The Sum of David

Yeah? Then help me out.

The Brother graduates from high school next spring, and I’d like to impart some knowledge on the youngest babe of the Arnold clan. Also, I’m itching to do another typography project.

My hope is to create a poster full of life lessons that I’ve learned since high school. A rough list follows:

• Be thankful every day.
• Credit card companies are evil.
• If you have a question, always ask.
• A bad situation will probably be really funny tomorrow. Sometimes it might take a week.
• The ingredients for any healthy relationship are trust, communication and respect.
• The Steelers are the best football team. EVER.
• Mistakes are important and okay. Learn from them.
• First impressions are important, but rarely accurate. Give it another round.
• Bad things do happen to good people.
• You are who you surround yourself with.
• Things could almost always be worse.
• Attitude is everything.
• Every situation offers a lesson. Try to find it, good or bad.
• Be tenacious.
• You can agree to disagree.
• Learn to let it go.
• Your first instinct is probably the right one.
• Learn from the past. Live in the present. Plan for the future.
• Do what you love.

Nothing can replace life experience, of course, but a cheat sheet can’t hurt.

Is there anything you wish you’d known at 18? Any obstacles you would have liked to have been warned about? Deep, silly — let’s hear it!

There’s nothing like a death in the family to make you re-evaluate your priorities.

Josh’s grandfather passed away on Tuesday. He was 86, a veteran of the second World War and one of the happiest, optimistic, cheeriest men I’ve ever met, even as his body slowly failed him. He is the reason Josh loves the Cubs, why Josh insists on scoring every baseball games we attend. The last time we saw him, over Thanksgiving weekend, he drove himself to lunch and we had a great couple of hours, him wheeling his little oxygen tank behind him to and from the salad bar, weeks before having a leg amputated. He will be missed greatly.

Life is too short, and I think am on a path to burn-out. I’m taking the summer off for personal projects. So there.