Gommy wants to talk about character today. There are quite a few 'characters' out there in the world, but very few of them HAVE good character. Gommy is talking about the 'good ole' sort of character. The kind our parents were lucky enough to have known and shown. The kind where your word is your bond - you would never steal anything (even paperclips from work) - lying wasn't automatic - you would never be late for work - calling in sick was only if you were 'really' sick........do you get the gist of where this is going?
Yesterday was a happy/sad day for Gommy. My son Terry would have been 39 yesterday. I say happy/sad because I was sad to think of my son not being with us any longer but I was happy about so many memories I have of Terry. Terry was only 22 when he died, but he was certainly a man of character. I was pleasantly surprised this year to receive (through my daughter Tracey) an email to her from a soldier Terry was in the Army Rangers with. Talk about character???? You better have some character to be an Army Ranger. The lives of your fellow soldiers depend on your having some pretty awesome 'character'. The email was to let my daughter Tracey know that although she didn't know this soldier, he was in the service with Terry. He was a lawyer now in one of the Carolina's and that he just wanted her to know that her brother was a totally honorable, trusted, heroic man and that this soldier tried every day to be as good a man as Terry was. Now, do you think Gommy felt proud?????? You betcha.
Now another time Gommy was made to feel really proud was just a few weeks ago. My daughter Tiffany also died in the same car accident with my son Terry. One day I was looking at my Facebook site and noticed a picture on someone else's site with Tiffany in it. I 'tagged' the photo with Tiff's name. The lady wrote me back that she was a friend of Tiffs' and loved Tiff so much when they went to school together and she still has pictures of Tiff in her house. She has even told her little girl all about what a special person Tiffany was. Wow...these nice words really make a mom feel great.
My daughter Tracey makes me proud every day. She is a wonderful daughter, wife and now mother to the smartest, cutest and most special two children in the world...oops, I have to watch myself when I go off like that. But Tracey (and her husband Johnny) are really making a pointed effort to raise good children who are going to be future fellow citizens out in this crazy world. I feel very proud because they 'get it'. They don't just get up every day and go though the 'grind'. They think about how everything they do is going to affect the children. They are already seriously planning the childrens' education and the children are only two and a half and five months old. They 'get it' that good people don't just happen, they are 'reared' and that it takes thought and planning. It is so important to raise children thoughtfully or you will end up with them being grown 'people without character' and we already have plenty of those thank you.
Well, enough of Gommy bragging. But remember this.....it is easy to look like you have good character when everything is going great. It is a bit harder to keep that good character when everything seems to be falling down all around you. But that is the true measure of a good person. When you can keep your word about something you promised, (even if something else more fun comes along) or you are still kind to people even when your own world seems to be crumbling (remember it isn't their fault so don't take it out on anyone else), or you can be happy for someone else's good fortune even if you feel you aren't having any good luck yourself, etc. That is how you can keep track of how you are doing in the 'good character' department. So, Gommy says to try to start today by practicing to be a 'good character'. It takes a concerted effort but after a time you will find that it is really worth it. You will feel so much better about yourself. Go on, try it...............Gommy is pulling for you!
