Wednesday, March 03, 2010

Proud Papa - Values Update

I used to tell people that as your kids grow older you learn a lot about yourself - because the values they grew up observing start showing up in some obvious ways.

Now I know I'm going to sound self-serving here, but I can't help it. By that standard, I'd say that Heather and I have done a pretty good job of instilling something right in all three of our kids.

Specifically, they all put a lot of stock in helping others. And I think that's a pretty good trait. I don't post about these guys that often but I am a Proud Papa (you can Google it!) so I figured this post was long overdue.

And this is after all, "Salute your Children" week here in Victoria.

(Actually, I just made that up, but it should be)

For proof of what good values these guys have inherited from their parents - consider these examples:

Blog_Photos-2.jpgCory, the eldest, lives in Regina now and is a chef at a local steak house. He's having a great time working in the food business, after stints as a bricklayer's apprentice and landscaping. What I didn't know until recently is that he's also the proud supporter of two foster children - one in Haiti and another in Brazil. Fortunately, the one in Haiti was not hurt during the earthquake a few weeks ago. Cory never says much about his good works - but we hear about them from others. We're very proud.

Blog_Photos-3.jpgJaime, the middle kid, just completed university and had planned to head overseas last fall. But she postponed her trip to spend most of February working as a volunteer at the Olympics - a pretty cool activity, needless to say. Now she's back at our place for a few weeks while she's scouring the planet looking for a volunteer position in Africa or the far East. She'll likely be heading out in April or May for who knows how long? But some part of the world will become a better place when she arrives there.

Blog_Photos-4.jpgAnd finally, Kelly, our youngest, who is a senior at the University of Louisville, is just nine days away from cutting off all her hair (and she has a lot of it!) to help raise money to fight cancer in kids. She's doing it on St. Baldrick's day (you'll have to look that up) as part of a fundraising effort with three of her rowing teammates in a bid to raise $10,000. It's a worthy goal. So far, she's up to about $1,500. If you'd like to help her get to her target of $2,500, feel free to visit her site and make a donation.

That's my Proud Papa update for this month. I'll let you know how things are going for all of them down the road.


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