Life, Death, Gratitude and Wisdom
UCON Upfront: November-December 2021, by Mark Breslin, UCON CEO
Right before COVID kicked in, my father passed away. My role model, mentor, and example of how to be. And with his passing, I received the most powerful lesson on gratitude in my life.
He had been very sick for several years. To the point that we as a family had to choose to have him go to a nursing facility or stay at home with 24-hour care. We chose the latter.
To manage 24-hour care in your home is something I do not wish upon any of you, and it far exceeded the ability for my mom to do. And so, it was my wife Karen who carried most of that responsibility and burden, and she did it with grace. And it wasn’t even her parent.
At the end, my father was able to go out on his terms, surrounded by family. He maintained his dignity, and my mom was able to share all of that in their home because of my wife. And upon his passing, we grieved, and all moved on.
Six months later, in the midst of COVID, I went to my truck in the morning to start it, and it was like a 2x4 hit me in the head. I walked back into the house, sat down in front of Karen, and told her that what she did for my parents, family, and me was something we would never forget. That she did something that we can never repay in any way. I apologized and could not really explain how I missed those six full months until I was able to express gratitude for her gift of time and love. And with that moment the lesson of the power of gratitude was granted to me in a way I had not appreciated before.
This lesson applies to all of us. It applies at home. In our businesses. In our relationships. In our lives. And the potential to express that gratitude exists every day. The question is do we put it in the forefront of our thinking? Is it part of how we lead ourselves and others? Or does it get lost in the speed, chaos, or distraction of each and every day, the opportunity lost forever to gift someone something they truly deserve.
For me, I am grateful, and on behalf of the organization at least, I’d like to sincerely express it.
To every person reading this now, it is likely that you have contributed in one way or another to the success of an organization I have dedicated my professional life to. Many of you have granted your trust, resources, talent, and time. Others have stepped up to leadership. Many others have proactively pushed us forward—both inside and outside of the organization. For all of this and all of you, I express my most sincere gratitude. We never take it for granted, but I think we need to articulate it more often so that you will know we care. And for that care, I’d like to convey my respect and gratitude to our remarkable staff team, who truly bring the best version of themselves in service of UCON and our members every day.
In closing, in this season of giving thanks, the thoughtfulness required to remember who deserves your gratitude is something to reflect on. When was the last time you truly and sincerely expressed thanks to your spouse, parents, employees, or others who will be so glad to hear and feel it? Please don’t follow my poor example of waiting until it's almost too late to matter. And embrace the lesson that I learned—the gift is not only well deserved by them but a true obligation for us to be an authentic and caring person. I think there is room for that, even in our rough and tumble business world.
