When We Talk

“When we talk I’ll fill you in on the meeting with Tim, Norb and Willie so that you know what they said. I’ll tell you about Neville, Hammy and the action items that were assigned and all that kind of other stuff.”

I stared at the message for a few and thought about past meetings, the goals, objectives and accomplishments because the past always impacts the present in some way or another.

Thought about the young kid and the others who inserted themselves into the various circumstances and how I had been that young person once.

Sometimes you thought you knew more than you did and that lack of real world experience had its own impact. You could say that was a situation in which not having a past impacted the present too.

Nothing wrong with that, we all start somewhere and with a little luck and humility we avoid getting ourselves in trouble by overestimating our ability and knowledge.

That’s the voice of experience not because I am so smart, but because I was that young person.

Was being the operative word, but I learned and sometimes that is all we can ask.

Some People You Miss & Others You Don’t

Dad and I had very honest conversations during those last few months and with his yahrzeit approaching the memories of some of those have jumped out at me.

I told him I thought one of the marks of a good life in which you made an impact was based upon whether people notice when you were gone.

“Some people you miss and others you don’t. There are people I whose absence isn’t noticeable unless someone mentions it or something specific happens that makes me think of them.

That is always when I realize how they just aren’t significant or important to me. Sometimes I might feel a twinge because they once were, but not often.

I am biased, but people will miss you and they’ll notice you’re not around.”

Dad smiled and then we sat in silence for a bit. That is another gift, being able to sit in silence with others. It says something if you have to fill the spaces with chatter.