CLOUDY DAYS TAKE A SHORT BREAK

Cloudy days in Oregon? How can that be?

Where I grew up no one complained about the rain.

If they did that would have been all they talked about.

There’s more going on than cloudy days, but what do you do when all you see are clouds?

The first thing is to stop fixating on one cloud, then another. They are clouds. It might rain.

Put on a coat when you go out in the rain.

Leave the coat in the car if it’s not raining. Why?

You’ll figure it out, eventually.

It’s going to rain. Eventually.

The question is, “How wet will you get?”

When we start in life we don’t have all the tools we need, tools that help.

In a sense we are prey to those who do have the life tools we want.

You know, successful people who enjoy living the life they’ve earned.

You might get real wet if you don’t take the Boy Scout advice and ‘Be Prepared.’

Prepared for what? Prepared for life, buddy.

It’s life with, and life without. Here’s what that means:

If something doesn’t belong to you, leave it alone. Don’t start thinking how much you want something and how to get it right away.

For free.

That’s not how it works. If you want something, make a plan, talk about it. Write it down.

Work for it, save for it, and on that special day, bring it home.

Like a car. If you see a car with the keys in the ignition, it’s not an invitation to take a spin.

Stealing and getting caught sets you up for a life of cloudy days without a key to your front door.

Or your own clothes.

Ignore good advice and you’ll feel the rain on cloudy days

Did you listen to your dad when you were a kid?

How about when you became a dad? Did your kids listen to you?

Did they put a coat on when you said, “Put a coat on?”

Here’s the advice I give my adult kids:

“You’re going to be an Independent man who wants their space. You’ll want to set our own schedule, your own agenda, set your own goals.

“In other words, you won’t want to be bothered with your old mom and dad with the constant reminder that life is short.

“We’ll go through some things that won’t make sense you, or us, but we will persevere.

“I know it’s hard to watch parents age. It’s hard on everybody. My dad was first. His health failed and I thought I had the answer if I could only rescue him, kidnap him, from his home to mine.

“That’s not a medical solution. My mom was next with a lingering illness that left her lucid but racked in pain. Her meds made her sleepy all the time.

“If you’re lucky enough to live a long life, make the good times as good as you can and tread lightly on the bad times.

“We all have our time in the sun. Bask in the warmth as long as you can, but before moving along, leave the stage set for the next person’s turn.

“Remember, if at any time you feel hemmed in, crowded, you don’t have to move three thousand miles away. I can ignore you from across the street for as long as you need.

“And I won’t remind you to put on a coat.”