Family legacies.

“The Doctor Looks at Life with Love”. This is my grandfather. A friend painted his portrait and captioned it with this quote. He was a doctor, a general practitioner in a tiny town in Pennsylvania. A German immigrant. A painter. A lover of journals. A self proclaimed “doodler”. He found solace and thought in art, in putting his thoughts on paper, in family. He met my fiery grandmother in medical school. She was one of five women in her medical school class, the determined daughter of a mid-western judge who refused to be told no. They were a force. I think of them often as I make decisions in life, as I think through major decisions and when I know I’m sticking my neck out airing my thoughts and decisions in public. Running a local business is the strangest mix of public living that you sort of can’t imagine until you step into that light. Every book I choose, every post on social media, every local non-profit asking me for a donation, every price I put on items in the store judged by customers. It’s something no one tells you. We have a quiet day of sales and I wonder if I’ve been slammed online somewhere or offended someone. A customer writes a bad review and I stew about it for days. I decide to make a public statement about something political and I know I’m losing customers and have to weigh whether to say it. And then I think of my grandparents, and I know that living out loud is something I’m meant to do. Something that would make them proud. Speak out, take the risk, don’t be scared. Lead by example.