via Daily Prompt: Pursue 

Pursue \per-su\ verb – 1: To follow in order to overtake or overcome: CHASE  2: To seek to accomplish (a goal)

Merriam – Webster Dictionary, 2004

I don’t usually write to expand on a definition, preferring a unique memory or thought sparked by the prompt.  I apologize in advance.

Now, pass me the soap box.

There is something lacking in the youth of today.  I was going to say it is a lack of desire, but that is so far from accurate that it would discredit anything else I wrote.  All they seem to have is desire.  They want the six figure job without the effort of preparing for it or investing in preparation necessary to do the work.  If they do invest, they complain about the cost as unfair.  How do we expect them to grab the world by the tail if they are weighed down by debt?

Our grandparents thought we were all spoiled and never did a hard days work.  By comparison, we didn’t. I worked on farms and did day labor jobs growing up.  If I had been forced to work that hard for my entire life, I would have died years ago.  I joined the Army because it paid better and was much easier.  I also decided that I didn’t want to live in poverty.  I needed a plan and to get off my ass and work.

I took me twenty years to get where I wanted to be, only to realize that it was the first step.  While I was struggling to raise a family and get the job that allowed me the stability and freedom I wanted, I learned more.  I wanted more.  What about retirement?  What legacy am I leaving my children?  My grandchildren?  (If I ever get any.  Not that I’m pressuring you.  Just wondering out loud.)

I’ve been chasing the American Dream.  The house, car, golf on weekends or whenever I can sneak out, vacations.  It’s hard work chasing a goal when it  keeps changing.  So, I’m living to define a definition, I am pursuing with intent, focused on a goal.  I’ve followed a path that children of today aren’t willing to run.  We taught them to desire, but failed to teach them to work.  They want the reward without the investment.  I used to worry that it was to late to fix the mistakes we made but I recognize it as a self-correcting issue.  Once we are out of the picture, no one else is going to gift our children with their desires.  It’s root pig or die time.

I’m just going to sit on the soap box, drink a beer and watch the show.