In Good Company.....

In good company….

On the whole I like to consider myself a good person.  Sure, I have had my moments where I have been arrogant, self-centered, rude, and a downright pain in the ass. (just ask any of my past co-workers and family)  I alone of me and my siblings inherited a terrible temper from my father.  At times I am quick to anger and lash out yet even quicker to feel remorseful.....in most cases almost immediately.  But, to my core I feel that I am a good person and good people tend to surround themselves with good company.  And those who do this are generally greatly rewarded even if at times you don’t always realize it right away.  In short, good things happen to good people.  Now, many might scoff at that statement given the current situation of Kelly’s health and the struggle our family is enduring, but bare with me.  I will never say that Kelly having cancer and her ensuing fight with it is a good thing, but I cannot deny the good that has come from it.

I fell in love with my wife over 18 years ago and have always known that she is a far greater person than I am or ever will be.  She is caring, kind, helpful, and pretty much any other great compliment you can think of.  It’s just in her nature to care about others first.  One of the hardest things I have had to do in my life is sit and watch her struggle with cancer and all that goes with it.  The whole situation sucks…plain and simple and it is not fair anyway you look at.  No one should have to go through that type of hell, least of all really good people.  But, unfortunately life is not fair at times and you do the best you can to deal with it.  I am amazed every day by her strength, courage, determination, and endurance through all of this.  Something a great person seemingly can do and do well even though she may not think so….

I am most proud of my children….I know they are really good kids.  They are polite, courteous, always use their please and thank you's, and above all they are respectful of others.  My daughter has been exceptionally helpful and unfortunately has had to grow up a little sooner than she should have.  But, she has done so well and as she gets older I can see her turning into her mom. (not a bad thing at all)  My son handles everything in stride and is a little version of myself.  Good kids…

Our family has been amazing these past 6 months and has done so much for us.  They have cleaned our house, brought/cooked us food, watched our kids, helped me at the studio….the list goes on and on.  Say what you want about not being able to choose your family and all that nonsense but ours have been great.  Kelly’s sister and mom have gone above and beyond anything we could have ever expected.  I will be eternally grateful for everything they have done and continue to do for us.  They have been selfless people who have put their lives aside to help with ours.  Great people….

When Kelly was diagnosed after our family the first people to contact me were my best friends that I have had for almost 30 years….Yes, 30 years…I am fortunate enough to belong to such a group.  I know that I can count on these guys for anything and no matter how much time passes between our meetings or get together's we always immediately fall into our comfort zone and start reliving old times…I wouldn’t trade that for anything.  They are more than just friends; I consider each one a brother and part of my family.  Great friends are sometimes hard to find, but very easy to hold onto….

In my professional career I have tried to always go the extra mile to make sure my clients are well taken care of.  Even when I worked for someone else I would often stay late to make sure things were done on time.  I would work for free and I would take pay cuts.  Sometimes my efforts were recognized, sometimes they would go unnoticed.  Since I have had my own business I do the same things….I work very late at times, I replace things for clients for free, I don’t charge sometimes for things that maybe I should.  I make sure things are done very professionally and without complaint.  Are all of these good business practices?  Maybe not, but they do get noticed.  I have become good friends with some of my clients.  I enjoy greeting them by their first name when they come into studio.  We have worked very hard in growing our business and becoming part of the community.  And when you are a good person and run your business as such the community takes notice.  Because of everything that has been going on this year I have not been able to run the studio as efficiently as I would like.  As a result, my clients have had to wait longer for their portraits and have had to endure schedule changes and last minute adjustments.  They have been awesome with all of it.  And the thing is, they don’t have to be….they could complain and demand things sooner.  But they have not.  They have all been understanding and compassionate.  What a fortunate thing to have good people as clients…

Before this year Kelly was a daycare teacher for almost 12 years.  She had left the daycare profession at the beginning of the year to help me at the studio.  Unfortunately that hasn’t gone as planned.  But, when she was a daycare teacher she did a lot of the same things I did.  She stayed late, worked for free, put extra effort in to make sure things were done right.  If it wasn’t always noticed at the work place, it was by those kids families’.  She has made a lot of friends along the way working as a daycare teacher and those good families have shown their appreciation.

The things that our family, friends, clients, community, and complete strangers have done for us have been overwhelming.  It has been very humbling, and even embarrassing at times….you see our private lives have become somewhat public.  And, that can be a very difficult thing to deal with.  Again, people may scoff at that statement.  But until you are on the receiving end of that type of generosity and kindness it’s hard to understand.  Especially when you have always been the type of people who are the “helpers.”  Everything that has been done and is being done for us is amazing.  We don’t know how to ever repay everyone….We have talked a lot about making sure we pay it forward when we can and have plans to do so.

I know this has been a long read….but my point is if you strive to be a good person and you surround yourself with other good people you will experience the benefits.  And, please don’t mistake my meaning.  This has nothing to do with material things that have been given to us, absolutely nothing…The support, love, prayers, caring, and help we have received from our family, friends, clients, community, and strangers has been our reward.  And I fully believe that it is because we live our lives as good people and surround ourselves with other good people.  And, because of that it has made this struggle our family is experiencing more manageable.  Just something to think about….How do you approach life?....What do you expect from it?....What type of people do you surround yourself with?....How do you treat other people?....Because you never know when you will need them or when they will need you.

Again, as always THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU to everyone for all that you have done.  It is greatly appreciated and will never be forgotten.  Thank you for being good people and being part of our lives.       Mike