Been going to Oriental Pearl lately, but they don’t give out fortune cookies for some reason. So tonight, we went back to Orchid of Hawaii and actually had some pretty good Szechuan Shrimp. Best of all, fortune cookies. So I have a new stash to tap for inspiration. So what was today’s fortune? it was interesting as I had spent four years in the Air Force.

“Aim High, Time Flies”

Sound familiar Lindsey? Kind of timely on this. I had just been talking to my daughter about school, college, and life in general. i told her, Aim High. That was the Air Force motto for a number of years. The point i was trying to make is that she needed to push herself just beyond where she believed her limits were. if she was going to get the good jobs, get the good colleges, she needed to excel in school now. Otherwise, she may end up having to struggle through life as I have.

We all can take a lesson in this. We can spend our lives just getting by, or we can challenge ourselves to move beyond the limitations. We can do this just an inch at a time. One of the things that has kept me in my job all these years is that I try to keep learning. In computers, you have to. Technology changes about every six months or so. So you are always having to move beyond your comfort zone and learn new things.

While my daughter may think it is a drag to have to study and press herself to do well in school, the second part of the cookie reminds us that time does fly and before she knows it, she will be off and on her own. The lessons she is learning now, both in school and from what we tell her we hope will help her have an easier life than I did. So she has to remind herself that time does fly and soon she will be out of high school and hopefully on to college.

As for myself, well, I do try to Aim High. I keep trying to learn. I keep trying to excel in all aspects of my life. I may stumble, fall down, and even fail at times. What makes me successful is that I keep getting up and moving on. During the struggling time, I remind myself that time does fly. I look back at all I have faced and overcome and know that the things that I face at this time in my life will just be a memory a few years from now. All a matter of perspective when you think about it. I keep inching towards that retirement age and hoping that I can make it. Time flies. Soon, I will be sitting by the fire in my backyard telling stories about my life. Grandchildren at my feet. Really, Grampa, you saved the President? Oh, um, of course, I was great hero. Oh well, maybe not stories like that.

Aim High. Yes, to be able to get through the next ten years or so and keep my integrity intact. I just need to keep true to myself, keep balance in my life, and keep dreaming of a time when i don’t have to get up at 5am and fight traffic for an hour or more to get to work. Of course, if they keep moving the bloody retirement age out, I’ll be 90 before I can retire.

And to my old Air Force buddies, Aim High! Or as my squadron motto in basic said, “Lead, Follow, or get out of the way!”