It was 7:00 on a Thursday morning.  Mother crawled into my bed, wrapped her arms around me, and whispered, "Honey, Daddy died during the night."  I don't remember what else she said, but I remember not going to school.  She was calling the rest of the family, making funeral arrangements, planning the trip to bury my father in his home town two states away.  It was a blur.  I was stunned beyond pain.  I was twelve years old, in seventh grade.  Children didn't lose their parents.  It couldn't be true.

My father was 60 years old.  He died of a sudden and catastrophic heart attack.  He had retired just a few months earlier from a long career with General Motors.  For as long as I remembered, he had hated going to work.  Though a gifted engineer with many inventions and patents to his name, he did not march to the corporate drummer.  A profound introvert, resisted the new design-team environment and refused to play office politics.  He burned with resentment over the promotion of younger recruits.  Dinnertime conversations often included a rant about work.

We crossed days off the calendar, counting down to his retirement.  We would take a long road trip across the country.  He would spend more time in his woodworking shop.  Maybe his quick temper would settle down.  Life would be so much better when the time finally came. 

I was young, and my memories are simplistic.  Nevertheless two lessons from that early experience have influenced my choices for a lifetime.  Lesson One:  "Do not stick with a job you hate." I changed fields several times before finding work that fit me well, and I am so glad that I did.  Lesson Two:  "Do not put off until later what you can do today."  I have made it a priority to build adventure and beauty into everyday life, not to put things off, and never to assume that the opportunity will last forever.  Lesson Three evolved only with time:  "You don't have to hate your job or leave it to be happy." Happiness is a choice, and you can make it better by working on your outlook even if moving on is not an option.

Today, November 3, is my father's birthday.  He would be 115 years old this year. It is a good time to remember and to be grateful for his life, its lessons, and their impact on me. 

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Do you dislike your job? Are you putting off happiness until after you retire?  What can you do today to make things better?