Today’s exercise is about pride. I am going to switch it up a bit, use multiple definitions, and generally do what I feel like. So when the exercise says,”What is your proudest moment,” what I’m going to tell you about is me being proud of my kids. So we are talking about pride in a pride. I am doing this for two reasons.
First is that although I am happy about things I have done, I don’t take huge amounts of pride in my accomplishments. What I do usually involves a lot of people as a team, not just me working by myself. I have partners in business, in hobbies, and in life. So I can’t and won’t take credit for everything goes on. Very often it is other people fixing my mistakes or polishing my rough work that makes me look good.
Second, what I really am proud of is what my kids have done. And what they will do. They are still young and have a lot of time ahead of them, but if their history is any indication then their futures will be burning bright. If I leave nothing in the world other than the legacy of these two young adults, I can be content with that. I have a feeling that they will both leave their marks on people in great ways.
My daughter Christina is studying to be a teacher – preschool / early childhood development. She has been attending Trident Technical College the past two years, and she moves in to a dorm at the College of Charleston next month to finish up the last two years of her degree. Don’t tell her I said so, but I will miss her. She may never be rich in money, but the riches of being a teacher will be far greater. Not only does she love the little kids she teaches, but they love her. I get a kick out of some miniature person running up to her screaming “Miss Tina!” Makes me happy every time I hear it.
My son Colin will be a senior in high school this year. He is big into JROTC and and has travelled all over the place with his school’s rifle team and academic team. He is looking at engineering as a career, hopefully within one of the branches of the service. He will probably go to college at either The Citadel or Clemson. An engineer and military man? He has the mind of an engineer (a tad OCD) and loves the idea of service to his country. Again, pretty good stuff.
I admit it, I am a proud father. I have two great kids who not only excel at what they do, they do it for the right reasons. I don’t talk about them a lot, and I probably should more. But then they would get all embarrassed and fuss at me. But hey, if a dad can’t embarrass his kids every once in a while, what’s the use in having them?
So, as I said at the beginning, Tina and Colin are both my pride and my Pride.
