Wednesday, June 15, 2011

My baby daughter, lawyer girl!

My youngest daughter takes her oath to the Court today. She will be a real lawyer!  She is 3000 miles away in Washington DC and I can't be there.  It is interesting the steps we take and how we get to where we are.
I have often retraced my own path on this blog to discover that very thing about myself.  One step this way or that and everything changes, although we may not realize it at the time.  Life is a journey all right but we have no idea of where we are going.  With some self reflection we can look backwards and see how we got to where we are but the future is always cloudy and we never know that a particular step will lead to a certain outcome.
  My baby daughter never had a real job until she was 22 years old, no "McDonald's Experience", not even baby sitting.  She worked with me and was a pretty good welder by the time she was 16 and had no fear of masonry, getting dirty was never a problem.  We always talked while we were working, about this and that and politics and religion, what was in the newspapers and Paris.  Yes, France. I would always tell her of my traveling adventures and try to expand her horizons beyond Springfield, Oregon, our little town.  It is difficult to imagine better things when your vision is limited, restricted to your own neighborhood.
   I grew up in a house full of books and so did my daughters.  I don't think I have ever thrown a book away.
I just keep making more book cases.  My children were read to from the day they were born and when they grew older had their own book cases in their rooms.
   Both of my daughters became travellers, inheriting my wanderlust and fearless of adventure.  Both have been to Europe or African, volunteering, teaching or just traveling about.
   Now what happens?  It is often the accidental ebb and flow of life that leaves a lasting impression, something not planned at all but found washed upon the beach.
You can always find me HERE

2 comments:

Autumn Leaves said...

What an odd coincidence, your last line. Marie Theron's blog showed a baby whale shark that had washed up on the beach. At any rate, Jerry, I too have the love of books and finally had to offload to various libraries in the form of hefty donations. I kept all the hard covers, all the classics, all the art and other such books, all the history books, and even a philosophy (I hate studying philosophy, a lose lose proposition at best) book that is ancient. I also have that wanderlust and wish I had the money to live the nomadic life and drag my girls and grandkids right along with me.

Congrats to your JD! She's achieved something not easy to achieve. And I know your girls are blessed to have you and their mom as parents.

Barbra Joan said...

Jerry, I know you are so proud of both your girls, and congratulations to her .. but also to you for the wonderful part you've played in their lives... You know the story of my dad, and how important that was to me.. BJ