Potpourri week: A little bit of this and that
Hello, all. Hope you all had a lovely Mother’s Day and those of you whose mothers are still here got to spend time with them. There are few people who can have as big of an impact on a child’s life as a mom. C.S. Lewis once said, “Children are not a distraction from more important work. They are the most important work.”
-A brief public service announcement: For those of you who are parents with young kids, please make sure to teach them to look left, right and left again before crossing the street, and have them practice until you know they’ve got it down. In town, I’ve seen kids on bikes blow through a stop sign without ever looking and it makes me nervous. Accidents happen so quickly.
- Hope you enjoyed reading the story about the Walking America Couple. I certainly enjoyed writing it. They reminded me that for as much negative we see on the news, there is way more positive out there and people doing kind things for others simply because it’s the right thing to do. So that’s encouraging. Talking to them also puts into perspective something most of us know to be true but it’s easy to lose sight of: having a lot wealth or material possessions in and of itself is not going to make you happy. This couple has very little in terms of worldly possessions, but they have made many new friends, gotten to see a lot of our beautiful country and had an experience that most people will never have. You can’t really put a price tag on that.
-I recently read “Becoming Free Indeed: My Story of Disentangling Faith from Fear” by Jinger Duggar Vuolo. Jinger is one of the kids from the popular TLC TV series “19 Kids and Counting” and “Counting On.” It’s an interesting read that brought to light the problems that can occur when mixing man-made rules with Scripture. Jinger felt that much of the religious teachings she received while growing up were fear-based rather than love-based. If you’re a person of faith, or even if you’re not, you might find it worth the read.
- It’s crazy to think we’re already more than halfway through May. When I was in school, it seemed the third quarter of the year — January, February and part of March, I think — would drag along, but once we got into April and especially May, the days would fly by. For this year’s graduates, congratulations! I don’t have a ton of advice but a few tidbits: It’s OK if you don’t know exactly what you want to be when you grow up and it’s OK if you change your mind. Just be confident in yourself, work hard and do your best at whatever you put your mind to do. Also, as one of my college professors said – and I didn’t fully believe him at the time, but he was right – you will never have more free time in your life than you do right now (this applies when you are in college too). Now is the time to set routines and habits that will serve you for the rest of your life. If you set your intentions and start now, just think how far along you will be five years from now.
Don’t live your life trying to please other people. In high school, there is inevitable peer pressure and the strong pull to be popular. But when you get out of high school, you find out that stuff really doesn’t matter. Is it OK to take other people’s opinions into consideration, especially seeking wise counsel from people you respect when making a decision? Of course. Just don’t fall into the trap of trying to live someone else’s version of what your life should look like. Be the best version of you possible, not someone else.
Finally, keep your priorities in order — faith, family and friends/community. The time after high school is often seen as a time for “finding yourself” and that’s all well and good, but don’t lose sight of your most important relationships along the way. Don’t forget about helping others and being compassionate. In your efforts to serve others, you just might find part of your own purpose.
- Coming up on the calendar is Armed Forces Day, this Saturday, May 20. I thought I’d share a little trivia about this observance. The U.S. Armed Forces include the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, Space Force and Coast Guard. The Army National Guard and Air National Guard are reserve components of these services and operate in part under state authority.
According to USAFacts.org, there were 1.3 million active-duty military personnel in 2022, which is 39 percent fewer than in 1987 – its recent peak. There were 171,736 permanently assigned active-duty troops abroad in 2022. Defense spending decreased 5.2 percent in 2022 and was 16.7 percent lower than its 2010 peak.
The U.S. Army is the largest and oldest military branch. Its motto is “This We’ll Defend.”
The Marine Corp is officially a component of the Navy. Its motto is “Semper Fidelis,” which is Latin for “Always Faithful.” The Navy has no official motto; however, “Non sibi sed patriae” (not self but country) is often cited as its motto. This is the phrase inscribed above the chapel doors of the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md.
Formally adopted in 2010, the Air Force’s motto is “Aim High ... Fly-Fight-Win.”
The Coast Guard has a motto of “Semper Paratus” or “Always Ready.” The newest branch of the U.S. military, the Space Force, has a motto of “Semper Supra,” or “Always Above,” referencing both the act of looking up into space and striving for excellence/not settling for mediocrity.
The mottos represent ideals to strive for in how we conduct our daily lives.
With Armed Forces Day nearing as well as Memorial Day, it’s a reminder to be grateful for all those who have served our country and made sacrifices great and small. To any veterans reading this, thank you. Thanks also to the families of veterans who have had to make sacrifices too.
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