I have been thinking a lot about how the chapters of our life will be written. Personally, at age 73, I probably don’t have many chapters left, thus I am going to strive to make the life I live worth seeing and bring a smile to those that I love.

Many of us had humble beginnings. Our success came from hard work and simply doing the right thing. All of us are role models whether we want to be or not. Someone is always watching: spouses; children; or grandchildren. What we do is important to them, I must remember that. I have people who think I am better than I know I am. That humbles me and makes me want to do better and be the person they think I am.

A little of our life story is being written every day. We are the authors of that life and control what will be written or spoken about us after we pass. All of us have a good start on our autobiographies. There will be times when we fall short of the expectations, we set for ourselves. When that happens, we pick ourselves up and start anew. Strive to be the person your family wants you to be, thinks you are, even if you have your own doubts about it. I have been told many times, “It is what you do when no one is watching that shows your true character.” Those words are easier to read than live 24/7. It is the goal I wish I followed every day of my life. Obviously, I failed many times.

Live a life worth living. Be proud of who you are, what you have accomplished, and aware of your shortcomings. Address the areas where you can improve the quality of your life in this new year. We have always been told hindsight is 20/20. That means we can see what we did right and what we did wrong.

Some chapters are written in a day. I can think of marriages, sports accomplishments, births, deaths, and other life-changing events. Those are important chapters in our life! With free will, we get to write the story ourselves.

All of us had interesting things happen to us. We had moments that shaped who we are and who we became. We had people who influenced us and helped make us the person we continue to be. All of us have a story, all done through chapters of our life. Life is worth living, never, ever forget that.

As we approach 2026, we will be adding to the story of our life, one day, one month, one chapter at a time. Make sure when your story is read, it is the story you lived and would want to be told. Make sure it is comforting to those we love. See you next month.