Examples

As I've mentioned here before, as I was growing up my mother never missed the opportunity to say to me, 'Remember who you are.' As I learned at a young age, this was a loaded statement. I needed to represent our family name well, never besmirching it. I needed to do my best at all times. And I needed to be an example. That's stuck with me and while I've not been perfect, I've tried to remember who I was am.

The 'example' piece has always been something I struggled with, to be honest. The interweb's dictionary, dictionary.com, defines 'example' as a pattern or model of something to be imitated. I figured no one needed to look to me as an example. As a young man, I was determined to blaze my own trail and do things as I wanted to do them. After some heaping servings of humble pie, which is often bitter tasting when served, but mellows over time, I learned there were many good examples around me to follow. I'm grateful for those examples in my life, and they are far too many to appropriately thank here.

We had a chance this past weekend to reconnect with many of those people who have been examples to me as we were in Chicagoland. We were there to see old friends and to honor these two young men:

Scott, their mom, Michelle, and Justin

The Brothers B. Scott is leaving on a mission and Justin just returned from a mission. Both have the high honor of having served, or servng, a U.S. Spanish-speaking mission, which is the best way to do it, if you ask me (those two years in Miami were some of the most awesome of my life, so I know of where I speak!).

Scott has been one of the Boy's closest friends and Justin has been CAL's best friend since 8th grade. So seeing them hit these milestones has been pretty profound for our family. Justin served well and Scott is so prepared to do the same. These young men are examples to me and I am so grateful to their example to the Boy, CAL, and all my family. As we listened to them speak in Church on Sunday (yep, we got a rare two-fer), I looked around and saw so many people who have been amazing examples to me and my family. I counted my blessings. I recognized again how I've been fortunate to have so many good people in my life that have been people I can look up to and learn from. I am grateful. I am grateful for friends. Each and every one.

While it was an awesome weekend to reconnect, it was also a rematch of 'Just Dance - Battle of the Middle Ages.' I don't know what it is about Chicagoland, but it brings the best worst in me out, meaning my inner full body seizure known as my dancing skills. Those pathetic skills were put to the test during this train wreck, I mean challenge:

Trying to get our 'Four Tops' on to Barry White

As the oldest man in that conga line of the doomed, I should have known better. But let me just say, it was a riot. Laughed so hard it hurt. Hurt. It was a good time. I can't wait for the next battle. Bring. It.