Personal Journal
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February 6, 2005 Mathew J. Stucki Page 1
Commitment involves responsibility, dedication, and persistence. We often learn it from our parents, work to emulate it in our own lives, and strive to teach it to our children.
I recall well many years ago when my son, Steven, wanted a pet. He was just 6 or 7 at the time but talked excitedly about his desire to get a pet in our home. He wanted a turtle and talked excitedly about his chances of securing one. Maybe his excitement was partly because ‘Ninja Turtles’ was the fad of that day; maybe it was just boyhood enthusiasm. Whatever it was, it was real and intense.
Of course we had the father to son discussion…, but he assured me he was old enough and responsible enough to have one. I thought a turtle couldn’t be that hard to take care of” and there are a lot of things he could be asking for that are much more intrusive, so consented. Shortly thereafter, the day came to go to the pet store to look at the turtles. If you thought he was excited talking about the possibility of a turtle you should have seen him the day we went to look at them. He got up early, put on his very best ‘Ninja turtle’ t-shirt, and ran to the car… Luckily, the drive to the pet store was very short.
There were snapping turtles, box turtles, and miniature green sea turtles… We found a darling … I thought ‘how hard could it be? Then I asked the pet store owner how long one of these turtles lives? “Approximately 150 years,” he said.
playing basketball
of
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
February 6, 2005 Mathew J. Stucki Page 1
Commitment involves responsibility, dedication, and persistence. We often learn it from our parents, work to emulate it in our own lives, and strive to teach it to our children.
I recall well many years ago when my son, Steven, wanted a pet. He was just 6 or 7 at the time but talked excitedly about his desire to get a pet in our home. He wanted a turtle and talked excitedly about his chances of securing one. Maybe his excitement was partly because ‘Ninja Turtles’ was the fad of that day; maybe it was just boyhood enthusiasm. Whatever it was, it was real and intense.
Of course we had the father to son discussion…, but he assured me he was old enough and responsible enough to have one. I thought a turtle couldn’t be that hard to take care of” and there are a lot of things he could be asking for that are much more intrusive, so consented. Shortly thereafter, the day came to go to the pet store to look at the turtles. If you thought he was excited talking about the possibility of a turtle you should have seen him the day we went to look at them. He got up early, put on his very best ‘Ninja turtle’ t-shirt, and ran to the car… Luckily, the drive to the pet store was very short.
There were snapping turtles, box turtles, and miniature green sea turtles… We found a darling … I thought ‘how hard could it be? Then I asked the pet store owner how long one of these turtles lives? “Approximately 150 years,” he said.
playing basketball
