Don't Screw It Up

I have heard so many talks and presentations that include something like this:

"When I was a kid, my parents used to always tell me, 'Remember who you are and what you stand for.'"

Then they proceed to explain they didn't know what that meant until years later. I had the same experience. Why was Dad always telling me, when dropping me off at a friend's house, "Remember who you are."

Believe me, I NEVER could forget who I was. Everyone was always reminding me. I thought he must be up in the night to say such a thing. So I have never said such a thing to my kids. In fact, the last time I heard someone tell their "remember who you are" story, I turned to my oldest daughter, Suzie, and said, "I don't want any of you to ever say I told you that and you didn't know what I meant. Let's come up with something that actually means something to us."

So we decided on, "don't screw it up." To us, that means to behave well, stand up for yourself, be an active participant, do your best and represent yourself and the family well. It isn't pretty, but it's functional. That's how my life has run, even though I tried to make it pretty for years, I just wasn't born with the innate talent for making things look pretty. I'm a get-the-job-done kind of woman, and I have to delegate the centerpieces to someone else.

So from now on, when I tell my kids, "don't screw it up," we have agreed on what that means, and they don't have to make a stupid mistake to realize what my dad hoped I realized when he said, "remember who you are."