a letter from my dad

I just had to share this letter from my Dad...

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----- Original Message -----
From: "robert pflanz"
Sent: Saturday, September 22, 2007

Dear Deborah,

I heard a song today: "Try to Remember" by Ed Ames. It reminded me of the photostory I made for Dad just before he died, so I watched it once more. Then I watched the one I made of Mom and her life. Her earlier photos and memories of her personality reminded me so much of you. She was a beautiful and vibrant woman. She was so very intelligent and quick and her life held much promise. She devoted her life to her family - a choice she made and stuck to.

You have her beauty and her vibrancy and her intelligence and her ability to see through to the solution without becoming mired in the questions. Unfortunately, you seem to have her propensity toward disease also. After watching her story and thinking about her, I wanted to remind you that YOU are not your job. YOU are the kittens and the dogs and Gene and your house and your love of nature and your love of art and music. YOU are me and Janice and Carole and your mother and Beth and all your friends who have become drawn to you over the years. YOU are such a special and unique person with talents and abilities and understanding. There is no one else on earth like YOU.

Your job is just that - a job, a means to an end. Jobs will come and go and your being there will pass into forgotten memory after you leave it. YOU will remain here on this earth in our lives, in your life and the job and the memory of the job will gradually dilute and disappear. So, don't let the job affect YOU and the important parts of your life. Don't let it affect your physical or mental health. Don't let it affect your relationships with those who are important to you. Look out for yourself first and foremost.

You know, I worked at a company for the better part of 40 years and since I left I haven't felt the need to revisit, nor has anyone there visited me. Soon, those of my generation will be forgotten and my being there won't have made any lasting impressions. It was a job, it was a way to earn money so that I would have the opportunity to provide for my family. It was a way to help pay for a home and the care of those who were important to me. It was a way for me to save for retirement. YOU and the rest of my family and friends are what's important to me. YOU are a huge part of my life - always have been, always will be. I want YOU to take care of YOU for me. WE don't need a job that tears YOU down and leaves US the dregs. There is no question of what is most important when it comes to duties - YOU are! The job is not! It is just a tool for you.

YOU are loved,
Dad

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It's a truth that we are hardest on ourselves often for the things that, in the end, mean the least.