Parental Reward

It was to be our birthday, anniversary, Mother's Day, and Father's Day present: airline tickets to Seattle and a weekend of getting to know the town, the "Annie way." The "Annie way" did include a fair amount of geocaching, which took us to West Seattle and a good bakery, to the upscale Magnolia district, and yesterday to scenic Discovery Park where we got great views on the Olympic Mountains.

Bill enjoyed his Ivar's fish and chips two or three times. I did NOT eat garlic fries which overpowered the air at Safeco Field; instead chicken strips and a Bud Lite satisfied my pre-game palate. We did Mt. Rainier. We ate bad food, including another sub-par taco salad at a Mexican Restaurant in Enumclaw.

What I'll remember most, however, from our weekend trip---even more than the painted flesh aboard bicycles in Fremont---was the enthusiastic greeting we received from virtually every person who works with Annie at the Marriott where we stayed. All we had to do was mention her name, and colleagues, ranging from the manager to the cleaning crew, immediately beamed while telling us how much they enjoyed and appreciated our daughter.

I saw this same behavior a few weeks ago when Debbie and I stopped by the Newport Miner to visit Willie. The employees generously shared with us their love and admiration for "Will," as he's often known outside the family. Again, the enthusiastic praise for our son seemed universal among his colleagues.

A few weeks ago, while sharing with us about her on-the-job experiences, Annie included a comment made by one of her colleagues in a staff meeting. "It doesn't matter who it is, Annie treats everyone with the same respect," the fellow worker had announced. When she shared that with me, tears began to flow down my face, and I told her how proud I was to hear that.

While our kids were growing up, my most important goal in parenting was to impress upon them the importance of treating people well, no matter who they were. I can also remember telling them often that even though good grades were important, people treatment ranked much higher on the list of our expectations for them.

It takes trips like this past weekend with Annie and visits like the one we made to Willie's office in Newport a few weeks ago to learn firsthand that a very important lesson about living has been accepted and well-oiled by both our kids. For that, we are very thankful as parents to know that we've completed a vital part of our mission.

So, thanks, Willie and Annie. You've each shown us some wonderful Mother's Day and Father's Day rewards that outdo any card or gift.