“How to Live With Purpose at Any Age” – Opinion in Next Avenue
“Make yourself useful,” my dad used to say to me when I was seven, standing around, twisting my arms into skinny pretzels while he washed our family station wagon. The suds splashed around the blue plastic bucket, his strong forearms scrubbing the baby blue front fenders. The sun shone later as every inch of the car gleamed.
His work was meticulous and efficient. Whether washing the car or trimming the front hedge that lined our house or folding the newspaper after he read it, he was “useful.” In his presence, I always felt the need to “do something.” Sitting idly by didn’t seem to work in his world. He was a busy man, a stoic provider for a family of seven children and my mother. He worked and expected the world to give him nothing in return. It was how he operated.