It All Matters

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My grandpa is a badass 80 year old dude.

He served his country. He grinded odd jobs for income. And he worked 36 years as United States Post Office, including many years of night shifts.

And here he is chopping wood this summer (0:16):

During lunch yesterday, my grandpa was telling stories.

In 1991 he was in a terrible motorcycle accident. His head smashed against the back of a van. Had he not been wearing a helmet, he would have died on impact.

You know how many days of work he missed?

Zero.

Then there was the time my grandpa broke his leg, but instead of taking any sick days, he simply propped his leg up and sat down while working.

When he retired, my grandfather had accumulated one and a half years of sick pay.

Not because it paid out.

He did it because he works. That is what he does.

He shows up and he doesn’t complain.

Just like he has never once mentioned his arthritis, but instead, spent the whole day battling my cousin and I to move heavy furniture!

This attitude and this outlook on life isn’t just admirable, it is worth mirroring.

Not only for our own benefit, but because it is the right thing to do.

Each of those days of work mattered.

Just like every time you restrain from an emotional outburst, that matters.

And every time you lift someone up instead of putting them down, that matters.

It’s easy to lose sight of that, particularly when you can’t see the result immediately.

But this lunch painted the picture of what the outcome will be.

That the little decision to not take sick days for an entire career. To ignore pain and go move, and mow, and chop wood anyway. They make a huge difference in who you are, in your relationships, in your physical health, and in your happiness. It all matters.



Comments for This Entry

  • Gavin

    My dad is the same way...coming up on 80 and even now, works harder than me every single day. Many people say this type of work ethinc is gone but I'm going to be damn sure and try and istill some of this grind in my daughter. As the old adage goes, the confort zone is a nice place, but nothing grows there...

    November 4, 2016 at 2:39 pm | Reply to this comment

  • Julia

    Great post. We try to "teach" this in our family, and you just seem to pick this up naturally. It amazes me that you are innately curious about all these life lessons and actively seek the wisdom within them. And you are a great storyteller yourself in how you convey them to us in your posts and that you also relate them to other areas of life as well. I'm slowly but surely catching up on your posts and videos. Thank you for the inspiration!

    February 26, 2018 at 4:10 pm | Reply to this comment

  • Dorothy Howard

    how can I get in this equation as a diabetic? Carbs are not my friend.

    October 18, 2018 at 4:48 pm | Reply to this comment

  • Jerome Levy

    I really enjoyed your video about fitness after 58. I am 60 and most of my friends are late 50s through 65--our fitness is all over the map. Former in shape athletic friends are now 40-60 lbs overweight. I love to hike, ski, and snowboard but I know my days are numbered. While I run 2-3 days weekly, I do no weightlifting and I eat terribly, very lucky to still have a metabolism that has enabled me to stay at 160 at 5'8". Going to watch all your stuff. I sent this video to 20 people I know who I do not want to lose their ability to hike and stay active. Thanks for an impressive, and a bit scary video, we all need to see it at our age. Tried to respond through snapchat but couldn't figure it out. Jerry

    December 3, 2018 at 5:27 pm | Reply to this comment

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