We do not take you for granted.
Nor do we take this life for granted.
It is short, it is fragile,
and it is far too precious to waste.
The world does not always reward goodness.
Sometimes it ignores it,
sometimes it mocks it,
sometimes it even punishes it.
Do good anyway —
because good is always worth doing.
The world does not always value hard work.
Sometimes it honors those who take shortcuts.
Work hard anyway —
because hard work shapes you,
and nothing lasting is built without it.
Love is not always easy.
Sometimes it is misunderstood,
or even repaid with pain.
Love anyway —
because love is not a deal you make,
it is the way we are meant to live.
Give more than you take.
Build more than you break.
Forgive more than you blame.
These are not easy things,
but they are the things that make a life.
When pain comes — and it will —
stand back up.
When joy comes — and it will —
share it.
Both are part of being alive.
You have been the best part of our story.
The rest of your story is still being written —
write it with strength,
with wonder,
and with a heart that stays open
even when it would be easier to close it.
This is what we have learned.
This is what we leave with you.
Michael Forty