When I Grow Up…

Normally I don't talk about things that involve other people, but this weekend I attended a great event. I went to a family reunion with the Nurse. I had a phenomenal time. First thing first this family takes the time once a year to get together and catch up. How cool is that? In a day when many people don't get along with their families, this one takes time to come from all over the place to get together. The nurses Mom has an awesome laugh, and she never stopped. It was great. I met an Uncle who is 92, and his legs didn't work very well, and he used a Walker. Was he grumpy? Not at all. He had a smile on his face the entire day. When he got up to leave (getting up was a bit of a struggle) did he complain? Not one word. He loves life. He loves his family. I also met an Uncle who had come in from California. Here was the interesting thing about this guy. He takes family ties very seriously. It sound like he would hunt down a 2nd cousin through marriage twice removed just to say hi. He also was a musician so obviously we started geeking out on music. But the thing that really got me, is how friendly this guy was. And I'm not talking about the plastic kind you get at business parties. When I left, he shook my hand, and I got the felling that if I said "Hey I'm going to be in California for 2 days, can I crash at your crib"; after knowing me for 4 hours he'd would not only say yes, but roll out the red carpet. I remember when I used to teach customer service classes I would explain to people to greet your customers like an old high school buddy that you hadn't seen in years, and this guy had it down, and the key point here is it was genuine. I guess in a world of spoiled rich athletes, crooked politicians, greed, etc It's kind of hard to find someone to say "When I grow I wanna be like him," but after going to this picnic I want to be like these guys.