So I have two interesting pieces of news.
1. I know now for sure that a Honda Civic can be rear ended by a Ford F-150 and drive away with far less damage. In fact, the truck couldn’t drive away period.
2. I’m a developer again.
The first item is pretty self-explanatory. The second requires a bit of a story.
A few weeks ago I went to a funeral for my wife’s Uncle Craig. Out of the clear blue sky he had a heart attack even though he had no previous heart problems. Just days before we had been up for his daughter’s wedding where he walked her down the aisle. For the funeral she had to be called back from her honeymoon in Jamaica.
He was only 52.
Too young, too early, too unexpected, too unfair, too badly timed, all these things apply. I’ve been to funerals before but this particular one stood out. This was the first one that I’ve been to since I’ve had my own kids. Looking over at his kids, even though they are adults now, I couldn’t help but think of mine.
I couldn’t help but think that life is too short.
When I first met Craig about 15 years ago he wasn’t much older than I am now. It was clear from the beginning though that he was a stand up guy. Even though the extended family is large and a gathering, like say Christmas, is best described as “freaking humongous” he always had time to come say hello even though I was just the boyfriend of one of his many nieces.
Over the years I got a chance to watch his kids grow up. His daughter is now a beautiful school teacher and his sons are the types of guys that you want to be in your crew, the kind that you know will have your back. I hope my kids turn out that well some day. I hope I do as good a job as he did.
While I hate to think about it, watching all this made me ponder, “What if all I have left is twenty years?” I remember when that seemed like a long time. Somehow it doesn’t seem like that anymore. It’s cliché to say, “Live each day as your last” so I won’t do that. Besides, that’s just not possible. What I will say is that you shouldn’t live each day doing something that you aren’t truly happy doing.
It is with all this in mind that I moved back to writing software. It has been an interesting year in the marketing/strategy world and I now know that my brain is not wired for that type of work. Thinking about positioning and messaging are the sorts of things that wake some people up in the morning, including some people that are very good at it here. I could do the work but it wasn’t my ambition. It isn’t who I am. And there’s not enough time to spend doing something that isn’t you.
Life is too short.
So I raise a beer to Uncle Craig. Goodbye, God speed, and thanks for inspiring me to try to find happiness.
Craig Snyder (1955-2008)
Crouching tiger, appreciate your decision to do what is best for you but, now that I have found your blog, it is with much sadness to find this new blog for me will be so short lived. Inspired by the major stand-up guys you mention will most assuredly make you successful in your role as dad. Recognizing your children as gifts and treating them as such will put you in the same stand-up league. Your children have already won big by winning the parent lottery.