I think just about everybody has one. Whether something you aspire to, or an accomplishment that has been realized, everyone has a concept of the badge of honor. They come in many forms. As a child, I remember when my best friend Billy Jackson came to school with a brand new plaster cast on his arm. What puts a kid on the map with his peers more than a busted arm achieved through some sort of daredevil stunt such as flying off a dirt jump on your Schwinn Stingray, or falling fifteen feet from a ceiling joist at a construction site?
Later in life, your badge of honor might come in the form of recognition or success in an area you have always aspired to one day become accomplished or compete in. My beautiful wife, Carol Anne, is a perfect example. In a picture frame on the mantle at home lives an old black and white photograph of her astride a child’s spring horse. In this shot, she is probably no more than twelve months old, maniacally bouncing on her steed with a look on her face that can only be described as sheer reckless determination. Though Carol Anne never had a horse as a child, she always deeply aspired to ride, to show and most importantly, to be good at it. Shortly after we met, she finally acquired her first horse and in recent years, she and her paint horse, Georgia, have diligently and tirelessly practiced and trained. I believe Carol’s personal badge of honor came with her first championship season, and she continues to win. Though it may take years, realization of a dream is a truly magical thing to experience, or to see accomplished.
