Uncle's Delight

"To laugh often and love much; to win the respect of intelligent persons and the affection of children; to earn the approbation of honest citizens and to endure the betrayal of false friends; to appreciate beauty; to find the best in others; to give of one's self; to leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch, or a redeemed social condition; to have played and laughed with enthusiasm and sung with exultation; to know that even one life has breathed easier because you have lived--this is to have succeeded."
~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

My family celebrated my nephew Nathan's birthday today by going to a restaurant down by the Kentucky River. Nathan is a writer, who admires Emerson. He has taken much of Emerson to heart in the way he conducts his life. His niece and godchild, my great niece, is fortunate to love and laugh with him, to be his delight.