THE BOOK
Being parents is a wonderful blessing, and being grandparents is better than we know how to express. We see God’s hand at work in the lives of the Bigs and Littles, and that is a great thing. My job now is to be the best at being Papa, and I pray for the required wisdom, patience, and heart.
So, a book that started as a collection of business-related stories has become a collection of lessons I want to share with the Littles and others. As I thought about this book, I did not have the goal of capturing everything I think the Littles should learn. Frankly, that is not my job as Papa and, more importantly, that is not my call. I gathered ideas, advice, and lessons that I have found useful in life and thought would be useful for others. Some are good for the late teen or young adult. Some won’t come into play until later in life.
The world would be a bit brighter if daily we all applied the lessons that we should have learned when we were younger. I grafted some of these lessons into my life early and others I keep relearning as I continue to stumble over them. As I look to the past, I realize I did some things well, and I have enjoyed that success. I also made my share of mistakes, with lessons learned.
Lessons are often learned following a misstep, and frequently it takes repeated failure for a lesson to take root. It is best to learn from the missteps of others instead of remaking those same mistakes. Books are good for that. Late-night talks out by the fire with Papa can be good for that as well.
