I owe a big thank you this week to my friend Dino Boloukos.
For some 40 years, we have been sharing our wisdom with each other on almost every topic imaginable, from raising children to politics. I can’t think of anything we’ve disagreed on.
This week, as he has done in the past, he brought one of the important things of life itself back into perspective. When you read his Letter to the Editor about mothers and Mother’s Day, you will see what I’m talking about.
Many folks have probably had similar revelations as they have been forced to shelter at home with their families. Mothers, fathers, sons and daughters have spent time together for the first time in a long time.
But for those of us who have continued to work, especially in the world of small business, the stress is like nothing we’ve seen before.
The numbers say that only those who experienced the Great Depression would have an inkling of what we’re up against in business and in society itself. So we press on, harder than ever, and this can create complete disassociation of what can be important.
I know I recently realized how much I turn my brain off late at night.
It was about 9:30 p.m. a week ago Friday night when I got a text from Ashley, my daughter-in-law in Nashville.
It said, “Isn’t it fun that it’s 7 o’clock their time, 8 o’clock our time, and 9 o’clock your time?? Gotta do the math to talk to us!”
She was referring to the fact the oldest Harbison son and his family had finally finished their move to Missouri. Meanwhile, she and Caleb, the younger son, are in Nashville.
My response was, “Nah, I speak English or dog.” I got a disgusted face back.
Well, I knew both boys and their families were in the same time zone, but my brain was off. I wasn’t paying attention and she obviously had every attention of catching me flat-footed. This is not unusual as back-and-forth banter is common between us.
So the next day, I sent her a text about her knowledge of time zones. Her response, with a hysterical laughing face with the words, “Took ya long enough.”
She got me. She’ll pay.
But it was a lesson as to just how much I, or anyone, can tune life out as we work though today’s world of stress overload. The same can happen even when things are what we used to know as normal.
But Dino has helped us to remember. Sunday, May 10, is Mother’s Day. Don’t forget to celebrate. Don’t tune out what is really important.
Glenn Harbison is publisher/editor of The News Observer. He can be reached at 706-632-2019 or glenn@thenewsobserver.com.