What a day it’s been and it’s not even close to being over! We’re currently on a walking tour so this one is going to be a little short and to the point…

The one big item on the agenda today was a food tour. We enjoyed it so much we turned around and signed up for the corresponding cocktail tour right afterwards. As a contrast to yesterday the history lessons today have been way more light hearted. They’ve been focused on food and booze throughout the history of New Orleans. It’s so much fun spending time hearing stories of days past and learning why things are called what they are and done the way they are today.

Also, we’ve had a blast hanging out with Kris and Justin this trip! I love these times to just chill and hang out with old friends. Usually Justin and I aren’t able to hang out when the girls get together so it’s extra special to get this time with the four of us. Talk about flashbacks to almost 20 years ago!

Thanks!!!

Wow… when Becky suggested we visit The National WWII History Museum I did not anticipate such an emotional experience. After about four hours my brain is now full.

There were many things that were what I’d classify between “neat” and “cool.” They were items like guns, equipment and uniforms. We saw some “awesome” things too like bombers and fighter planes. Along the way there were some “interesting” facts learned about the war that I’d never known. Neat, cool, awesome, and interesting…

… and then there were the powerful, gut wrenching, sobering, and heartbreaking. Those were the moments when I caught myself getting choked up with emotion. In a couple of spots I just had to walk away or risk full blown tears.

There was the powerful story of Patton having to stop his first visit to a concentration camp due to how difficult it was for him to see. Stories of so many gut wrenching events like the bombings of so many cities including the deaths of so many innocent civilians. The sobering reminders of how Japanese Americans were put into internment camps, causing us to do the very thing we were fighting against.

Of all of the things I saw, read, and heard today there was one simple item that will remain with my soul for eternity. It was so heartbreaking that I will never forget it. This one sheet of paper reminded me of the humanity that was lost in the war. Over 3% of the world’s population was extinguished in this event, and each of the lives lost was an individual like me, Becky, and my family. Between 70 and 85 MILLION voices muted for all history.

The item that brought it all home for me? A slip of faded yellow paper. A telegram. “The Secretary of War desires me to express his deep regret…”. In those and the following lines of text I was reminded that what I had been seeing as just numbers were people. The connection that note made between the astronomical and mind blowing number of deaths to individual lives was heartbreaking in a way I’ve never before experienced. The sheet of paper and the intense feelings it brought with be with me forever.

I am so thankful for this history lesson today. As we walk from it I feel exhausted but so grateful for the experience.

Thanks!!!

Our first meal in New Orleans has started off with a bang – gumbo!!!

When Becky were here the first time we said we’d come back for the delicious food. Six years later and here we are, diving right into the fantastic eats the city has to offer.

Round one is in the books and I’m thankful for the tasty gumbo!

Thanks!!!

Yup, there are just some moments that get me right in the feels as a dad… and tonight had a couple of them.

Over the course of the week there’s been a handful of times when I was with Dominic and his friends. Many of them have been in transit from one thing to the next. I’ve had so much fun hearing them goof off, joke around, and give each other a hard time. They routinely have me laughing even in those short car rides.

Tonight was the musical that they were all playing a part in. Dominic, Sam, & Luke we’re backstage and Billy was in one of the lead roles. Not only did they do an incredible job, it was easy to see the huge smiles on their faces as they celebrated on stage together at the end.

As we exited Becky and I saw the group of them hanging out and goofing off with each other as normal. We congratulated them, joked around and then got a pic of the four of them together. It took a while, but we even got one with all four of them smiling!

After a big hug with Dominic we headed out to the car. Becky drove so I pulled up my phone to see if any of the pics had actually turned out. When I saw the picture above there was a little awesome leaking out of my eyes as I was simultaneously ecstatic for the boys and filled with joy remembering those moments with my friends back in the day. There’s something about that picture that shows me that Dominic’s future is pretty amazing with friends like that while it also reminds me of the awesome friends I’m so blessed to have in my life for the past 30+ years.

I paused and soaked in those memories and joy for a moment. Then I sent the pic to my best friends and explained why. At one point a long time ago I told the guys that when I had kids I hope they would be blessed to have an incredible group of friends like i have… and now I clearly see that wish has come true.

Becky!!! Quit cutting onions while you drive, it isn’t safe! 😉

All those feelings of joy and happiness, all from one simple picture. What a blessing.

Thanks!!!

This afternoon I met up with some old friends who I haven’t seen in a while.  Way back in 2001 we met when I stopped out on a sales call with Express.  Since then we’ve worked together for over 18 years.  Over that time we’ve gotten married, had kids, had kids graduate and get married, and even have a handful of grandkids!  I had a great time reconnecting with them and hearing what’s new in their lives.  As I drove back to the office afterwards I kept smiling while I remembered old stories of our time together.  There was also an interesting realization when seeing just how long we’ve known each other and how little has truly changed during that time.

Over the past week or so I’ve had some thoughts and ideas starting to come together in my brain.  In looking at an ongoing challenge I finally saw it in a slightly differently light and from a different angle.  I’ve been struggling to see it completely in focus, but today it was the prototypical “aHa!” moment.  Funny how I can sometimes help my brain focus by taking the focus away for a little bit as I let the first bits of the thought ferment in my brain.  It was wonderful to see it so clearly today!

On my drive in today I was jamming out to some great music.  One of the parts I enjoy about the specific type of music the most is that it gets my brain turning.  There were several times I caught myself being deep in thought as I meandered up the Mississippi River.  The music helped my mind wander a bit in thought and it was an excellent way to start the day.

Thanks!!!

Sometimes I think I might actually be learning! Today was a day in which there were several times I paused and remembered past lessons learned. Every so often I catch myself rubbing the flat spots on my forehead from past experiences and I remember what was learned from those instances. Today they served me well and I avoided some mistakes I’ve made in the past. Heck, Gavin may be right, I’m slowly becoming a wise old man! 😂

Speaking of Gavin, I broke him into a new level of the Brotherhood of Nintendo… after playing baseball in the park for quite a while we headed inside. He asked if we had any two player Nintendo games that we could play together. I smiled, dusted off Contra, and taught him the greatest cheat code of all time before we took out some alien scum!

Life is good!

Thanks!!!

Today has been a wildly successful day.  Interestingly, it’s had its share of tense moments, stress, difficult challenges, and the like…  all of which have made it the successful day it has been.

First off, I’m thankful for grit.  Yeah, this is kind of a staple, but it’s truly amazing to me to see what we are each capable of when we push towards something we’re passionate about.  We persist through the pain for the end goal, and in a cosmic twist, we grow from and usually appreciate those tough parts of the journey more than the destination.  I have many dreams and aspirations that I am passionate about and I will find a way to do them.  Knowing that I will face obstacles I pause instead of getting frustrated with them and find the way to become stronger, smarter, and better for passing that challenge.  Which leads to my next point…

Breathing is truly an awesome action.  When those challenges present themselves the power of something so seemingly as simple as taking a deep breath can calm my mind.  In action tonight while doing yoga I was able to hold poses stronger and more correctly than expected when I focused only on breathing.  The same is true in life.  While I appreciate the challenges they don’t always happen at the most opportune times.  When I remember to breathe like I did today I can more easily transition from an “Oh Crap!!!” emotional response to a “well, that just happened, what can I learn from this?” reaction.  All by doing one little thing, breathing.

In the final rest tonight in yoga I was reminded again of one of the reasons I am so passionate about travel.  With my eyes closed and laying flat on my back in a quiet room my mind started to wander…  Before I knew it I was listening to my Alaska & Isle Royale vacation song in my head and I was floating in the ocean in Alaska, just cruising through the fjords.  Such a peaceful feeling, total relaxation.  From the places we’ve visited there’s a handful of epic vacation happy places that are burned into my brain and heart so deeply that just the thought of them can drop my blood pressure, relieve stress, and help me pause and focus on my breath.  I love those experiences so much and wouldn’t trade any of them for anything in the world.

Thanks!!!

Throughout the day I had no less than half a dozen blogs for today mentally started.  First I was thankful for working the kinks out in our morning run because I finally loosened up by the end.  Then I was thankful for a peaceful ride up the Mississippi River and I was also thankful for the reminders of the raw power of Mother Nature.  I was thankful for filling in while someone is out to remember what it’s like to go through a challenge.  Later I was thankful for the opportunity to jump in and take action and set the tone.  Intermingled was gratitude for lessons from the 30,000′ view.  In working through something I was thankful for the opportunity to learn from a challenge.  I was thankful for the return of a great friend and teammate.  In the afternoon I was thankful for Becky having a great day at work.  There were times I was thankful for others stepping up, a clear vision, and the opportunity to serve others.  On my way home I was thankful for a conversation with my brother and great music.  I appreciated the opportunity to cook and grill one of my favorite dinners.  I was thankful for a family dinner together.  Heck, at one point I was even thankful for being thankful for someone else’s gratitude!  For reals, that one made me smile huge!

So why is today’s blog not about any of these things (although it kind of is…  see what I did there?  Wink, wink)?  There was a moment as we were wrapping up supper that filled my heart with joy…

“Hey Dad, want to come outside and play catch for a little father son son time?”

Yes… that sounds perfect.

We went outside together, and it was perfect.

Thanks!!!

Today was an opportunity to step out of real life for a bit and just chill with friends.  A handful of my buddies and I headed up to the workshop for a day of gaming.  As luck would have it almost all of us were available to hang out at the same time – something that hasn’t happened often recently.

It was great!  No agenda, no plan, only us hanging out, shooting the bull, laughing often, and playing games.  How can you go wrong with that?  With a cooler full of soda, a never ending stream of frozen pizza, and more games than we could ever hope to play in a week we just hunkered down and had fun.

With as busy as we all are it’s wonderful to hit pause and spend time having fun while catching up.  At some point when our kids all get older I’m sure this will be a more regular occurrence, but for now these times are pretty rare and always appreciated.

Special thanks to Becky for keeping up with unerring the boys around while I hung out!

Thanks!!!