And You: What Do You Work For? (100th Installment)

This series began with the question our sixty-four-year-old CFO posed to himself at the end of his essay: What do you work for?

Across one hundred installments, I have tried to answer it through my life and my companions' — the boy in Shimonoseki who couldn't study; the Canadian friends who taught him English; the partner beside me since the day after our first dinner; a 12–0 defeat at Koshien; Olympic tears; a fatherless boyhood; a business lost to COVID; a job gone overnight; and the day six essays, written separately, landed on one word: smiles.

One hundred essays later, my answer fits in a line. I work for smiles — beginning with my own, then my companions', families', customers', and someone's in the world I have not yet met. For that, we decide the future first, celebrate first, never run, and row on today with companions who rejoice together.

This is installment one hundred — and merely a waypoint. Our story is still its opening chapter. I close by placing the question once more. This time, it is yours to answer. What do you work for?