HFM=T+T

  Last week at this time, I was getting ready to play in the Gathering Place golf tournament and really looking forward to it. It was an occasion to remember, but as I thought about it this morning, a conversation that I had with a friend from church, on that golf day, came back to me.

   First a little about this man. He is much younger than I, has a wife and 3 kids, all pretty young, and his job is a high profile one with a regional bank. In fact, his partner for the day of golf was none other than the president of the Sea Island Co., the largest employer in our small area and the proprietor of the 5 star resort on these islands. My friend is a great guy, a dedicated Christian, and well connected to boot.

   After chatting for a minute or two, he stopped and said "You know I have never forgotten what you said at that family night a couple of years back, and I think about how I can use that in raising my kids. Your ideas about creating happy family memories has stuck in my mind, and I want those kinds of things to be a part of the legacy that I leave to my family."

   Fortunately, I kept that little talk on my computer, so I looked back at it this morning. The gist of it all was found in the formula that I made up to go along with the examples that I used, examples gathered from my kids the night before the event. This formula read:

   HFM=T+T (Translated that stands for Happy Family Memories equals Time plus Togetherness)

   I can see how those words and formula might affect a successful man with a growing family. Often his time is filled with work, and he recognizes those pressures that take him away from his family. We were fortunate, when raising ours, that we could make the time to do this stuff. Plus, since I like to play as much as any of my kids, it was a joy to do it all together, for me anyway.

   Now all my kids, and their kids, live away from us, so I might not know all the ins and outs of their particular family life, but I do see them all doing things with their own, working, playing and just being together, making those kinds of memories for each one involved.

   Copies available.