Turning 47

THE DOORBELL rang at eight this morning, surprising me with a home delivery of flowers and surprising me even more about its source: the management team of Globus Stores! I've received flowers on my office desk, but never brought personally to me at home—and that, too, from my professional leadership team. It sweetens the thought of being valued well, and the value of being thought well. It's a memorable gesture on a memorable day.

When I turned 46 last year, I reflected at how quickly I reached that age.  I wrote:

Now I understand why the first 30 or 35 years of your life seem to be the longest and slowest--you spend all that time building up a cache of dreams, hopes, triumphs, regrets, fears, and tears. 

Today, as I turn 47 and being remembered by my leaders at work, I look back to those first 30 or 35 years of my life, to remember another leader, one who forged my dreams and hopes in the most masterful way. He was my father, Catalino Ancheta, who passed away ten years ago.  His greatest legacy is my family's spiritual foundation: the Bahá'í Faith, which he introduced to my mother and to each of my five brothers and five sisters.  It's a gift that forever changed my understanding of how life must be lived, for oneself and for others.  It's a present that remains unmatched and irreplaceable, the greatest I've ever had and will probably ever have.

Turning 47, I honor my father . . . and all our fathers!

Related Stories: Turning 41 | Turning 42 | Turning 43 | Turning 45 | Turning 46