I was home, in Belgium, for the weekend. It is at those moments I realize how deep a father's love runs. Lana and Hannah are 15 and 12 now.
When the class began, wordlessly, he picked up a very large and empty mayonnaise jar and proceeded to fill it with golf balls. He then asked the students if the jar was full. They agreed that it was.
So the Professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured them into the jar. He shook the jar lightly. The pebbles rolled into the open areas between the golf balls. He then asked the students again if the jar was full. They agreed it was.
The Professor next picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar. Of course, the sand filled up everything else. He asked once more if the jar was full. The students responded with an unanimous "yes."
The Professor then produced two cups of coffee from under the table and poured the entire contents into the jar, effectively filling the space between the grains of sand.
"Now," said the professor, as the laughter subsided, "I want you to recognize that this jar represents your life. The golf balls are the important things--your family, your children, your health, your friends, and your favorite passions - things that if everything else was lost and only they remained, your life would still be full.
The pebbles are the other things that matter like your job, your house, and your car. The sand is everything else -the small stuff.
"If you put the sand into the jar first," he continued, "there is no room for the pebbles or the golf balls. The same goes for life.
If you spend all your time and energy on the small stuff, you will never have room for the things that are important to you. Pay attention to the things that are critical to your happiness. Play with your children. Take time to care about your health. Spend time with your friends, your loved ones.
"Take care of the golf balls first, the things that really matter. Set your priorities. The rest is just sand."
One of the students raised her hand and inquired what the coffee represented. The Professor smiled. "I'm glad you asked. It just goes to show you that no matter how full your life may seem, there's always room for a couple of cups of coffee with a friend."
Thanks to the "E"'s for the links!
Yesterday, we drove the 1000 km from South Tyrol back home. It took us 12 hours, instead of the usual 10. Loads of traffic but a scenery to be enjoyed. Even though it was pretty dark and gloomy, it gives a 'happy kick' driving through the mountains in the snow.
It also gives me a knot in the throat driving through the Fernpass bordering Austria and Germany, knowing it will take one more year before you see the snow and the mountains of this part of the world again... And who knows what will happen in that year.
This evening, I am flying back to Rome. Back to work.
Two days ago, we went up to Cortina, one hours drive from our hotel. The scenery and ski slopes were great, but it was windy and bloody cold, as you can see from the pictures:
I was writing in the living room last Sunday when Hannah, our youngest, came to show me a story and a drawing she made: Little Rumble and her hamster. Once upon a time, One day,
there was a little girl.
She was called Little Rumble.
She had a hamster who had the name ‘Rock’,
because the hamster liked rock music.
It was not a normal hamster,
as it spoke Dutch too!
Little Rumble did not find her hamster anymore.
Because ‘Rock’ liked music,
the girl sung in a soft sweet little voice:
“Oh my sweet little hamster,
Where are you now, where are you now?
Oh my sweet little hamster..”
And what did she see?
“Look”, she cried out, “There comes Rock!”.
And from that day,
Little Rumble called her hamster:
‘Classical’.
She is nine.. They keep on surprising me, my girls. It made me think. Within seven weeks, my sabbatical is over. I don't know yet where I will be posted for my next assignment. We change duty stations every two to four years. My assignment in Dubai is over, so up for the next one.
You know, often people write to me, saying they envy my way of life, the travelling, the adventure... It is not all gold that glitters though. One aspect is a continuing challenge. And it is not the hardship of a duty station, not the fact that every two to four years we have to start up a new life again at the other side of the world. No matter the fact that often 'life in the field' can pretty rough and often has an aspect of danger to it. What is important and a continuous challenge for many of us, though, is how our family copes with all of that.
So many people in 'our line of work' have problems finding and keeping a partner. And later on, building and keeping a family. Either the family stays at home (like mine does most of the time), or they travel along from duty station to duty station. For some of us, our partner has the same kind of job. Him working somewhere in South America and her somewhere in South-East Asia. The kids shuttling in between, or in a boarding school.
So many families, marriages, relationships break up over this 'remoteness'. That is the biggest challenge.
And my biggest happiness is to have found a way to balance my crazy lifestyle with that of having a family.
 Peter. Flemish, European, aid worker, expeditioner, sailor, traveller, husband, father, friend, nutcase. Not necessarily in that order. |
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