Before The Last Game

I have a way of organizing and filing what I call my line-up, my list of spiritual athletes and emotion coaches....my heart heroes. I keep them in what looks like the old-timey recipe box my mom kept all her tried and true, all-star recipes in.  Mine isn't squeezed into the cabinet above the fridge like hers was...mine is sort of tucked into a sacred little library in my mind. I hand-write all the cards, making sure to include the when, the where, the why this person changed something in me.  Every card is titled with my heart hero's name above the list of ingredients that make this recipe so unforgettable.  The instructions, the lessons, the tips, the hints are all jotted down so that I can close my eyes and relish in all the goodness this recipe has to offer. 

My newest recruit that's joined my line-up is Joe Ehrmann....Joe is a football coach, a speaker, a minister, founder of Building Men for Others, national Father of the Year and so much more.  I've been happily drenched in football lately so naturally Joe was a man I took interest in reading about and learning from.  Joe volunteers as a coach at an all-boys school in Baltimore but it's not the plays or the passes that makes Joe a winner.   Joe coaches the minds and the hearts of the players, molding them into men of substance, focusing on relationships and causes that go beyond themselves.  That is what makes Joe a heart hero.  An activity of Joe's that stuck with me is this....just before the last game of the season, coach asks all the seniors to present to the team an essay entitled, "How I Want to Be Remembered" ......

Wow! ......How I Want To Be Remembered by Patty Wolf....hmmmmm nobody's ever asked me that question, nevermind write an essay long enough to answer it thoroughly.  Chances are that none of you have been asked that question either. So let's do it now.....hmmmm how DO I want to be remembered? let me word this perfectly and proudly with picture-perfect punctuation...blah, blah, blah, blah, blah and so on and so forth......THERE  done! I covered all my bases, my life as a mother, my life as a daughter, my life as a sister, a friend, a Catholic, a student of Buddhism, a lover of children (yours and mine)  a responsible citizen, an organ donor, a time sharer,  a smile giver, a secret keeper, a peace seeker, a former wife, an only parent....a survivor.....and a sunshine spreader....WHOA WHOA WHOA WAIT!  No wonder this feels half me, half not-so-much...I just had an epiphany....the real question is, "how WILL I be remembered?" not "how do I WANT to be remembered?" Oh my gosh, whole new ball game....this question makes me nervous.....which translates into how unsure I am that the way I want to be remembered will parallel how I will actually be remembered.  That's big.

Your turn....ask away, ask often, ask yourself....today, tomorrow and every day to follow....how will I be remembered?  and how do I want to be remembered? Be real and honest with yourself. Take all the steps necessary to get the answers to both questions  to mirror each other...always keeping in mind that you cannot legislate with words, only actions.  You cannot tell us what a great person you are, but you sure can show us. 

Get to work...God Bless...OneLove.