Thursday, October 22, 2015

i'M TURNING INTO MY PARENTS

When I was in my 20's, my best friend Jordan casually said to me, "When we grow up we turn into our parents".  He probably doesn't remember, but I do.

And, it is turning out to be true.

At the time I felt - "Oh, my gosh - I hope not!" Which now I'm ashamed to admit. After all, since Jordan's theory has turned out to be true, my kids will grow up to be like me. At one time I would have said, "How lucky for them!"  I guess that may not be the case. (This last paragraph is meant in jest.)

I remember my Mom bending down and picking up little pieces of lint or tiny bits of unknown stuff off the floor. At the time, I thought it was kinda silly. Now, I do that. I am turning into my Mom.

Every morning at the cottage, my Dad would sweep off the bugs that laid there overnight.  Now, I do that every morning.

I think I may have inherited my Dad's impatience. Some may call it a short temper - I'm calling it "impatience."

Mom and Dad gave me (and Janice) two wooden cottage chairs. In my mind's eye, I can see Mom and Dad sitting on the chairs, on the cottage patio, overlooking the view of the Trent River, sipping on their morning coffee.  Well, I don't drink coffee, but almost everyday in the good weather, Janice and I sit on our patio and enjoy our view of Lake Simcoe - and we sit in the same chairs!

Both Mom and Dad are deceased. The good memories remain.

I guess Jordan was right.

Brett and Crystal - you have SO MUCH to look forward to! Bah ha ha!

Thursday, October 1, 2015

MY WIFE'S OPINION

One of the problems with being the manager of a business is that it's hard to get someone's opinion on a decision I need to make.

Here's an example - say, I want to change LIFE logo from red to blue or green. (We're not doing this in reality)

Voice of reason on left.
I'll say, "We've used red for so long, maybe it's time for a change".
Employee might say, "Ya, it's tired. Another colour would be fresh".
I'll say, "How about blue - like the skies, like the heavens above."
Employee might say, "Yes that's perfect. I like blue - it's a passive colour".
I'll say, "But, you know, red is the blood of Christ - it's the most appropriate"
Employee will say, "That's true - stay with what works".

In the example above, I've gone from one idea, to a new idea and back to the first idea and the employee follows me. I'm guessing that nobody wants to have a different opinion from the boss because they want to be supportive. 

So, I'll go to my wife. Quite often, she's the voice of reason. She'll disagree with me and state her reasons or agree with my plan and reassure me I'm on the right path. She good at bringing clarity to my ideas. But, I'd rather have the employees' opinion about business ideas since it might directly affect them.

Hmmm. I'm just thinking...maybe if we changed the LIFE logo to purple, like an Easter egg. Purple is one of the Easter colours, right?  I think that would remind people of the Easter message.....

Sigh.