How do you want to be remembered?

Maybe its just a natural function of getting older, but I find myself contemplating my own mortality lately. This inevitably leads to my speculating about what kind of legacy I will leave behind... in short how will I be remembered, or more importantly, how do I want to be remembered? Of course, these thoughts then color the decisions that I make, the actions that I take, whether it is consciously or not.

Don't misunderstand... I still look at every situation that presents itself and make my determination based on the merits of the options available. And in many cases (if not most), there is a clear-cut, right option. But as I get older, and now that I am a father, I find that I am more prescient of the long-term ramifications of my actions and decisions. It matters to me how my Daughter will someday look back on me... on the life I led and the example I set for her.

This brings me to my point. We live in such a blame-free society where nobody is supposed to pass judgement on anyone else for anything. There's a certain element of hedonistic debauche that permeates our culture and is force-fed to our children. The only way to counteract this overwhelming influence is to teach them right from wrong, give them the confidence to fearlessly choose right over wrong, and then live the ideals that we preach to them in our own lives. It can be done. My Parents are living examples of the ideals that they espoused to us growing up. They held us to a high standard, but they have always lived up to those standards themselves. And they are who they are largely because of their Parents, my Grandparents, who raised them with love and guidance, often sacrificing their own wants for the betterment of their families.

So how do I want to be remembered someday when God takes me from this Earth? Well, in short, the same way that I remember my Dad's Parents or my Mom's Dad, or the way I respect my Parents and my Mom's Mom... as someone who put their family before themselves and lived the life that they preached to their children. Of course, if you want to remember me as the handsome McDermott Brother, I'd be pretty cool with that as well.