I miss Stan.
Many knew Stan as a brilliant scientist. Some knew him as friend. I had the unique perspective of knowing Stan as my father-in-law.
Being who he was to me was frightening enough in and of itself. Stan was one of those rare people that actually took the time to think about what he was going to say before it came out of his mouth. That simply added to the level of fear and respect I had for him. Sometimes I would ask him a question, and then after several moments of silence I would begin to wonder if he had heard me. He always did…and if I was patient, he would often share of his great wealth of wisdom.
For some reason, still beyond my explanation, Stan always believed in me. Getting married as young as we did, we had many friends and family members that were not too happy about it. At one point we were close to calling the wedding off and postponing it until an indefinite date. He called me on the phone on Easter Sunday and said he saw no reason for us to wait and encouraged me to push ahead with the plans. Wow! What a boost of confidence that was.
I had the pleasure of knowing Stan personally for about 3 years before his life was stolen away by a cruel cancer. It seems like such a short time, however, to this day, I draw on some of the great advice that he gave me.
One time he was scheduled to be the main speaker at a health conference in Brazil. He asked me to get up early and drive him to the airport. We both had underestimated the morning traffic and he ended up missing his flight. I felt terrible. It was then that he looked at me and said, “Jon, a long time ago, I learned that you just have to roll with the punches.” He always said so much by saying so little.
Oh, how I long to pick up the phone and hear his voice. I would love to share with him all of my big plans and big dreams. I know he would be so excited. I know he would still believe in me. And I know exactly what he would say, "Stop worrying about tomorrow and just roll with the punches!"
I miss Stan.