Author: Michael Kreiling

Day 1,801 – Thankful for a Normal-ish First Day of School Pic

For the third time today I can’t help but chuckle as I remember that it can be so difficult to be thankful and appreciative for something until it is gone. There are so many things in life I’ve taken for granted and have only noticed once they were removed. The appreciation is so much easier afterwards as I can start to more fully grasp the impact that was made by it.

The first day of school is one of those things. When I was cruising back through some old pictures I came across many first day of school pictures until I got to 2020. There weren’t any. I paused and asked Becky if I was looking in the right place. She reminded me that they were non-existent as they were schooling online. Crazy! How quickly I forget. Then I paused and remembered just how special these first day of school pics are.

Each year this is a day when there is almost guaranteed to be a photo of both the boys side by side. Just like the rings in the tree we can se the growth of the boys by looking back through the old first day of school pics. For instance, here’s 2015 on the left and 2021 on the right:

The way these boys have grown blows my mind! It is difficult for me to grasp just how quickly they’ve grown in such a short period of time.

What made these year even crazier was their ride to school. No bus for these boys for their first day. They loaded up into their car and Dominic drove them to school. Peace out school bus, hello freedom through personal transportation!

I’m thankful for getting back into the habit of the first day of school pics even though I’m suddenly feeling way older than I did when I woke up today 😉

Thanks!!!

Day 1,800 – Thankful for the Patience of Mentors

I think I learned one of the essential skills that makes for an excellent mentor. I’d love to tell you I figured it out through my mastery of mentoring others, but that would be a complete lie. This lesson hit home today as I realized just how patient with me my mentors have been through the years.

I can only begin to imagine how frustrating it must be for them to offer up wonderful words of wisdom over and over and over and over again – in many different formats – using so many different metaphors. And when I finally heed their advice they most likely frustrated when I slowly slip backwards and they have to start working on me again. Talk about quite the Sisiphean task!

I am so grateful that they take the time to continue growing me even when I don’t seem to make progress. The past year and a half or so has helped me pause and see all that I’ve been focusing more and more on implementing their ideas – and they’re working! Their patience has been paying off big time.

Thank you to everyone who’s helped to coach, grow, and mentor me. Thank you for being patient with me as I am sometimes stubborn and a slow learner. I will continue to improve how quickly I implement your thoughts and ideas, thank you for keeping your faith in me.

Thanks!!!

Day 1,799 – Thankful for Becky’s Birthday

Another whirlwind day is wrapping up as I sit in the soccer field parking lot waiting for practice to wrap up for Gavin. The day has been jammed – almost all great stuff – but jammed nonetheless. The normal rhythm has started to kick back in, tomorrow will be almost 100% on track, and by Wednesday it’ll be totally back to usual. Funny how excited I am to get back to normal!

Today is Becky’s birthday! For a few years we’d established a a sweet routine of taking her birthday off to travel or at least go hiking. With having just traveled it was almost as if we just celebrated her birthday a little early with Bruce last week. Hmm… I wonder where we’ll go for her birthday next year. We’re sure to be doing something fun for it and I’ve already marked myself out for the day next year.

I’m grateful for birthdays as they remind us to pause and appreciate the person who’s birthday it is. Over the past few years I’ve really started to notice how here may be the best of intentions to blog about someone outside of their birthday, but it doesn’t always end up being what I write about. For some reason I get too nervous and am self conscious of not writing well enough to do the person the justice they deserve. I know, it’s foolish to think that way, but the ego can be a ripe bastard sometimes. 😉

Today I’ve been thinking about how much I appreciate Becky often. With it being a day all about her my thoughts seemed to drift off to her on a regular basis. I was thankful for her smile, her laugh, her smarts, her jokes, her texts, her hugs, love, her support of my dreams, her passion of the outdoors and nature, her discipline, her focus and attention to detail, her mothering skills, her beauty (physical, intellectual, emotional, and spiritual), her love of travel, her ability to see the best in me when I don’t, her willingness to kick my ass when I need it, and just about every single thing about her. She brings the color to my life, helps me attempt to live into my best self, and is the best life partner I could ever dream for. I think these things often, but I especially took note of all of them today.

Thanks!!!

Day 1,798 – Thankful for Wrapping Up Ten Days of Nonstop Action

There’s been a metric ton of life packed into the last ten days. The past 240 hours have been about as loaded and crammed with life as ever. I’m grateful for each crazy moment of it.

Tonight the chaos reached a crescendo and a return to routine begins tomorrow. I’m thankful for the regular and ordinary I’m about to get back into.

That said, you know what I’m even more thankful for? This view right here:

Thanks!!!

Day 1,797 – Thankful for Options and a Plate of Bones

This morning started off with a bit of a surprise. Our flight out of La Crosse had been delayed due to mechanical issues. Because of this delay we would now arrive in Wichita well after 11pm rather than just after noon. Quite the difference for a short trip like this!

What I’m thankful for today is the bevy of options we had to choose from. Driving, different flights, different airports and so on – we had options aplenty. If the situation was different we wouldn’t necessarily have any options, let alone this many. I am grateful for so many potential solutions!

My brother in law Tyler is incredible with his smoker. To him cooking meat on the smoker is akin to a sublime balance of art and science. Dinner tonight was ribs…. ahh…. And they were quite possibly the best ribs I’ve ever had in my life. By the time the meat coma had set in I had nothing but a plate full of bones. So delicious!!!

Thanks!!!

Day 1,796 – Thankful for a Week of Mini Games

Way back in the day one of my favorite parts of a video we’re the mini games. While on a quest for something I’d occasionally end up at a mini game, a crazy and short little side step from the full adventure. They were a pleasant break in the real game and offered up some different types of challenges to spice up the overall game. Once completed I would jump right back into the bigger adventure.

This week has felt like a week full of mini games. Start one quest, skip to a game, go back to the quest, and then off on another mini game. They’ve been seemingly never ending over the past handful of days. The difference is that the time in the real game has only been fleeting minutes before blasting into the next mini game.

Case in point? Tonight. Get home from work, play the mini game “pack your bags.” Go back to real life and have dinner and do the dishes. Up next, is the mini game “I misunderstood the volunteer instructions I signed up for but didn’t realize until the time it needed to be done so it’s time to run to Menards to pick up snacks before the time runs out.” Not gonna lie, it was actually an awesomely fun game in a twisted kind of way. And now back to real life and blogging on the couch before bed.

Why am I thankful for a week of mini games? They’ve been a wonderful distraction and change of pace while simultaneously reminding me to find joy in the common and mundane. Appreciate the times of calm, make the most of the times of chaos. Nice little duality there.

Thanks!!!

Day 1,795 – Thankful for Dominic’s Sixteenth Birthday, Another Milestone Moment

Watch out world – Dominic got his driver’s license today!!! For his 16th birthday he gave himself the gift of increased freedom and independence.

I still remember the day he was born so clearly. So many memories of moments of him as a toddler and small child. Somehow those years have all flown right past and he’s well on his way to adulthood.

I am so grateful for yet another milestone moment for him as he continues to grow and mature. Each new stepping stone like this reminds me to pause and enjoy the time we’ve got left with him living at home. This stage of his life is cruising by so quickly. each moment truly is a gift.

Happy birthday dude!!! Love you tons and am so proud of the person you are and the adult you’re rapidly growing into. Love you bud!

Thanks!!!

Day 1,794 – Thankful for Flow State Writing

Flights home, time away, great food, completed dreams, walking in airports, safe travels, and the list goes on and on today. Much to be thankful for today, there are so many options to pursue for my blog today. But they might each need to wait for another day to have their moment of glory.

On our flight to New York and in our flight back to Minneapolis my writing juices were flowing well. The excitement of leaving town on a flight helped fuel my writing with a nervous energy. The writing on our flight today was primed and ready thanks to many thoughts from the concert last night. Both days saw the clouds part and I could so clearly see exactly what I wanted to say.

I’ve been making slow and steady progress since my last coaching call. These past two sessions seemed to go wildly smoothly. Since taking time to really look at what’s next my brain has been working the concepts over and over again. My mind must’ve had enough time to process and I was able to get into a sweet state of flow.

What I’m also reminded of today is just how therapeutic writing is for me. Taking a step outside of myself and processing thought and emotion Haley’s me see the world so much more clearly.

Thanks!!!

Day 1,793 – Thankful for a Specific Moment at the Springsteen Concert

Seeing Bruce Springsteen live and in concert was mind blowing on so many levels. The entire event seemed so surreal. I often would pause and realize that I was actually seeing this in real life. Bucket list item checked off, was well worth the wait, travel, and cost.

The best part of the entire night was a single moment which I’ll have burned into my memory. A moment which will always bring me a smile. A single moment of pure Becky joy that topped anything Bruce did all night long.

Late in the show Bruce was talking about how his purpose was to help people through his music, whether in good times or bad, or vacuuming or doing laundry – which nailed Becky to a T as she often has Bruce on in the background on Saturday morning me as she’s doing things around the house.

At the point he said the last part of that line becky let out a sound of joy followed by a huge joyful smile – either of which I’ll ever forget. In that instant I witnessed the physical embodiment of someone realizing a dream, and it was perfect.

Springsteen’s show was amazing, even more than I expected, but that one moment was the single best part of show.

I didn’t take any pictures of the show, I burned the memories into my soul

Thanks!!!

Day 1,792 – Thankful for a Mike & Becky Vacation

Today was the start of something we haven’t done in a bit over four years… Becky and I started a short vacation with just the two of us!

Back in May of 2017 we went up to Bayfield for an extended weekend to celebrate our anniversary while the boys hung out with Dad and we all had an extraordinary weekend.

Since that trip we’ve done each vacation with our boys, with our friends, with our family, with my business partners, or without each other. Each of them has been wonderful, but it has been way too long since it has jut been the two of us.

This morning we hiked off to the airport early (yes, we live close enough to the airport that we walk there), hopped on our first flight, and we were off! All day was spent either flying or walking through Manhattan and taking in something completely different – just the two of us – and it’s been great to have time alone again.

Tomorrow we’ll knock one off the dream list, but even more importantly, we’ll create more memories together.

Thanks!!!