Century Park Blog

"The contribution of a leader will ultimately be summed up in one sentence. Although we participate in many activities, we're remembered for just one or two. What will your sentence be?" – Tim Elmore

One of my favorite poems is called "The Dash," by Linda Ellis. The "dash" refers to the dash on someone's grave marker, between the dates of their birth and death. The dash represents everything that happened between the moment they were born and the moment they died. A stanza that always touches my core reads:

For it matters not, how much we own,
The cars...the house...the cash.
What matters is how we live and love
And how we spend our dash.

Thinking about how we want to be remembered is sobering, yet the end goal should be our daily goal for living. My husband always says, "Look at where you spend your time and your money, and both will depict your personal values." I agree.

This past Friday, I volunteered my time interviewing eighth-grade students to help prepare them for the job market. Alongside me were many others, including Gerry Kersey, a resident from one of our Independent Living communities.

Mr. Kersey has been a respected businessman for many years and is still actively working today. As we talked, he pulled out several pages of interview questions he had prepared, along with preparation points for students to consider before an interview.

Gerry had taken the time to prepare and offer lasting advice to America's future workforce. As I reviewed his list of questions and listened to him talk, the sincerity of his heart and timbre of his voice resonated with me. I just knew what his own epitaph would look like one day. It definitely would NOT simply be, "He had the cars, the house, and the cash." For Gerry, the epitaph reflecting his "dash" should read, "A faithful husband, loving father and grandfather, and avid investor in people."

My hope is that as we work together and as you start a new week, we will consider our own "life sentence" and live each day with this goal in mind:

So, when your eulogy is being read
With your life's actions to rehash...
Would you be proud of the things they say
About how you spent YOUR dash?

I want my life's sentence to read, "a woman who loved all, advocated for those less likely to advocate for themselves, and left each place better than she found it."