Solid And Durable Happiness

C.S. Lewis once said,

Affection is responsible for nine-tenths of whatever solid and durable happiness there is in our lives.

He was right then and he’s still right today.  One of my favorite sayings is that jobs come and go, but family is forever.  No one remembers what you did at work several months ago, several years ago, or several decades ago.  But your family remembers if you were there or not.

When I worked in consulting, a client was waiting for an outside attorney to call him back.  He finally called me and asked if he should keep waiting because he needed to leave work and take his daughter to swimming.

I told him that it was quite possible the attorney would not call.  A month from now, no one would remember if he talked to the attorney that day or the next.  But I said, your daughter will remember if you took her to swimming or not.

One of my co-workers overheard me say this.  He came in later and thanked me for reminding him how important the little things are with family.

Our jobs are important and need to be treated as such.  But everything has its place and showing up consistently for our family makes for a solid and durable happiness.

Here I am with my daughter earlier this year.  No, she’s not adopted and yes, she is that tall.  She fits right in with my sister-in-laws.

© 2011 dogear6 llc

Word for tomorrow – DOWNRIGHT.  If you prefer to work ahead, see the list for the week under “A Word A Day”.