I remember growing up as a kid, my father NEVER smiled. I think I was about 12 years old before I ever heard him laugh. But right around the time, he hit his mid-50’s, that all changed. I remember it was right around the time he left his job as a middle school principle to go back into the classroom to teach.  You couldn’t stop him from laughing. And truth be told, he was the master of horrible jokes…and forgetting punch lines. As we both grew older and I became more insightful, I referenced this change to him and asked him what caused the shift? He said, “because I went back to doing what I love.”  Instead of being on the administrative side and feeling like he was more of a disciplinarian, he was able to go back to what he got into teaching for in the first place…to mentor and mold the minds of his students each and every day.