Archive for the ‘Anything can happen day’ tag
We need to stress the “H” word in the homebuilding industry.
Once again the news media has been filled with stories of the inappropriate word choices that people make, reiterating the need for political correctness and sensitivity. The Daily Show featured an amusing satirical debate last week on which was worse, the “R” word or the “N” word, and suggested that in today’s stressful environment people may more often choose words poorly. In my opinion, the media has got it all wrong. The only word that really matters is the “H” word.
I got out of bed early this morning as usual and, after completing my shower and other necessary morning rituals, went to wake my wife. She wanted a few minutes extra in bed so I went into my office and began to read my email. When I returned after 30 minutes to provide my wife’s second wake-up, I sang her the Nestles’ good morning song which prompted her question of “why was I in such a good mood?” Without a moment’s hesitation I responded that “it was such a pleasure to see her each morning that it always put me in a good mood.” Fortunately I was alert and my brain was functioning at that hour as it seems that this was the correct answer.
After a moment’s thought I realized that I am almost always in a good mood because I am happy (the “H” word) and, even though I am not regarded as the greatest motivational speaker, I wanted to share my analysis of why this is true in the hope that one or more of my readers will find some benefit.
I am feeling the effects of the economy and the current housing market like anyone else and I am seeing the stress which appears to permeate all of our society. My business is slower than I would wish and while I am not hurting financially, I am feeling slightly “pinched” as I have responsibilities that I had not anticipated within my personal economic plan. But while several of the factors in my life are certainly not optimal, they do not come even close to negating all of the very positive elements.
I have been married to the same wonderful person for 40 years. My wife and I and our families are in good health, even, for the most part, our three “senior women” for whom we are responsible, although two require full-time live-in caregivers. While there is the unanticipated financial responsibility of the caregivers, we are fortunate in that we have my mother (age 96), my wife’s aunt (age 92) and my mother-in-law (age 90) still with us to share in their love.
We have two wonderful sons, one fabulous daughter-in-law (hopefully another in the near future) and two amazing grandsons who provide us joy every day. My wife and I have successful careers that continually stimulate us, challenge us mentally, provide us opportunities to serve within our industries and community, and we are fortunate to have earned the respect of our colleagues and business associates. And we have good friends to share in our lives.
So I was very happy that I had, in fact, awakened that morning, happy with who I am and what I have accomplished, happy to be married to my wife and happy with my life. My life is not perfect but on balance it is far, far better than just good. And I believe that is also true for the great majority of the people in this country and is the only message that needs to get out today, tomorrow and every day, especially to every member of the homebuilding industry. Our lives are good and we should be happy.
