2009 was the most extraordinary year
of my life not because of what I earned but rather because of what I learned.
The year was filled with more learning experiences on more areas of my life
than any other. My hope is that some of these lessons will be of value to you in 2010.
The single biggest lesson for me was to value the value of life to a greater degree.
From July 2008 to May 2009 six important people in my life died:
Aunt Loretta, Aunt Marie, Aunt Helen, my cousin Larry, my good friend Kevin Wade, and
my dad. The hardest of all of these was losing my dad. Dad was an encourager. Even
though I don't think he ever really fully
understood what I do for a living, he always kept encouraging me and showing interest
in my work. Dad died six weeks before his
80th birthday.
Next to my desk I have a letter I wrote to him on his
75th birthday. It summarized many of the main events and
routine happenings in our lives together. Dad made a copy of it, wrote a note on it, and
gave me that copy. I never understood why he did that since the letter was from me
to him. Now I'm so thankful he did. At the end of the note he wrote, "Dan, I love
you forever, Dad." |
