You have to Amember before you can Remember…

I’m on a committee that deals with most of the youth organizations in the Fredericton area – and we had a meeting yesterday, do discuss last year’s event and to plan for the coming year. I think whenever you host an event it’s important to de-brief after the event, so that you don’t make the same mistakes, should you undertake a similar event in the future. These discussions flowed quite naturally into questioning of what messages we wanted to impart to the youth of today (and the leaders of tomorrow) these messages (one of the committee members suggested) could be– “Don’t do drugs, Wear a condom, Stay in School” – then we got talking about how to reach the youth, then we got talking about bringing in a motivational speaker, then we got talking about Matt Foley…



Upon returning to my office I had a great conversation with a co-worker, about messages that we found useful over our own youth, and the activities, events and influences that combined to make us the people that we are today – It was a kind of a de-brief of our lives, trying to derive some rhyme or reason – that has led us to where we are.

After the conversation I was left with the feeling that these posts that I write – was somehow my own way of de-briefing myself – trying to figure out how I got to be the way I am, how I was influenced to behave, think and feel the way I do, so that I will be able to convey some of it (The good parts) to Sophie. I think that we are all just constant “works in progress”, or at least we have the potential to be, if we are open to new ideas, new experiences and new people. Mind you if we take on the role of the “Old Dog” and get stuck in our ways, we will remain the “Old Dog” and not let ourselves learn any new tricks, and that really would be a shame.

The same goes for those that continue to do the same things expecting different results – I think that that is the simple definition of insanity.

I realize that I am a culmination of all those people that I’ve met, that passed on a story or a joke, or simply a kind smile, whether I’ve spent a lifetime with them or only a few short moments in passing, because I am different for having met them, the exact ways I changed are unknown, they could be very subtle of glaringly obvious – but I am different and I have changed – so thank you.

Dad always said that you have to Amember, before you can remember… and I think it’s implied that you have to remember what/where you come from so that you’ll be able get where you want to go…