I got to thinking about the most important things I learned in the past year. Here are a couple of them:
- Kim's parents were right years ago when they told us (over one of those great long dinners on the porch at Fox Point where I never wanted anyone to get up and start clearing the table because that meant that the conversation was over) that the role of a parent is to prepare your kids to be independent so that, when they leave, they're successful in whatever they choose to do. As hard as it was to have Hannah go off to college last fall, it was more than worth it to see her have such a great time at school. I know she's only started to make her own way but I think we must have done pretty well getting her ready.
- Patience really is a virtue -- and I still don't have enough of it.
- Fishing is fun -- but only when someone else is driving the boat and setting the rods.
- Getting up at 5:30AM is much better than getting up at 4:45AM, although it's still pretty darn early in the cold dark months of January and February.
- Being asked for your opinion, even when the direction that's chosen isn't the one that you recommend, is much better than not being asked for your opinion at all.
- When drilling a hole in a piece of wood, never place the hand that's supporting the wood directly in the line of the drill bit.
- When the boat is frozen in at the dock, make sure that you drop the goose directly in front of the duck blind. If you don't, it's not a good idea to play human ice breaker and try to retrieve the bird.
- All organizations have problems -- they may be different problems, but they're problems nonetheless.
- I really miss Artie Lange.
