.
It reminded me of the call Mark and I got about a year and a half ago when our Mom suffered a stroke. We got that very same call and suffered the same stress and worry, only in our case, our Mom came through with flying colors.
We just had our family Christmas celebration a couple hours ago because Mark and I are both working Christmas day. To look at our Mom you’d never know she had a stroke.
It doesn’t look like that will be the outcome in Gary’s case. His father’s situation is much worse and all I can say to Gary is our prayers are with you and your family my brother.
I was driving home from my Mom’s tonight thinking about Gary’s situation and I remembered a simple question we all need to ask ourselves.
In order, what are the three most important things in your life?
At my old agency, I asked that question of my sergeant and several co-workers out in the station parking lot one night. Without answering, Tommy (the sergeant) looked at me and asked, “what are your three priorities?”
I looked at him without hesitation and told him
Family,
Flying,
and I threw work in there as #3 but it wasn’t my first thought to even put work on the list.
Tommy looked at me and couldn’t believe that work wasn’t my top priority.
I whispered to my partner Mark, “I’ll bet he says work, work, and work…..”
(Tommy is a pretty young energetic high strung guy and just got promoted, I figured work would be right up there on the top of his list.)
It didn’t really surprise me when Tommy pointed his finger at me with an intense look on his face and said
Work,
work,
and family.
I didn’t ask him at the time, but I wondered how his family felt about that.
I wondered how his new wife felt about that.
I wondered how long it would be before Tommy found out the hard way, that putting work first in life is the best way to finish last in the game of life.
The difference between Tommy and me?
Besides the fact that he’s in his late 20’s and I’m 44.
Besides the difference that he’s married and Im not.
Besides the fact that I’ve done this line of work for 15 years and he’s done it for considerably less time?
The only difference between Tommy and me is that he hasn’t seen the pain and suffering that I’ve seen through my eyes. Not my own pain, but the pain of so many families whose calls for help I’ve responded to over the years.
This is the bottom line whether you choose to believe it or not.
We are here on this earth for an unknown amount of time.
We never know when it will be our last day, or the last day of a family member or friend. We don’t know what the future holds, and we should treat everyday like it was Christmas, not just one day out of the year.
Look around at your family when you have Christmas dinner this year. What would Christmas be like next year, with an empty chair or two from loved ones no longer with you.
Life is a precious gift. It’s not about stocks, bonds, who has a better car, who has the better clothes, who has the better boat, who lands a helicopter on the roof of their house, who makes the most money,, , none of that means squat if your priorities are all screwed up.
Work, Work, and then family?
Are you like the character in the Christmas movie scrooge?
Are you a person people can’t stand to be around and then 3 spirits will show you all your faults, and the fact your friends really think you’re a ballsack behind your back.
So you make a miraculous change into the world’s nicest guy because you don’t want to die a lonely old person who had no friends or family who loved you.
Don’t wait for the spirit show when you get old, get with it now!
We get one shot at life and one shot only…..
I don’t know where I read this but I’ve always remembered it.
“You are not remembered by the path you take in life, but rather by the tracks you’ve left behind.”
I’ll ask you again,
In order, What are your 3 priorities in life?
Hey don’t tell me, Tell it to the person it matters most to. Tell it to yourself……
When you get the right order, you’ll start living everyday like it was Christmas.
In the meantime,
Merry Christmas America……
And please have a safe and happy New Year.
Jim Lambert
