To Kate on Her Graduation

To My Granddaughter Kate upon her College Graduation

Hi Kate:

Glad you received our card. We are so proud of you! It takes a lot of perseverance to get through to your degree. I for one understand that. I wish we could have done more to get you through and to reward your efforts.   As John Lennon once said:  “Life is what happens when you’re making other plans.”

That’s an interesting statement to reflect on from the perspective of age 75. With regard to your future plans, you never know where you’ll wind up for sure. Of all the guys in my HS group, only one wound up where he had planned, and that was Paul Switzer, who wanted to be a Dr. and stuck to it all the way through Med. school.  His dad and uncle invented fluorescent paint, and so there were a lot of resources there, but even so, those of us who got degrees wound up in different areas than our degrees.

Strange, but I believe we come in with a life plan that we really don’t know about on the conscious level, and Life throws lessons at us to learn and grow from. Would love to have a chance one day to sit and talk to you about that.  Sort of forewarned is forearmed.  If you have a good concept of what it’s all about, your attitude really can make life so much easier when the tough lessons come.  Sometimes you get into situations where Life throws you to the curb, and you think you’re about to die. Somehow you get through it, and 5 years later you realize the whole experience was a gift. What? . See if you can remember that when you’re 75 and you’ll look back and laugh. Hey that old buzzard Grandfather of mine wasn’t all crazy after all, just mostly crazy….. haha, just sayin……

I was really happy to hear from you. We never seem to get much chance to talk, everyone is so busy, and so much going on electronically …. arrgh!  Maybe when we get out this Fall we can get a chance?  Peggy has written her autobiography, and I guess I should too.  Too much to tell over 75 years, so I’m going to give it a try. Maybe I can get a good start by the time I get out there, and can give you a copy.  It’s been a pretty interesting trip, I have to say, with a lot of knowledge gained (a little late), and a lot of questions still to answer. You could write a novel about it (no one would believe).

We so much wish you well in the coming years.  It will be a wonderful trip if you’ll allow it to be.  I spent 25 years after college searching for the meaning of “Free Will”.  One day, and a long story in between, I got it. And, like everything else you hear, it’s easy to say but hard to do.  What it’s all about, is that this life is like a dream, and you have the choice to believe the things that make your life beautiful, and happy, and kind; or to believe the things that make your life ugly, and gray, and mean.

I wish I had known sooner, and realized the fact that what you believe makes your life happy or sad.  How you approach things makes your life amazingly fun or a hard dismal fight.  Your attitude toward what happens to you is 99% of whether it’s a good trip or bad, if you have good luck or bad. In retrospect, it is all a school; it’s all Learning and Growth for your higher self, your soul.  Everything that happened to you in the past, and everything that will happen from here on, has something good  in it. If you keep asking, what’s the good part of this bad experience, you’ll eventually find that good thing. It’s always there.

What a difference in your life a great attitude can make. It can make a difference of living a life of happy adventure, or living a life of fear.  Everything that’s lousy and mean and dismal comes from Fear, and everything that’s wonderful and loving and kind comes from Love. It’s your choice, your Free Will, your gift to choose or reject. No matter how tough things get, you will always win if you come from a standpoint of Love. Life throws tough things at you so you can learn and grow.  If you ate gourmet meals all your life, you wouldn’t know what a good meal was. You have to eat some lousy meals to know what a good meal is, and know which to choose next time.  Your life enemy will always be fear that generates all the negativity that exists. Love will always be your ally.

I want you to know that I Love you so much, I am so Proud of you…….and that I wish you a life full of Love, and Courage, and Fun. If you insist on believing in that, it will be.

What a trip you are starting out on, Kate, full of adventure at every turn. Full of beauty and happiness, if you look for it; Full of Love and Passion if you seek it.  Like the movie, The Martian , Never, never give up!   Love and Happiness is all around you.

Here’s to your Life ahead, Kate….. Don’t be afraid, Go for it!

With all my Love,

Grandpa Tom