Dominic said he needed some supplies for a Christmas present or two. After work we loaded into the car and headed off to Menards together.
When Dad and I used to work on projects at our house we’d normally take a few trips to Menards throughout the course of the weekend. Despite our best efforts to get everything we needed the first time we always ended up missing something. Each time we would jump in the car we would shoot the bull and have a great time. We’d talk about project ideas, talk sports, talk about what we each had going on, and spent some quality chill time together. Who ever would have thought we could have such a wonderful time together running an errand like that?
On the drive tonight Dominic and I had a lot of fun shooting the bull. We talked about projects we both had in mind, we talked about what he was up to in school, we talked about work, and spent some quality chill time together. Precisely because I knew from experience we could have a wonderful time running errands together I enjoyed every single minute of it.
We walked through the store, talked about the pros and cons of different types of wood. We covered different types of joints. We made a lot of jokes as we walked through the store. We had a blast.
By the time we got home I was smiling from ear to ear.
I’m so grateful for the Menards trip with Dominic tonight. It brought back some awesome memories while creating some new ones at the same time.
This morning my ride to Winona was pretty much perfect! Everything about the drive as ideal. The beauty of the bluffs was on full display courtesy of the sunrise casting a vibrant mix of oranges, pinks, and purples. The way the sun was peeking over the bluffs caused only the tops of the bluffs to light up which brought out even more of the contrast between exposed sandstone, forest, and valleys. The river was almost completely still and had the shimmer of liquid mercury.
As if all of that wasn’t quite enough there was even a point when a bald eagle was sitting in a tree, its head glowing an orange-ish pink as the rising sun hit it just right. I swear, it looked like the eagle was shining from an inner light. Talk about amazing!!!
To add to the visual beauty I somehow had the inspiration to fire up Lord Huron’s Meet Me In the Woods. The song added the perfect soundtrack to the views. You can check it out here: https://youtu.be/t3i0Kz5ZV8o if you want to get the full experience the next time you’re driving up the Mississippi River.
I promised myself long ago that I would never ever take this mind blowing commute for granted. There are even a couple of points on the road I use as a trip wire to remind me to stop and take it all in. Almost twenty one years later and I’m still loving what must be one of the most spectacular commutes in the Midwest.
While I always pause to soak it in this morning was just a little different. This morning it was exactly where I was supposed to be at the exact moment I was there. Do you know what I mean? Everything was lined up in the specific way it was supposed to be, so much so that I could feel it in my bones. There was a profoundly deep sensation of peace and serenity in living in the present. There was a time when I very briefly considered stopping to snap a quick pic, but that wasn’t what the moment called for. It was one of those moments in which I could hear Sean Penn’s line in The Secret Life of Walter Mitty:
If I like a moment, I mean me, personally… I don’t like to have the distraction of the camera. I just want to stay in it. Right there… Right here.
It was a moment of cosmic perfection. Nothing else in life mattered, I was in that moment completely. I’m so grateful for The Big Dude Upstairs both putting me in that moment and for helping me realize it was where I was meant to be.
So no, this wasn’t the view today – as you could probably guess by the unusual December foliage 😉
I am exhausted! As soon as this is done I’ll set up my bike trainer for my ride tomorrow morning (if I don’t do it the night before there’s a possibility of me sleeping in a bit instead) and then I’m off to bed. A couple of weekends ago I was struggling to sleep so I watched “Dead Poets Society.” One of the quotes they use was from Walden, “I wanted to live deep and suck all the marrow of life.” When I think of today I can’t help but think of that quote.
Throughout the day there have been a handful of ideas for my blog. I’ve paused and been grateful for many things – so many that by the time I sat down to type my mind was racing. Then I started trying to put my thoughts in order from start to finish and all I could think was “that all happened today???”
I woke up feeling refreshed and ready for our run. My mind was still racing with ideas from the book I’m currently reading, What Doesn’t Kill Us by Scott Carney. I took an idea from the book and ran the full four miles in only shorts, a very light t-shirt, a hat and gloves. It was chilly but very invigorating.
On our run Becky and I had time to talk about quite a few things. It was our quiet time together for the day, our chance to be alone enjoying life, physical activity, and the oudoors.
Also on the run I saw one of the best shooting stars I’ve seen in a long time. It slowly ran in a bright long streak just to the south of Orion’s Belt. I’m so grateful for the opportunity to see it.
At home I sent an email to the author of the book to thank him for the motivation. By the time I was out of the shower I’d received and email back thanking me for sharing the experience. How awesome to have the ability to connect so easily with others we never would have imagined we’d be able to even just a few decades ago.
My breathing practice went very well and I was able to calm my mind. The depth of the meditative state was an amazing counterbalance to the activity of running outside in the cold.
In the shower I opted for a podcast instead of music. My favorite business author of all time, Jim Collins, recently did a podcast on the Tim Ferris Show. Hearing how his brain works got my mind running in a handful of directions and led to an increase in my future reading list.
At the end of the shower I was thinking I’d skip the cold water as I’d already had the cold run. Instead I decided to do what I should and embrace the discomfort. Next thing I knew I was back to a cold shower and it honestly felt incredible.
And this was all before 6:45am!
The rest of the day followed suit. I went from one activity to another. From one memory to another. There were so many moments when I just paused and was grateful for the experience – good or bad. Not everything went to plan, but I was able to grow through each of those moments as well. The majority of the moments were easy to be thankful for.
Which leads back to my blog post tonight. I’m thankful for having a day when my brain keeps thinking “that all happened today???” If I choose to live my life in this fashion each and every day I am certain of a couple of things. First, I’ll be totally exhausted by the time I die and ready for the nap. Secondly, what an incredibly fulfilling life I would have led! Surrounded by family, doing what I love, thinking, feeling, loving, and be thankful for all that is in my life. Days like this are welcome anytime, even if they may leave me tired.
Something else I’m thankful for today – this memory from Australia one year ago today. Dominic’s love for the ocean is second only to his love of the ski hills.
Before I went to bed on Sunday night I knew this week was going to be a wild one. There’s a lot on my plate at work this week, a lot. That said, it’s a manageable amount, nothing too crazy. What’s weird is that I find an interesting sense of enjoyment in timeframes like this. I’ve written about them before, but I look at a week like this as a sprint. It’s going to be busy, there’s a lot to get done, and there’s a very small margin for error. I’ve got to use my time efficiently and focus on exactly what needs to be done. This may sound crazy, but I’m finding a level of inner peace in the forced focus of this week.
This evening I was grilling supper outside on the deck. Usually at this time of the year we’ve moved the grill inside the garage and get it out once in a while. We decided to leave it out this year and grill all winter long. Sure, there’s no snow yet, but so far so good! Some bacon wrapped beefy goodness always tastes so much better fresh off the grill. What’s funny is that I’m also enjoying the extra minutes of cold air exposure! I never would’ve thought that’d be a benefit I’d enjoy!
This is definitely a stock photo as it was a lot darker and less green out when we set it up tonight 😉
A few months ago (June/July?) I ordered a camping hammock. It was still in development but was due to be out in August. Due to circumstances outside the control of the manufacturer I kept watching the expected delivery date slide further and further back. As luck would have it the hammock arrived exactly an hour and a half AFTER we left for camping this weekend. I couldn’t help but laugh at the timing of that one! The boys helped me unpackaged it on Sunday to see what it all looked like. Tonight I was able to get it up briefly to test out a couple of the features. I’ll get a better test run with it in the near future, but for now it was great getting to set it up and have some fun. The boys and I were all smiles as we figured it out in the front yard, like kids at Christmas. Sure, it would have been awesome to have had it for camping this weekend, but sometimes the anticipation enhances the experience. I’m grateful for that tonight, and I’m even more grateful for having had time to set it up!
This past weekend was pretty amazing! Spending time in the wilderness with the boys. Hiking with Becky. The creation of many memories and the spark of many new ideas and dreams. It doesn’t get much better than that.
This was the view from atop the bluff on our hike yesterday… well worth the early bed time!
Normally I’d jump right back into the normal life afterwards and run into a re-curring obstacle… exhaustion. Funny how the weekend full of adventures leaves me feeling a little worn down, it’s almost like I was moving all weekend long… hmm…
By about 7pm last night I was feeling it. I didn’t sleep well on Saturday night as I kept worrying about Gavin being warm enough. My over active imagination isn’t always the most conducive to getting deep sleep in less than ideal conditions. There were many times when I woke up and worried because Gavin made a weird sound, when Gavin didn’t make a sound, or if I heard something other than Gavin. I chuckled when I saw my sleep monitor report for that night saw less than 45 minutes of Deep and REM sleep. By comparison, most nights I average between three and four hours of similar sleep. Throw in all the fresh air and the hike iwht Becky and I was EXHAUSTED by 7pm last night.
Usually I would stay up until my normal 9-9:30pm-ish bed time on Sundays, wake up at 4:45am the next morning, and go for a run with Becky. I’d then stumble through the day with a fog in my brain and feel like I’m dragging all day long.
Last night I remembered to yield to my desire to go to bed and was in bed before 7:45pm. I was snoring long before 8:30. I skipped the morning run and slept in. When all was said and done I’d racked up over 10 hours of sleep… and I felt AMAZING!!! Sure, I felt bad about skipping the run, but I could also tell my body really wanted some sleep. Throughout the day I kept thanking myself for using my brain and getting a great night of sleep. One more full night of 8+ hours of sleep tonight and I’ll be well over 100% again.
This old dog is slowly learning. I’m thankful for listening to my body today and getting the extra rest I needed. It really made all the difference in making it a very productive day today. I can always make up the workout over the rest of the week and I wouldn’t trade the experiences of this weekend for anything.
I’m struggling to find the words for my blog tonight. The core of the message itself is so very simple, but each stab I take at typing out my blog seems to miss the mark slightly. Sometimes I just type as my brain thinks rather than think through the entire post first, let’s try it and see if that does the trick tonight.
Yesterday morning the boys and I headed south of La Crosse almost to Hillsboro. We met up with my buddy, Steve, at some family land. We grabbed our gear out of the car and proceeded to walk into the wild, our home for the next 24+ hours.
Don’t worry, my pants and a pair of boots are on my back 😉
Earlier in the summer we did the “Dollar Store Challenge” at the same location. This time we wanted to practice our winter camping skills and test out some equipment and techniques before winter really hits. We slept in hammocks and set up tarps over top of us (Dominic was the only exception as he used his little one person backpacking tent). We all had various levels of clothing and sleeping gear. After setting up our sites we tried different strategies for warmth including under quilts on hammocks (very successful) and rocks from the fire ring to radiate heat (fail). We lashed chairs, Dominic made a swing, we ate dehydrated food, we gathered fire wood, and the boys and I tried squirrel for the first time in our lives. While exploring we found what appeared to be a couple of badger holes. Sitting around the fire and shooting the bull while staring at the coals was as wonderful as it always is. While laying in our sleeping bags the owls continued to hoot. The coyotes called in the distance. The moonlight lit up our camp area to the point we really didn’t need a headlamp when getting up. In the morning we broke camp and headed back home. So many awesome memories made in a short period of time.
At home we unpacked, started laundry, opened up the new sleeping hammock I got in the mail exactly two hours after we left the house, and then Becky and I headed out for a five mile hike in the bluffs in La Crosse. We enjoyed talking as we hoofed up and down the bluffs on the trails. The entire time we were surrounded by the beauty of nature. The sounds of a hawk in the distance. The woodpecker working on a hole in a tree just off the trail. The squirrels running everywhere. So peaceful.
To say the time outdoors was awesome wouldn’t even being to describe it with the level of depth it deserves. What I am the absolute most thankful for today is the ability to escape to nature and experience wit with those I love. There’s a magic to the wilderness, a music the outdoors and nature play for my soul. There is no news, no social media, no distraction. There is only the present. When in the wild I am able to be 100% present in so many more moments than almost anywhere else. To be able to share that with those I love enhances my experience even more. We create memories together. We deepen each of our own passions for the wild while helping cultivate other appreciations of nature for each other.
Maybe that’s the distilled answer to what I am thankful for today…
I’m grateful for the passion I have for spending time in nature and for sharing those moments of presence and serenity with those I love, while learning to appreciate the wild more deeply, more completely, and from their viewpoints as we create lifelong memories.
I’ve got to give a shout out to one of my favorite bands, Hollow Coves, for writing a song that really hits the core of how my soul feels when being out in the woods like this in their song The Woods. You can check it out here: https://youtu.be/Ejdvyf_wXl8 Enjoy!
Huh, whoever would’ve thought that being in the middle of the woods would cause there to be a lack in cell coverage? I wrote this at about 9:30am yesterday- enjoy!
This morning we were on the road relatively early. With the sun popping up over the bluffs the frost glittered brilliantly. The fields in the coulees looked like they were littered with diamonds as we drove by. Most houses tucked along the woods had slowly rising plumes of smoke. Talk about a scene right out of a painting!
Once again I’m reminded of how grateful I am for the natural beauty of this land. Throughout all the seasons there are so many subtle changes that create seemingly different views of the same vistas. I can’t imagine living anywhere else and having such splendor (except for New Zealand and Hawai’i 😉).
On our drive we had the radio tuned in to some ‘80s & ‘90s music. When the song Better Man by Pearl Jam came on I chuckled to myself. The crystal clear memory of the very first time I heard that song popped into my head.
My friend James and I went on a road trip on a Saturday. While we headed west the station 93.7 The Edge our of The Cities started coming in loud and clear. As luck would have it they were playing the songs from the new Pearl Jam album Vitalogy for the first time – before the album dropped. The song Better Man came on and we both loved it – it was such a great sounding song! When we got back to Phillips and were gaming later that night in James’ mom’s attic we were telling the guys about the song we’d heard and how great it was.
How awesome that one song while driving can bring back great memories with friends of road trips gone by.
Wow, where do I start today? There’s a ton that I’m grateful for and I’m kind of struggling to figure out a theme… hmm… I guess it’s another “List Day”! Without further ado, here’s a bunch of things I’m grateful for today, but please note that it is certainly not all encompassing. I am thankful for:
how quickly my body is adapting to the cold
talking with Becky on our run
not getting frustrated at myself for not having a good breathing practice today – this was a time to grow and learn to better quiet my mind
hot coffee
an awesome email that kicked off my work day with a huge smile
knocking off several tasks rapid fire well before 8am
seeing all of the smiles of my teammates
having the opportunity to help someone out
Becky’s excitement over a successful work meeting
a sunny walk over lunch
productive and enlightening conversation with a business partner
progress towards a project I’ve been working on for a while
time to think and reflect
running through a practice run of setting up a hammock and tarp for camping
packing for a mini-adventure
supper at the dinner table with my family
the smell of pine needles from the dining room as Becky makes a wreath
typing my blog and struggling in writing it due to too many ideas and gratitudes
thankful that there’s more time to be thankful for more today
more Australia memories including this gem of a sunrise one year ago
Sometimes The Big Dude Upstairs seems to have a little extra patience with me, something I’m eternally grateful for. There are often times when I see something and feel a pull to it, but I disregard it and figure I will get back to it some other time. When I don’t get back to it or kind of forget about it The Big Dude takes pity on me and puts it in front of me again… and again… and again… until I finally get it.
I saw this for the first time on a newsfeed talking about what a powerful statement it was. One of the people I respect greatly and look up to for many reasons, my friend Reid from Express Leadership Academy, posted the video and then started sharing his seven days of gratitude using the hashtag #GiveThanks. This past week one of my teammates sent out the video as the learning session topic for today.
After seeing all of those times I finally paused, shut everything else down, and focused on watching the video. To say I was touched greatly would be a huge understatement.
Life really is about what we choose to make of it, isn’t it? Things happen, neither good nor bad, rather, they just are. The events happen and they are devoid of positive or negative connotation. They are the event and that’s it. Once it has happened it is up to us to individually apply our mindset and viewpoint to it.
This morning was very much imperfect. Several things did not go according to plan. Systems issues, twists and turns, unexpected things. At one point I caught myself getting frustrated and just about screamed to myself. Instead I laughed.
How foolish to let the imperfection of life frustrate me? I am alive, would I rather spend time enjoying it and being grateful for the opportunity to exist in it or would I prefer to get frustrated, nervous, and worked up over something that has already happened?
To be sure, in either case there is the action of correcting the situation as best as possible, that doesn’t change. What I’ve learned about myself is that I will take more time and be more drained if I focus on the negative. If I pause, find a way to be grateful, and view the imperfection as an opportunity to learn and grow I can accomplish so much more and more quickly.
Many things have not gone as planned in 2020. How’s that for the understatement of the year? 😉 That said, I am thankful for the opportunity to live through it. In choosing to see the perfect imperfection of it I’ve learned more about myself than I would’ve learned through an easy year. Last year we travelled a lot and had so many experiences away from home. This year has been completely opposite. It would be easy to get frustrated and angry and to view this as a bad year, but it’s actually been a beautiful year in so many unexpected ways. The imperfection of the year has been perfect. It has been life and I’ve been here to experience it – what could be more perfect?
When things don’t go as planned I need to remember to take a deep breath and find the beauty in the perfect imperfection of life. The twists and turns may not necessarily be the most comfortable, but they lead me to being a better version of me if I choose to appreciate them as such.
Last year this was our view as we rode the ferry back to Sydney… such great memories!
Thankful for Forty 