I got an e-mail from daughter Lex a few days ago. Up until recently, she's always been the one in the background at work - the one sourcing all the materials, doing all the drawings, putting together the presentations, etc. In fact, she got a call while she was here, asking her to change her flight and come back to San Diego a few days early. Her boss had a presentation coming up, and since she is not a computer person, she needed Lex to hurry back and pull it together for her. Now it seems she has finally decided that it's time to push our little Lexie out of the nest. She asked Lex to start going along on presentations with her, and has decided to start training her to manage design projects alone, so she herself can spend more time in Australia with her new fiancee.
Alexis is ecstatic...and scared spitless. She wrote "Why does responsibility have to be so scary? Why can't it just be fun and exciting?" Well babe, that's what the word "responsible" means, isn't it? It lets everyone know who's to blame, if anything goes wrong! Remember how, when you were growing up, I had the habit of periodically announcing "OK kids, today you learned important-life-lesson #1!" Well, here's another one for you, regarding how the pay scale works in a capitalistic society. I used to give your dad a lot of grief when he'd come home and collapse into his lounge chair at the end of the day. "Hey! What's your problem?" I'd ask. "I'm the one who spent the day out in the blazing heat, hauling around pottery and statues!" "It's mental fatigue, dear," he would reply. "Mental fatigue!" Though I usually blew raspberries in response, I knew he was telling the truth, and that there was a good reason why he has always been able to make more in one hour than I can make in a week.
Here in America, we do not reward people for hard physical labor. We do not even reward those who risk their lives, such as firefighters and soldiers. No, we only reward those who risk the lives of others. Those who are "responsible" for determining the fates of families, corporations, cities, and even countries. That's who gets the big bucks. Well, them and the guys who are entertaining enough to make the others forget all about their responsibilities every now and then.
Anyway, I just want you to know dear, that Dad and I have every faith that you will rise to the occasion, whatever comes your way. And look at the bright side. No matter how tough the decisions you are faced with, just keep telling yourself "At least I'm not in Obama's shoes!"
P.S. Many thanks to www.mediabistro.com for the above image.
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2 comments:
Hey, I'll have you know that I never risked anyone else's life. At least not that I know of.
Well, you stayed awake many nights, worrying about the people who might get laid off and lose their health coverage - especially when you knew there was a serious illness in that particular family. So, yes, you did hold their lives in your hands. And, what would have happened if you had screwed up the engineering or repairs of a ginormous piece of equipment that had lots of people on or around it?
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