My schedule today was pretty much jam packed from start to finish so when one of my teammates called I felt bad that not only was I not available to take their call, but I knew I wouldn’t have the opportunity to get back to them until much later in the day.

Later in the day I had a couple of minutes and felt the stress and anxiety of the upcoming month taking hold.  So many projects, so much to accomplish, and I made the mistake of looking at it as one huge imposing thing as opposed to bite sized portions that I know I can take on.  With that looming in my mind I was struggling and needed to take a deep breath.  I literally had my head in my hands for a moment as I mulled everything over and tried to give myself a pep talk, but it wasn’t quite working.  Just one of those moments of weakness that occasionally hit for a few moments.

Something clicked in my head and I realized that sitting here sulking wasn’t going to accomplish anything so I decided to start knocking off the tasks on my list to get myself out of this funk.  First on the list was to listen to the voicemail from my teammate and respond to her.  When I fired up her voicemail I heard a very chipper, upbeat and energetic voice leave the following message:

“Mike Kreiling, this is _______ ________.  I’m calling to give you a little motivation this morning because I feel like you always do well with us and motivation so I thought I would just pass the word on today.  I know you’re stretched pretty thin and have a lot going on for the month of June, but I know you’ll grit through it because you’re an awesome person and you do right by everybody and you’ll do well in June too.  I just wanted to say I appreciate you and you’re doing a very good job!”

I sat there and just took in her message.  After it finished I played it again.  On the second time my eyes welled up a bit, I took a deep breath, and I flipped the switch.  She was right, I’ve got this and I know how to get this all done.  Smiling ear to ear I changed my attitude and proceeded to have an excellent rest of the day.

Today I can’t even begin to explain how thankful I am for a teammate taking a few minutes to give me a pep talk to help me get myself back in the right mindset.  There’s no way she could’ve known the state I would be in when I finally listened to her voicemail, but she totally nailed and made my day today.

Thanks!!!

 

 

 

Becky had the foresight to get my bike tuned up and fixed last week and I’m glad she did! When I wrapped up a call for work after supper I was in the mood for some outside time. Grilling, cleaning the grill and setting up the sprinkler didn’t quite scratch the itch.

With Becky on a work call I saw the boys sitting around on the couch reading and had an idea. Let’s go for a bike ride to see how many turtles we could see! Of course I had to have some type of a gimmick to get the boys moving. 😁

Off we went and had a great time. We fired up some tunes while riding, went past the teenagers and water skiers at the beach, and saw ten turtles. Amongst the highlights were our short jaunt down the sandy dirt path and the feeling of swerving all over the blacktop like a kid. It felt awesome!

I am thankful for that time with the boys tonight, it felt wonderful acting like a kid again while spending time with my boys.

Thanks!!!

I know, the boys really do get along often, but like many things in life I sometimes get get frustrated and remember the times when they don’t get along much more clearly. While we were out on the river today there was one of those time when I just appreciated seeing the two of them spending time together.

While Becky and I were reading and relaxing Dominic and Gavin had tied a couple of floating emojis together and to the boat. They then proceeded to play a version of king of the hill until only one of them was still on the float. Watching them go at it was so much fun, they were giving each other a hard time and fighting hard, but in a very playful way that reminded me of a couple of bear cubs wrestling.

There was no blow out fight at the end, no frustration, no declarations of cheating or anything like that. They just went at it until they both decided it was time to do something else. Then they split off and did their own things for a while.

In the moment it was so much fun listening to them giggle and laugh while wrestling around like that. I still remember my brother and I doing things like that. Sometimes it was on the stairs so an aunt and uncle’s house, other times it was on our beds as we fake professional wrestling. Regardless of location it was always so much fun doing those types of things and actually enjoying each other’s company. Sitting on the boat today it was pretty awesome to see the boys doing the same and making their own memories.

Thanks!!!

Exactly one year ago today it was a pretty sweet Friday. I was pretty swamped at work and had a couple of calls scheduled that I needed to be focused on and I had my day worked out to almost the minute to make sure I was able to accomplish everything that needed to be done.

Out of the blue I received a text from my dad. He’d just spent a week in Rochester with a friend of his and was on his way back home. Seeing as he’d be driving by he wanted to stop in to see me. I almost said no due to how much I had going on but figured I could find a way to make it work. After a couple of quick calls and emails I was able to squeeze in some time to hang out with Dad, but it wasn’t going to be much time.

It never occurred to me that Dad had never been to our new building. While on his way he didn’t quite understand my directions (probably a mix up on both of our parts) and it took longer than expected for him to arrive. At this point I was getting nervous thinking about how much time I’d have with him before I had my other calls.

Something inside me told me to relax and everything would work itself out. Once Dad got there he got to meet the team, see my office, and we spent time in my office shooting the bull. He told me some stories about the week he’d just had, the chair he’d just bought, and things along those lines. We had a great time, but in the back of my head I kept thinking back to all the things that were piled up for me to accomplish.

At some point I must not have been hiding that nervousness very well and Dad picked up on it. After a little while he said it was about time for him to head out. We wrapped up the conversation and he said good bye to the team and we walked out to the hallway together. Wrapping up our time together we did what we always did when we first saw each other and when we said good bye. We shook hands, pulled each other in for a huge hug, and said either “Love you dude” or “Love you bud” to each other. As per the norm we exchanged the hug and love you’s and then I followed him out to his truck.

Once he got in and started to drive away I waved and smiled. Something deep in my head asked a weird question, “what if that was the last time you saw him?” I knew I’d been distracted with work stress, but we’d spent time together, laughed and smiled together, said “love you,” and ended with a hug… all the way we’d done so many times in the past. I smiled to myself and thought about how if it was the last time of course I’d have wanted to spend more time, but it was a pretty awesome time together just like normal.

As it happened, that truly was the last time I ever got a hug from my dad.

After we realized he wasn’t going to make it I’d thought about this moment a lot and thought about how much I wish I would’ve spent more time with him. I’d wished I’d taken more time with him and cancelled everything on my calendar to spend more time with him. For a little while I beat myself up over this. Not in a horrible way, but in that “what if” kind of way.

One day shortly after he’d passed I heard Pastor Reiff’s voice in my head. “Don’t be sad he’s gone, be glad for the time you had together.” That’s when it hit me. How awesome that we always shared that welcome and goodbye… How awesome that I still remember that last hug, the toughness of his hand, the strength of his other arm around me… How awesome that I still have that moment burned into my brain… How awesome that we had that last opportunity to spend time together in person… How awesome that Dad and I had so much time together…

Of course, I wish Dad was still here and I totally understand now when he’d tell Nick and I that he’d give almost anything for just one more day with his dad. That said, talk about ending on a high note. The last time that Dad and I spent together effort his stroke was an awesomely ordinary visit in which we did the things that we always did. I am so thankful for that last hug, I will carry that moment in my heart and soul for eternity. Whenever I think of that moment I no longer feel sadness over missing my dad. Rather, I feel extreme joy because it reminds me of the love we shared.

Dad, I wish we could’ve had so many more of those moments. How cool that we were able to wrap up our time together on Earth in such an epically ordinary way for us? Love you bud and am looking forward to the day we can hug again!

Thanks!!!

This morning on my drive into work there were some blue skies as well as cloudy pre-storm gray.  When I first started working in my office it was bright and sunny, but within a couple of hours the office had darkened significantly.  Shortly after a wonderful storm rolled in and the sounds of the heavy rain was so soothing and pleasant.

As the day went on it was sunny for a while, then cloudy, then lighter, then darker, and then light again.  Within one day it felt like a handful of trips around the sun had happened.  On my way home I was greeted with one of the most beautiful things there are (in my humble opinion)…  Dark bluish slate clouds contrasted against fresh bright green leaves being hit by the sun just right.  Those two colors contrast and pop in an incredible way!  Every time I see it I am struck with the beauty of those two colors side by side.  It’s not every time that there’s a cloudy sky, the conditions have to be just right to really bring it to life.  Today the conditions were right and it was a wonderful drive home.

After supper we headed out on some errands.  On our way home the clouds had transformed into some pretty gnarly new formations.  Not only were they a bit strange, but there were several distinct types of different that made it even more cool!

Today was a crazy busy day filled with some very interesting twists and turns.  A little bit of both good and challenging.  Being able to set that all aside and just soak in the beauty of the natural world was the music my soul needed to hear today.

Thanks!!!

While driving today I had an idea in my head and I started chuckling out loud. I had no idea what I was going to blog about today and it was for a pretty awesome reason… I’ve got a backlog of thins I’m thankful for!

On each of the past several days I’ve had several things that I was grateful for but I tried to stay focused on just one each time. After I’d type my blog I’d stop and think about how I’d use that idea for the next day only to find myself having a day in which there were even more tough choices.

Here are a few of the things I’ve been thankful for:

• A team member really stepping up to live our values and offer up a “Do Right” that helped the team at her expense. She didn’t even hesitate, spoke right up and threw the idea out there knowing full well what it would mean for her. In the end we were able to help the team without that solution, but her willingness to offer up what she felt was right was nothing short of inspirational and awesome. I’m so very thankful to have someone like that on our team.
• There was a very excellent gift I received from a significant event that is one that I will cherish forever. It’s funny how there are certain things we know will be with us forever, this is one of them and will elicit big dreams and smiles every time I see it.
• I’m thankful that Becky is forgiving. I was super frustrated for no good reason yesterday morning and I took it out on her instead of taking a deep breath. Once I’d calmed down I apologized and felt like a giant ass and she forgave me and moved on. I’m thinking that’s where Dominic gets it from 😁. That morning she was an inspiration for me to remember to quickly forgive and let go the next time something small happens outside of my control.
• It was really awesome just being home last night. Almost every night we’ve had something going on and it felt wonderful to fire up the grill, blog from the deck and do a little work in the backyard.
• There was a fantastic and heartfelt thank you card and gift from completely out of the blue. The words she shared were heartfelt and appreciated and her action left a huge smile on the face of our entire family!
• Isn’t it awesome when you happen to hang out with the right person at the right time and it puts you in an excellent mood? After a long day of work and driving I had just that with Kathy and it made my day!
• Sharing parenting stories with my brother always leaves me smiling, but he had some absolute winners this week that have me still laughing!
• We all have ups and downs in our work life, but mine don’t seem to be too bad when I see so many wonderful teammates all around me. Over the past few days they’ve continued to impress me, motivate me, inspire me, and bring joy to my life in so many wonderful ways. I’m thankful for each and every single one of them.
• So many scouting memories all coming back, I’d forgotten just how many moments of my childhood were tied to scouting and brought me such joy and life lessons!
• Spending time with my boys while doing something as basic as riding home from haircuts cracks me up. The entire ride was spent joking around, giving each other hell, and trying to ruin Dominic’s iPod game 😁. I am so thankful for them moments like that we have together.

• Every night I come home to the best wife ever. We crash next to each other on the couch, catch up quickly, go brain dead for a couple of minutes and then head off to bed, only to wake up we’ll before 5am and head out for our run… our time to reconnect, chill, and just be together. I can’t think of a better way to start the day!

See what I mean? Each of these could have been their own blog, but I only have so much time to type in my life. Thank you to all of you who’ve made my week awesome, I appreciate each of you!

Thanks!!!

We got news a couple of days ago that Dominic would be entering into a Scouting organization that I knew well when I was a Scout.  It is an organization that you must be voted into by your fellow troop mates as Scouts who best exemplify living the Scout Oath and Law in their daily lives.  Being elected to become a member of OA is a big honor and it was awesome to see that Dominic was selected for it!

Reading his letter brought back a flood of memories for me.  When I was selected I still remember being pulled out of the crowd at the Camp Tesomas firebowl to go up to stand in front of the Chief.  He said something to me that I will never forget and proceeded to “tap” me on the shoulder three times.  I sat from behind the fire for the rest of the event and was told to stay silent.  That night I slept in my sleeping bag under the stars where they left me and it was one of the coolest experiences of camping I’ve ever had.  The next day was spent doing some manual labor while maintaining a vow of silence.  Throughout the whole experience I was given a small booklet to read and consider while working in the quiet.  Funny thing is that almost 30 years later I still have those books!

I’m so excited to think that Dominic will now have the same opportunity!  While it sounds like my “Ordeal” and his may be different I am hopeful it will be something that he holds near and dear to his heart for the rest of his life.  Through that experience I learned so much about leadership, living the Scout Oath and Law, and about myself.

When I think back to the experience I had I still remember the huge smiles of pride on the faces of my parents.  They were there for the event and I remember how happy I was for them to be there.  At the time I wasn’t sure why they were so proud, but now, as a dad, I totally understand.

Congrats on this incredible honor bud!!!  I can’t wait to see your new patch on your pocket flap.  You’re doing things right and your mom and I are so proud of the man you are already becoming.  Keep up the awesomeness, soak up the experience, and enjoy this next Scouting adventure.  Love you dude!!!

Thanks!!!

Today’s been pretty solid all the way around.  Many great conversations, celebrating of successes, spending time with friends and mentors, hearing of others accomplishing goals, an awesome gift, the boys being fine on their own at home, Becky joining us in Lake City, and so many other wonderful moments.  It hasn’t all been perfect, but it’s been very full of joy regardless.  My heart is warmed as I pause and think of all that I am thankful for today.

There were a couple of moments though in which my head was filled with childlike wonder and they involved being on the river.  On a few days week my view of the river looks like this, a sunrise over the Black River yesterday morning:

This evening it was a very different view as we went on a pontoon ride to wrap up the day with a few of my mentors.  As we were cruising on the Mississippi River there were so many views like this:

With the wind blowing in my face it just felt great to get lost in the beauty of the river and the bluffs it lies between.  The moon was out and bright and added a little extra to the view.  At one point an eagle flew close overhead, at another point and eagle took a stab at a fish.  I was able to see a significant portion of my Ragnar run segment heading north from Maiden Rock.  In another spot I was dreaming of having a house on top of the bluffs overlooking the Mississippi River Valley.  The sun was beating down and it felt glorious!

There was just a magic to being on the water that caused all stress to melt away and let me mind focus on the surroundings around me, and it felt great!

Thanks!!!

Today was our annual Kid’s Cup event and it was a huge success!  Over $80,000 was raised to help kids and families at a couple of local hospitals.  All the money raised goes specifically to helping improve the comfort of children and their families in all types of medical situations.

In addition to being a part of an event with a fantastic purpose I also very much enjoyed the time I had golfing and hanging out with some work friends.  Being able to spend time picking their brains about work while also having more time to talk with them about home life.

The event was a huge success and I’m so appreciative of the event itself, for everyone who donated to this great cause, and for all of the work family I was able to spend time with today.  My heart is full tonight thanks to all of you!

Thanks!!!