Bring Rocky Home - 2012-03-26 - 08:30pm

Today someone very important in my life died - he was a lifelong family friend and also the first boss I ever worked for.... I was only 20 years old when I graduated from college with no experience in the workforce whatsoever - He took a chance with me - put his neck on the line for me and I had to work hard to not disappoint him. We got along really well so hopefully I did ok. He taught me so much - not only in my job but also some very important life lessons... He was also the person that wrote a motivation for me to move from a Treasury job to an IT job and in a way responsible or me living in America today.

I am sure that you are wondering why I am sharing this with you... There is one thing that he said to me that I will remember for he rest of my life: DON'T EVER BE SORRY ABOUT ANYTHING THAT YOU DO - JUST LEARN FROM YOUR MISTAKES! That is so true - we all have done something in out lives that we are not proud of... In most cases there is nothing that you can do after the fact - the important thing is to learn from it and do your best not to make the same mistake twice. We need to take responsibility for our actions and that is a really hard thing to do. Most often it is pride that stands in our way. It takes a special kind of person to admit that the acted without thinking but once you do that, you can start to focus on the things that is important in life and not be sorry that we did not spend more time with the people that matter most in our lives...

Now you may think that this is meant for you... With the exception of one thing that you need to do, this is applicable to me only....
- I am sorry that I did not talk to you more often. What I will do from now on is to find out one thing every day about you that I did not know.
- I am sorry that I was always impatient. What I will do from now on is to pray that God helps me to be more patient.
- I am sorry that we did not do more things together as a family. What I will do from now in is to join you and dad when you go golfing for example, or if you ask me so nicely to do something with you and I prefer to do Scrapbooking instead.
- I am sorry that I did not tell you that I love you more often, or that I am proud of you, or just that we love having you around. What I will do from now on is to make sure that you know how much you are loved and appreciated and not only fous on the negative things.
- I am sorry that I did not listen to you more often. From now on I will start to listen and not always have to get in the last word.

These are only a few of the things that I have time to list - I can go on all night if I did not have to sleep :-).

So Rocky, we love you very much and we miss you more than ever. The only thing for you here is to return home so that we can be a family again.

Oom (uncle) Joop, may you rest in peace and thank you so much for all the priceless lesson and values that I learnt from you and also for an absolutely wonderful start to my career.

You will be missed.