{"id":9449,"date":"2010-08-23T10:00:26","date_gmt":"2010-08-23T14:00:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.AchieveMax.com\/blog\/?p=9449"},"modified":"2013-07-03T14:51:06","modified_gmt":"2013-07-03T18:51:06","slug":"life-on-a-lake","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/achievemax.com\/blog\/2010\/08\/23\/life-on-a-lake\/","title":{"rendered":"Life on a Lake"},"content":{"rendered":"

Last week, I shared the video of Harry Chapin<\/a>\u00a0singing his song that has touched millions of parents worldwide \u2014 “Cat’s in the Cradle.” In that song, he ponders, with regret, decisions he made early in his days as a parent and how they have impacted the relation with his child years later.<\/p>\n

I also mentioned that I heard this particular song, I believe by design, during a midnight drive home from the airport after one of my many speaking<\/a> trips. It so touched me at the time that I pulled my car into a rest area, grabbed a legal pad from my carry-on, and jotted down some personal thoughts in the form of a poem. I certainly don’t claim to be a poet but that exercise was very cathartic for me at that time and led me to make a few much-needed life-changing decisions. You might want to do the same.<\/p>\n

“Life on a Lake”<\/p>\n

I was born and raised on the shore of a lake …
\nWith memories abundant and fond.
\nIt’s a wonderful place to live your life …
\nAnd, oh, so easy to bond\u2014<\/p>\n

With the sun and the water,
\nThe sky\u00a0and the breeze …
\nIt provides you a life
\nOf contentment and ease.<\/p>\n

As the stress of my work-a-day life would increase,
\nI’d just head for home where I could release
\nThe stress and the strain and the burdens of life
\nAt home by the lake where there’s simply no strife!<\/p>\n

Now my kids have all grown
\nAnd moved on as they must …
\nI just hope that some day
\nThey’ll develop the lust …
\nTo live on an ocean, a river, or lake
\nAnd appreciate life and all that’s at stake.<\/p>\n

They come back to visit whenever they can
\nBut usually can’t stay too long.
\nThey must return to their now busy lives
\nOf which I’m just a small part\u2014right or wrong.<\/p>\n

I can’t critique\u2014I’ve been there, done that,
\nI modeled that life for them.
\nSo I can’t complain, I must let them gain
\nThe knowledge, experience, and whim.<\/p>\n

That will lead them to know, it’s okay to go slow
\nAnd enjoy the pleasures they share
\nWith children, spouses, family and friends …
\nLife’s joys which are truly so rare!<\/p>\n

Dad – 1999<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Last week, I shared the video of Harry Chapin\u00a0singing his song that has touched millions of parents worldwide \u2014 “Cat’s in the Cradle.” In that song, he ponders, with regret, decisions he made early in his days as a parent … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9449","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-inspiration"],"yoast_head":"\nLife on a Lake - AchieveMax\u00ae Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Hearing "Cat's in the Cradle" so touched me at the time that I pulled my car into a rest area, grabbed a legal pad from my carry-on, and jotted down some personal thoughts in the form of a poem. 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