I have a really cool story on accomplishments. I love this topic.
I have been reflecting a bit on life and its journey, and I happened to be thinking about my in-laws. The pair are amazing, rarely pausing a moment as they bound back and forth from Florida (winter/spring) to Iowa (summer/fall) and all the while staying active with tennis and attending the numerous family and community events that are the result of having eight offspring and successful educator careers. My mother-in-law is going through painful double knee replacement recovery but has been a tremendous pillar through it. Despite the pain she somehow manages to worry and think about others. Two weeks before the surgery she was traveling to the Portland Coast for a large family reunion and not complaining one bit about the pain she was in with those worn-out knees.
My father-in-law, during that same trip, climbed Mount St. Helens – two days before he turned 70 years old! That is an elevation of 8,365 feet (2,550 m) and he climbed it in one day with his son and grandson. Three generations climbing together, and none of them “mountaineers” – but all of them adventure seekers. According to his grandson (my nephew Blaine), when they checked the records of those whom had climbed to the peak, the next closest in age was 65. That is quite an accomplishment. The real accomplishment is that he climbed it in tennis shoes and hadn’t decided to climb it until the day before. He did not prepare, he did not dwell on it – he just did it.
“It has long since come to my attention that people of accomplishment rarely sit back and let things happen to them. They go out and happen to things.” source
Congratulations Tom on this accomplishment – if you ever wonder how you got such a good stack of kids just look at your wife and look in the mirror!
