As I prepared the last bit of work I needed to do before I head off to New York City for Book Expo America, I peered into my kids’s bedroom to check in on them. I won’t have that opportunity until Sunday now, so I wanted to get that done before I went to bed myself. I do it almost every night, in fact. It’s become a ritual – and it’s a ritual I’ll miss out on for the next few days.
When I checked in tonight, I realized something: I’ll never be done.
I’ll never be done checking in on them, although how I do so will change over time. I’ll never be done teaching them, because they’ll learn from me every day – even after I’m no longer around to do so in person. Whether they read my work online, my book, or the journals I’m leaving behind when I shuffle off this mortal coil, they will always be getting something from me.
Then they will pass morsels of what I’ve sent their way to others, whether it will be my grandchildren, their partners, or those they meet along the way. Maybe they’ll have my passion for productivity and share that. Maybe they’ll haves desire to perform, as I have. Maybe they’ll want to teach, whether in a similar way that I have tried to teach or in some other capacity. No matter what, aspects of me will keep getting passed on.
So I’ll never be done.
When I think about it that way, I really want to make sure that I check off the right boxes rather than every box.
Why?
Well, since I’ll never be done I want to make sure I enjoy the ride along the way.
Photo credit: Glen26 (CC BY 2.0)
