Sometimes my blog doesn’t need much of an explanation. Sometimes less is more fitting. Today is one of those days.
I can’t imagine how much more difficult it would have been to lose Dad without having Nick walking beside me. Dude, you’ve helped me more than words can ever hope to say. I’m sincerely thankful to have you as my brother. This journey is much easier knowing that you’re walking it with me.
Thanks!!!
So much to be thankful for today, which do I go with? The great night of sleep? Becky having the flexibility to take Gavin to Urgent Care to take put a hole in the nail of a swollen finger? The excellent day of planning with my work team? The chance to reflect on a specific fault that I have to find ways to get batter at it? The fantastic performance of a teammate presenting? Seeing a huge red sunset? A home cooked meal with my family? A good conversation with my mom or a fun call with my little brother? Yes, there was much to be thankful for today, and I am very grateful for each of those things.
All of those in my head, I’m blogging about a goofy photo that was from exactly three years ago today that makes me smile… and, as usual, there’s more to the story…
This photo was taken while riding Expedition Everest in Disney’s Animal Kingdom. The picture itself cracked me up when I saw it. We had already been on it several times so I had an idea of where the camera was, but I had no idea that the expressions on the other riders’ faces would’ve been so priceless! Every time I look at it I can’t help but smile. There’s so much more to this pic though…
It reminds me of fun vacations with our boys. This ride was so awesome and we had so many giggles riding it. The boys were absolutely in love with this ride, they enjoyed the ride, the background story and displays, and the whole Everest and yeti theme.
When looking at it I remember to not take myself so seriously. Life is short, have fun! Work hard, bust butt, and make good decisions, but when it’s time to play, enjoy and play hard. I hope the boys are learning that from watching Becky and I. It’s how we choose to live our lives – it can be very crazy and busy at times, but it’s well worth it when we find ourselves on vacation or traveling somewhere and making great memories.
This pic also reminds me of the magic we experienced while at Disney, the moments that they created for us as their guests. The band worn on our wrist that tracked which car we were in so it could take pics at the right time and then send them to us. The way we would walk past things and they would know our names. That magic was… well, it was magical! When I remember that magic I think of how can I bring that level of magic to what I do. What can I do to go out of my way to provide a truly magical moment for someone? When’s the last time I helped to create that magic for someone?
While the day was filled with many things to be grateful for (again, thanks to Becky for taking care of Gavin while I was out of town!), this goofy pic really reminded me of a lot today and gave me much to think about… and, most importantly, it put a huge goofy smile on my face.
Thanks!!!
Today was a great day with many of my Express cohorts. We met in Rochester for our annual planning retreat and spent the day sharing ideas, helping each other learn form our past successes and failures, and finding ways to be more successful in 2018. After the work portion was complete we had a excellent offsite event, playing laser tag and bowling. It was a wonderful end to day of planning.
To wrap the night up I pulled out my laptop and started typing. It’s been a week or two since I’d worked on my book, it felt wonderful to write again. As I write about the experience of losing my dad it brings back some tough memories and emotions, but it always leaves me feeling better. As the words form on my screen I feel a better understanding of the events, of myself, and life in general. It hurts at times, but I always feel more joyful after typing.
Reflecting back on the day I can see the connection between the first two paragraphs. Building our business takes steady progress, progress that often seems slow, but when I pause and look back on what we’ve created it’s pretty awesome! As I write the book about losing Dad it’s taking longer than I would’ve hoped, but I know that as long as I keep working at it, piece by piece – slow, but steady – it will one day be complete… and what an awesome feeling that will be!
Thanks!!!
With our 2018 planning in full swing I headed in to the office pretty early this morning. The cool part was that as I was driving up the Mississippi I was able to see the beginning of the sunrise in my rearview mirror. Working in my office I didn’t even have to turn on a light, the sun was already brightening up the sky and it felt great! Sure, I’m not a big fan of it being dark early, but there’s something pretty sweet about having extra sun to get me up and moving earlier in the morning.
Interestingly enough, it was with those extra hours worked that a comment from my mentor, Norm, really hit me between the eyes this morning. One of the awesome things about having Norm in my life is that he’s not afraid to call me out on things. The way he started the coaching session this morning was by pointing out that he once in a while needs to be the canary in the coal mine for me and point out when something’s off a little bit. Boy am I glad he did.
Something that’s been in the back of my mind for a little while was put into the forefront and it’s forced me to confront it. Nothing crazy, terrible, drastic, or anything like that, but rather something that I’ve struggled with for a while and need to keep working on. Once in a while it kind of sneaks up on me. When he brought it up today I had it in the back of my mind in every conversation that I had afterwards and in many thoughts I had in moments of silence.
The sun woke me up and helped me get moving first thing in the morning, and the canary in the mine helped to remind me to slow down a little bit. I am so thankful to have had both today!
Thanks!!!
When we were in Turks and Caicos for Nick and Jenn’s wedding pretty close to this time eight years ago we closed out our last night of vacation hanging out with the two of them. It was one of those epic nights that I’ll never forget. Our last night on that vacation, just hanging out and having a great time in one of the resort bars. As the night started to wind down I gave in to the urge to sing karaoke (something that I’ve only done a handful of times). The song, Three Little Birds by Bob Marley.
I had so much fun belting out the song with a couple of our favorite resort staffers (Ricky & Omar). Everything was totally chill and I was present in that moment. Nothing mattered in the world, life was pretty awesome.
To this day whenever I hear that song I think back to being in the Caribbean, enjoying the beautiful weather, sitting in the sun, and just relaxing with Becky… Not worrying about a thing, ’cause every little thing is gonna be alright. I’ve got a cold drink in my hand and am singin’ don’t worry about a thing, ’cause every little thing gonna be alright…
Thanks!!!
Long story short, I’m having a blast in Madison with my brothers from another mother and sister from another mister!
Thanks for including me in the family!
Thanks!!!
Yup, tonight was pretty awesome! Becky is out with some friends and I’m chillin’ with the boys, playing games and watching Harry Potter. The best part so far – besides hanging out with my boys – was supper.
Last night Dominic offered to make us supper based on what he’d learned in school that day. Becky hit the grocery store for supplies and this was the sight in the kitchen earlier tonight…
How awesome is that??? Not only did he cook, but he and Gavin did dishes too!
I always love the time with the kiddos, but spending time with them after they cooked and cleaned was even more awesome!!!
Thanks!!!
The past month and change has been pretty amazing! Every single day at about lunchtime my phone buzzes due to a specific Facebook post. It is the daily reminder of what I posted on this day in past years.
As I pull up the notification I’m now happy to see TWO blog posts… one from last year, and one from two years ago. It’s like this amazing trail of bread crumbs leading to many happy memories, many of which I would have not remembered. I read them and I smile, still thankful for what I was thankful for in the past.
Today was a great example. Last year on this date I was relaxing on the beach, hiking, and enjoying family time on vacation. Two years ago I was thankful for the kitchen table, one of my favorite of my 767 posts to date. Reading both of them brought back so many fond memories and I’m so thankful to have those reminders.
Normally I would wrap up the blog, but today was a special day for another reason. In the spirit of this post I’m going to leave a little seed to remember next year and in future years. This a little cryptic, but I want to have to pause to really think and remember what today meant, the news I received, and another reason why I’m so thankful today.
For a great tree death comes as a gradual transformation. Its vitality ebbs slowly. Even when life has abandoned it entirely it remains a majestic thing. On some hilltop a dead tree may dominate the landscape for miles around. Alone among living things it retains its character and dignity after death. Plants wither; animals disintegrate. But a dead tree may be as arresting, as filled with personality, in death as it is in life. Even in its final moments, when the massive trunk lies prone and it has moldering into a ridge covered with mosses and fungi, it arrives at a fitting and noble end. It enriches and refreshes the earth. And later, as part of other green and growing things, it rises again.
Edwin Way Teale
Thanks!!!
It might not have been the most epic family game night ever, but it was a lot of fun and it was pretty much out of the blue. When I got home from work I was initially planning on heading out to Menards to pick up the one last sheet of foam insulation I need and put it up in the garage. As I pulled in the driveway I realized that I hadn’t spent much time with the boys over the past few days and I had a Weblos meeting to plan. After a quick moment of hesitation I knew what I should be focused on, so I did.
The four of us fired up a handful of our family favorites – at least the ones that were relatively short and quickly playable. Fun was had by all, everyone won a game or two, and we even invented some new words. Dominic got confused on a play while playing Do Over and uttered a sound that immediately became a new family favorite… “Err, but, der, but…” It is pronounced Er’ buh der but and it was said many times as the night went on and was usually followed by the sound of laughter.
At first I gave the boys the choice of playing games or TV and I’m happy that they chose games, it turned out to be a very fun night!
Thanks!!!
After resting up and getting well over 8 hour of sleep last night I had a pretty awesome day today! Funny how getting a great night of sleep can really help me have a more successful day. Work was non-stop, but all good and very productive, but what I am most thankful for today is connecting and re-connecting with friends.
Over lunch I met an old friend, a teammate of mine from about 17 years ago. She and I had bumped into each other at a presentation I gave a couple of weeks ago and set up a time to meet for lunch to re-connect. It was a blast! An hour and change blew by in no time as we shared what we’ve been up to in the 16+ years since we’d last talked. While it was a long time ago it was so funny to see how much it felt like just yesterday we’d worked together. We’ll definitely have to get together again in the future, there were too many funny kid stories to through all of them today! As an interesting side note, after lunch I chuckled to myself as I thought about the whole situation and am pretty sure there’s an article or future blog somewhere… If you have gone 15+ years without talking with someone, what would you talk about in your first hour? What does that say about you and your life? Does it mirror the things that are most important to you? It was pretty wild!
After work we headed out to meet up with some friends to let all of our kids trick or treat together. While the boys were all out loading up bags of candy the adults sat around the fire, ate, drank, and shot the bull. Many laughs, jokes, memories, and smiles were shared. I love hanging out with that crew of friends, they’re all great people that we have so much in common with and just enough differences with to keep life interesting! Special thanks to Adam and Kelsey for hosting and cooking, it was awesome!!!
Today was another great day, so many positives to look back on and be grateful for. At the end of it though, I’m so thankful to have time to connect with friends. Our lives get busy and we run from one thing to the next. In those moments when we choose to slow down and reconnect with our friends there’s a peace and calm that is so greatly appreciated.
Thanks!!!
Thankful for Forty 