Well it has been a long week and I can honestly say I am ready for some relaxation, which isn't going to happen!!! I tried hard today to keep a good attitude even though I am working at my father's, mowing on my off days. While riding around on the mower, I often think about the past and the future, while listening to music, which is a MUST!! I thought about our candidates who tried out for SWAT and the challenges that they overcame on Tuesday. It made me think about people and just life in general about going that extra mile....
I was very fortunate to be raised by a father who knew the importance of work and good work ethic. As a young child I always helped around his shop and did what I could. Since he owns and operates a slaughter house it was full of things that could literally kill a kid. That didn't matter to my father who put me right in the worst jobs there. He told me that if you wanna be good at something you need to know how to do everything about the job, even the worst jobs there. So from around age 6-10 I worked and do crappy jobs at his business. Around the age of 10, my father added a great incentive to work, PAY!!! I remember I was paid .10 cents and hour and after a long days work I often had enough to go grab a Pepsi. Through all that time, my father always pushed me to do my best and to do the very best I could at the job. He told me to imagine if I was paying someone to work, what I would expect them to do for me. So even with the crappy pay, I continued to work my butt off for him.
Around the age of 12 I decided that I wanted a new ATV and I inquired on the thought with my father. He decided to pay me $5 a hour and to help me save money toward the purchase. He also told me that he would let me be the main man in charge of deer when the season came if I was up for the challenge and boy was I ever!! I remember waking up at 3:30 on the weekends so I could leave with Dad to work and I would sometimes work until 7:00p.m. The next thing I knew, I had saved up $500 and Dad was ready to let me purchase the four wheeler. We put the $500 as a down payment and I promised to make all the payments until it was mine. What I didn't know is that Dad had other plans. He paid every payment after that since I had worked so hard to get the money to put down. Boy did I have fun on that thing, and I still have it NOW!!
I continued to work for him up until I was 15 and he told me that I was ready to get a "real" job. He wanted me to get a job away from him so I would see what the real world was like. In a few weeks, I found myself that job. After a few weeks of working there I realized how lazy most people were and how thankful I was for how my father raised me. I have continued to try to live and work like that up until now.
As I continued to mow today, I thought, "am I doing all I can to do my best?" The answer was definitely NO!! I know I do more than most but I know also that I could definitely do more. Do more for my job by shooting, staying in better physical shape, by going the extra mile for the reports that are bogus, by just being a better Deputy, and doing what is right. I could do more for my family by doing more family activities, by being a better listener, by helping our more at the house, by being a better husband, and by being a better father.
Even with all that when it comes to my spiritual life, there is so much I can improve on. I am so thankful God is forgiving and hasn't given up on a sinner like me. So I challenge you, me, and everyone to go that extra mile in everything that you do. I believe if you do you can leave this earth with a tombstone that reads "here lies a man who got all he ever wanted." I hope that when I leave this Earth that my memory always includes that lesson my father taught me as a young age and that it is being carried on by my son to his children as well.
So as I finished my mowing I made sure today I went the extra mile and striped my grandmothers yard as best I can. I have to say that even though its mostly weeds, it looked almost as good as a baseball diamond on game day!!
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