I know the saying is supposed to be, “Customers come first.”

The great majority of companies put their own wellbeing ahead of the customer.

Grocery stores are a perfect example.

Although grocery chains enjoyed great profitability during the pandemic, they have decided to cut costs where it directly disadvantages the customer.

There are fewer checkout employees and no baggers.

Today’s grocery customer must check themselves out and fill their own bags.

I was in a line of 12 shoppers waiting for a self-checkout position to become available while the regular checkouts stood empty.

My son hired a well-known moving company to move him from Detroit to Northern California.

The moving van broke down in Salt Lake City.

The company refused to send another truck to hook onto the trailer and deliver on schedule.

His belongings are now two weeks late.

Customers come last!

Each of us have people and events that influence our behavior.

The obvious sources are people in our lives beginning with our parents.

Parents either show us how TO LIVE or how NOT TO LIVE. We learn from both.

Pressure can also come from siblings positively or negatively.

Then comes classmates whose acceptance we would like to have.

Spouses have a major impact.

Later in life, employers and co-workers can influence our behavior.

After experiencing all these influencers, are you happy with you?

The old saying comes to mind:

“It you don’t stand for something, you’ll fall for anything!”

Are there certain values you hold dear that you will not compromise?

Are they your values or someone else’s?

Are you doing what you’d like to be doing at this stage in your life.

As I approach my 80th year, I’ve learned life is too short especially if you’re not being yourself.

Life is more enjoyable if you are true to yourself.

If not today, when?

Oh, there are a lot of benefits!

And it’s the one form of exercise that most of us can do.

Look at these:

Burn calories.

Strengthen your heart.

Help lower blood sugar.

Ease joint pain.

Boost your immune function.

Boost your energy.

Improve your mood.

Extend your life. (betterhealth.vic.gov.au)

Well, there are the facts.

If you have not had a habit of walking for exercise, get started!

It won’t be easy at the outset if you’ve been a couch potato until now.

After a while, however, you will begin to have more energy to face your challenges with much needed gusto.

One final word.

I think a simple walking program will actually improve the QUALITY OF YOUR LIFE!

If not today, when?

Yes, we love our pets!

By the millions.

Perhaps the biggest reason we love them is the fact that they possess traits many humans don’t always exhibit.

Such as LOYALTY, PATIENCE, FOREGIVENESS and UNCONDITIONAL LOVE!

It’s sad, but true.

People may disappoint us, but seldom if ever does our pet disappoint.

Pets live only in the present moment.

When you come back home after being gone for a few hours, they greet you with such enthusiasm as if you’ve been gone for a year.

Even if you didn’t treat them well yesterday, all is forgiven.

Pets seem to be, by nature, optimistic.

They are always ready to have fun.

One of my neighbors came walking by with a dog I haven’t seen before.

He said, “It’s our COVID dog.”

Many people got a pet to help them through isolation.

We love our pets!

… because the six of us had a wonderful dad.

So, our Father’s Day is always a joyous one.

We are five sons and one daughter.

I don’t have one negative memory of his life.

He loved our mom and they were great partners throughout their 62 year marriage.

He graduated from The University Of Notre Dame with a masters degree.

He remained on the campus as a researcher and professor for 21 years.

Despite his busy professional life, he was very involved in our lives.

He could have written a book on how to be a great dad!

After he died in 2002, mom carried on for four more years.

She used to say, “I want to be with my husband.”

Soulmates to the end!

My granddaughter is struggling today with the birth of her first child. There is a complication that will, hopefully, be resolved by the attending physician.

Men have a moment of gratification.

The woman spends the next 9 months trying to deal with the consequences of that moment.

There is a new sensation taking place within her body unlike any other experience heretofore.

It’s not uncommon that she may begin with morning sickness.

She now begins to assimilate all the adjustments necessary to begin the creation of a new human being.

Her body changes it’s shape while accommodating the space required for the infant to grow.

A new wardrobe is required.

Frequent visits to the doctor become routine.

Yet, the big test is yet to come.

The birthing process is more painful than any other experience she has had.

And then the new mom begins a lifetime of nurturing her child.

I hope all dads appreciate and actively support her in the days and years ahead.

Because she is what heroes are made of!

If not today, when?

If you have food in the frig, clothes on your back, a roof over your head and a place to sleep, you are richer than 75% of the world.

If you have money in the bank, you are among the 8% wealthiest.

If you have a computer, you are among the 1%.

If you’ve never been in battle, in prison, tortured, or suffered starvation, you’re ahead of 700 million people.

If you can attend a church without fear of harassment, arrest, torture or death, you’re more blessed than 3 billion people. (“What happens in heaven when we pray”)

So, how do you react to these sobering statistics?

I would like to suggest that TWO QUALITIES should forever dominate our lives:

COMPASSION-Let’s be aware of the overwhelming suffering of the great majority of our fellow human beings! And do SOMETHING to help!

GRATITUDE-This should be the operative word of our behavior!

If not today, when?

… ONCE WE GET TO KNOW THEM!.

Look around you.

Yes, this is the best time of the year when traditional flowers are in full bloom.

And let’s take a closer look at the many weeds who are flowers too.

They are smiling back at us.

I was driving to my granddaughter’s soccer game and was stopped at a busy intersection waiting for the light to change.

I glanced over at a bunch of weeds growing right next to the road that had become tiny yellow flowers.

Hundreds of them!

Because there was no curb, some of them had been run over by passing cars.

Those that remained were shining forth.

There are people who are flowers too ONCE WE GET TO KNOW THEM!

Look around you.

Flowers everywhere!

If not today, when?

Each day is followed by night.

Thank God!

Night time gives us some restful time to recover from the previous day.

Sometimes it allows us to sleep peacefully because it was a GOOD DAY!

And there are other nights when we need to recover from a BAD DAY!

Hopefully, we can look upon each day as a chapter in our evolving, lifetime story.

Each day is not a continuum of previous days.

It usually has a personality unique to itself.

Yesterday, we rejoiced with our sick daughter who underwent a successful medical procedure.

Today, we say, “Farewell” while attending the funeral of a friend.

And so it goes as we we add another chapter followed by rest time.

IT’S A GOOD PLAN!

Our 46 year old daughter is fighting for her life.

Because of hepatitis C, which she was born with in Vietnam, she required a liver transplant a few years ago.

After recovering from that major medical event, she contracted lymphoma.

After multiple chemo therapy treatments, she survived.

Now, she is battling a more severe lymphoma attack.

This time, the recommended treatment requires painful remedies and isolation.

She has a tremendous caretaker who happens to be her husband!

He is on top of all the details of her medical needs.

He keeps track of her many, many appointments and her schedule of medicines.

He is in every meeting with her doctors while taking notes.

As hard as her suffering has been, he is suffering too.

Although, she has multiple doctors who have multiple patients, he knows more about her medical condition at any given moment than anyone else.

Their daughter just graduated from high school and has been admitted to an excellent university.

Hopefully, mom will live to see her daughter graduate from college too!

Please keep her in your thoughts and prayers. Thank you!