Focus on What Matters

I came into work this morning and a co-worker asked how my weekend was. I said it was good.
As we continued talking about our weekends, I realized that it really wasn't good at all. In fact, with the exception of one fantastic event, the weekend was really quite horrible.

We had to cancel plans to go down the beach and stay with good friends for the weekend-despite the wonderful weather.

After we canceled those plans I learned that an uncle whom I loved and respected passed away. We attended his wake on Saturday night.

After an illness, we finally made the painful decision to put a beloved pet to sleep on Saturday morning. We saw an opportunity in all this sadness to introduce our young daughter to the concept of death in, what we hope, was a healthy way. While we hope the result was good, the process -- for us anyway -- was difficult.

But in between all this death and misery we helped my only brother bring home his first child from the hospital. My little one became a cousin; my wife and I became an aunt and uncle for the first time.

So when my coworker asked how my weekend was, without even realizing it, I focused on what matters. Our pet will be sorely missed; she lived a long life and brought us great joy, but it was time for her to go. The same can be said for uncle, who was one of the most generous men I knew. Generous with what truly mattered: His time, his wisdom; his help. He was full of life right till the end, but then it was time. We would have been overjoyed with the birth of his great niece and saddened if we let his passing overshadow it. He knew how to focus on what matters.