As a younger man, New Year’s Eve was an excuse to party more so than a chance for reflection.
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![Perhaps think of your legacy as the sun sets on this year Perhaps think of your legacy as the sun sets on this year](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/v7aL3ypAbpidARtySf3wcd/8e9c9e14-6fcf-47bb-90c0-ee2a736772a7.jpg/r0_0_544_793_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
Now as a middle-aged father it is much more about looking back over the last 12 months. Remembering the good times and reflecting on the lessons learned.
With age comes wisdom. Well, hopefully.
With age there definitely comes the understanding that your time on this earth is not infinite. We are mere mortals after all.
Nobody has a greater way of telling that to you than your kids.
“When can I have a boyfriend, daddy,” my 10-year-old daughter quizzed out of the blue during the week
“Never darlin’. You’ve got me,” I foolishly responded.
“But daddy I don’t want to be single and you will be too old to pay my bills.”
She could not have cut me deeper had she been carrying the world’s most carefully crafted samurai sword.
As your time grows shorter on the earth, the meaning of the word `legacy’ grows greater.
A younger man might once have considered a ‘legacy’ would be about the amount of things one could accumulate in their time on the earth or what was achieved in their chosen profession.
A much older wiser man might now consider that `legacy’ is in fact about how you positively impact those around you, especially those closest to you. That’s a true legacy.
As the sun sets on 2017 and we greet 2018 with a renewed sense of optimism, remember the good times you have had over the last 12 months.
Put the bad memories behind you as lessons learned.
And if you believe in resolutions or are looking for one, maybe it could revolve around your legacy.
From all of us here at the Illawarra Mercury please have a safe and happy New Year.