We are always making decisions. We are also constantly talking to ourselves and justifying or rationalizing every decision we make. Some decisions are made almost spontaneously while others are made after much thought, prayer, or consultation with others. However, decisions are what determine our lives and our relations with others. Some are made as a result of an event or situation which is not foreseen yet such decisions can determine the course of our lives and those of our families.
For example, when I got out of law school, Tom Ferguson hired me as an associate. He specialized in personal injury cases and had his office on Pill Hill in Oakland among the doctors. I had worked from him for about a year and we had purchased a home in Walnut Creek at 40 Novo Court for $11,950. (three bedrooms and 2 baths). The payments were $78 a month and I was making about $300 a month. How times have changed. One day I needed to locate a former classmate of mine so I called the Placement Dean at Boalt Hall. He told me where the classmate was and just as I was about to hang up he said: "how would you like to go to Guam?"
There was a position open at the Attorney Generals office. I told him I would talk to my wife and get back to him. Julia was eager for an adventure and encouraged the move. So we went and it changed the course of our lives in many ways. Two of our children were born in Guam and we enjoyed the beaches and travel in the Orient. Had I not made that call our lives would have certainly been different, for better or worse.
Such is the nature of Decisions. They can be made as a result of chance phone calls, as above, or they can be made spontaneously based on feelings and not logic. We should beware of making important decisions based entirely on how we feel at the moment without regard for others close to us. I remember buying a Chev. Convertible when we came back to Calif. and were living in a rented house at 311 El Cerrito Ave. I did not consult Julia beforehand and she was appalled!. To keep peace in the family I took it back. I was wrong to have bought it without consulting her first in view of our limited resources at the time.
So, I have learned to use reason and logic as well as feeling before making most decisions. It is better for me and those close to me in the long run. Since we are always making decisions, some on minor and some on major matters, daily, we need to stop and think occasionally to avoid making decisions that we may regret later. We need to recognize, however, that the consequences of many decisions are not predictable and sometimes we have to take chances, as we did in going to Guam. I do not regret that decision nor does any of the family to my knowledge.
6 comments:
Yes, I am reminded of the Robert Frost poem, "The Road Not Taken." The decisions we make make all the difference. A fun thing to do is to start at a recent outcome, good or bad, and start thinking back over the sequence of events that led to it, with decisions being made along the way. You can go back to some seemingly important decision, or keep going back beyond it, ultimately arriving at your earliest memories as a child.
Thanks for the food . . .(for thought)
I never knew how you ended up in Guam. That is such a cool story and Mom often talks about her adventures as a Hauli. I think if KC came home with a convertible I would gladly accept. Ha!
I'm a quick decision maker, and KC takes his sweet time to think things through. Put together we try to make smart decisions in a timely manner. I love your spontaneity of going to Guam. Everyone's life should have a little spontaneity in it.
Very nice post. I too have been thinking about decisions a lot lately. Our decision to move across the country away from family, I thought it would be just for a couple years, and didn't think about how much it would change my life. But that decision, based mostly on the need for a job, put my children in the best schools for their unique needs, and really helped me figure out how to be a mom all on my own. Now we are trying to decide if we should move back, and it's a much harder decision than I thought!
I've always thought of you as so adventurous for taking your family to Guam. While we still worked with the government, I tried to talk Jake into spending a few years in England, but it never worked out. I just wanted to broaden my childrens' horizons like you did! But at least they've "grown up" on the East Coast. That's a little something.
Yes, I too never knew the story of how you ended up in Guam. Thanks for the story and advice. Sometimes decisions I make are based on my impatience. Those are often regretted. Thanks for the reminder to think things through and to consider how my decisions impact those around me.
Great post Grandpa. Right now we have been faced w/ so many "decisions"--- some major some minor- like I would like a treadmill to keep up w/ my running- but we can't afford it- so today I decided to sell everything I can that we don't use. Thanks to the internet, that is possible. Aaron and I are really good on talking through purchases since we are so poor- that forces us to talk about everything! ha ha
"....two paths diverge...and I, I took the road less traveled by and that has made all the difference."
the best and most true part of that poem. Thanks for another wonderful post.
-Cortnie
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