The other day, my father recounted the first snow he remembered at Christmas.

He was in the Boston area, interviewing with MIT for an undergraduate student opening.

My father was a very independent child, often, in his early teens, riding the train from Knoxville, Tennessee, to Washington, D.C., seeing the museums, going on to Norfolk, VA, to visit his father who was stationed at the naval base there and then returning in time to attend school on Monday.

To earn money, my father had a newspaper route.

So it was not a big stretch, as it might be for some, to imagine attending, let alone applying to, MIT.

Fast forward a few decades and his daughter, my baby sister, a school counselor in the Virginia public school system, just received Teacher of the Year.

As a counselor!

Wonderful news.

Soon, my sister’s son will graduate with a baccalaureate and start his postgraduate career, possibly in law school.

Where?

Well, if my father put MIT in his sights, perhaps his grandson will set a similar goal.

We’ll see.

In my parents’ empty-nest years, they’ve volunteered to serve food at the local middle school football games, sell Christmas trees for the Colonial Heights Optimist Club and give assistance to neighbours in need.  They’ve attended Citizens’ Police Academy, providing support for the local Neighbourhood Watch program, as a result.

These are the examples my parents have set for their offspring, raising successful children and receiving successful grandchildren in return.

That, in a nutshell, is what life is all about.  Everything else is just spare pocket change.

May all of us inspire our children to seek great achievements, just like Nanxi Liu and Annette.

And congratulations to my sister one more time!