And sometimes, it smacks me in the face when I least expect it.
It was not a dark and stormy night, but a Friday night (in which I normally slip into my fleece pajama bottoms and give in to the guilty pleasure of watching Ghost Whisperer or catching up on crits.) I lugged a crock of meatballs, along with two budding scouts, to the annual Blue and Gold Cubscout banquet (food, awards, fellowship, you get it, right?).
I socialized like a good parent. I laughed. I tried to fit all the different potluck foods on my plate with not much success. I tried to ignore the sound of fifty or something odd boys blowing into party horns that were favors to celebrate the 100th year of scouting. I clapped at the awards. I got teary eyed watching the pack leader as his son become an official boyscout.
And then I listened to the guest speaker.
Captain Don Wright. He talked about reaching his dreams and the hard work it took to get there. The pinnacle of his career? He was given the select honor of flying the high-altitude reconnaissance airplane, the U-2 over enemy territory.
Pretty cool, huh? I thought so too.
I always feel an awe when I meet people that lived through the depression and WWII. Because all I did was read about in a history book. They lived it.
Captain Don Wright was an engaging speaker. And he ended his speech with such obvious words of wisdom. He said,
“The higher you want to go with your career, the more competitive it gets, and the harder you have to work for it.”
And this where you all nod your head and think, so true, so true. He claimed to be a regular guy. A regular guy, who knew what he wanted and went after it. So, be inspired. He self-published his story in LIFE IS A PIECE OF CAKE. A book I might have to stroll down to our local Indie book store and take a look at.
I ended my night. I waved gaily and pulled my kids out during that narrow window at social events to leave right before my kids scatter. And honestly, the party horns were driving me crazy.
Has wisdom smacked you in the face lately? Pass it on.