Gratitude Post #7 - Great Role Models

The world would be a better place if everyone had people they could look up to who embodied values like honesty, honor and personal responsibility. I was so fortunate to have been raised in a family full of such people.

My father embodied all of these traits, and his death last year rocked me to my core. But he left a valuable legacy to me, my sisters and all of our children. Although he grew up in a world of privilege, he had a strong work ethic and we were expected to excel in school. Dishonesty was never tolerated, and both my parents taught by the examples they set -- lessons like showing respect to their own parents, community involvement, and being politically and socially aware.

My mother attended college in an era when not many women did so, and even completed her degree after having two children and losing her first husband to cancer in her twenties. She's been a lifelong activist who, even at eighty, is ready to go to battle for things she believes.

Our society seems to be lacking good role models these days. Kids look to Hollywood instead of their own living room, school or community to find people to emulate. I wish more people had parents like I did. The world might be a better place.