So many different directions my brain has started to take my blog post today. From early this morning through now I’ve had many different thoughts I’ve started mentally writing my blog about. There were a few times when I considered pausing what I was doing in order to blog in the moment, but I kept allowing myself to stay focused on what I had going on.
It is now waaaaaay past my normal bed time and I can feel the gravity of the early morning alarm pulling my towards my bed. I’m exhausted. It has been a wildly busy and productive day filled with many positives, but I’m feeling pretty well spent. Running on fumes.
The weight of my eyelids is making it exceedingly difficult to even consider a long blog post to cover everything… …my apologies for the pause, just had a huge yawn. 😉
Sitting here exhausted all I can really say is that I’m grateful for running on fumes. I squeezed a lot of life out of the day in very positive ways. The feeling of exhaustion is directly proportional to the successes of the day. Yes, I’m exhausted and about to crash, but I wouldn’t have skipped a moment if I had the opportunity.
Time to crash and rise again like the phoenix in the morning.
At the end of last year I prepared for 2021 by writing a framework of what I wanted to focus on throughout the year. In addition to goal, start doing, and stop doing lists I wrote about my core values. The list of values included a few that I’ve been working on over the past few years and a few that I’m focused on growing into this year. This afternoon I received an awesome lesson in one of those values from a teammate who passionately lives this value.
As I’ve written about a few times our teams all meet at 4pm on Wednesdays to focus on learning more about how to better live our core values. A couple of months ago we decided to pause the values learning and go in a slightly different direction. Each teammate is taking a week to share one thing that they are passionate about.
Today we had a first. Trissa was up in our rotation and threw us all a bit of a curveball. She had individually wrapped gifts for each teammate in each of our three offices that we were to bring with us to training at 4:00 today. Talk about adding some extra excitement to the training!
In her training she started talking about things she is passionate about. After talking about her family she started talking about her Cricut which she uses for crafting some incredible things. She shared pictures of projects she’d worked on in the past – they were amazing! Next thing we knew she said we could each open our present.
As the wrapping paper came off I was treated to this awesome creation:
How awesome and perfectly fitting is that? From the message to it being on a piece of live edge wood to the beautiful simplicity of the design it is perfect! Before the weekend is over this will be hanging up in my house and will smile each time I see it.
As we all went around the Zoom “room” we shared what she had made for each person. Each design was completely unique. There were one dimensional pics, three dimensional designs, different themes, even cups and mugs. As we went around the room each gift was perfectly matched to the individual who opened it. She made something perfectly awesome for each of the about one dozen of us!
I can’t even begin to think of how much time, energy, and passion Trissa put into this. It wasn’t just giving a gift to a bunch of people, it was so much more than that. She took the time to figure out what was important to each person. She designed something specific to fit each person. Trissa then put tons of time into creating something we would each appreciate. One of the most valuable gifts someone can give is the gift of themselves. Trissa made a gift of herself, almost one dozen times.
The smile on her face as the gifts were opened was priceless. It was a look of pure joy, the joy that comes from the creation of joy for others.
We went around the room and shared what we got and we smiled each and every time someone shared their gift. When I got home I immediately showed it off to my family and we each smiled while looking at it. While thinking of where I would hang it I was smiling again. As I blog now I’m smiling again.
What Trissa gave me today was beyond the gift itself. For sure, I am totally grateful for this awesome picture and will treasure it for years. The funny thing is that I will be treasuring it for two reasons. The first is the face value of the gift, an awesome reminder of something that is important to me, something that will remind me to breathe and remember to go into the woods for solace when I’m stressed.
What’s the other reason I will continue to be grateful for this gift? In creating it Trissa showed me what it looks like to live the value of “Give: Make a gift of yourself” with incredibly selfless passion. She taught me a valuable lesson in what it looks like to really make a gift of oneself. Taking time to really know and care about the person (people) you’re giving the gift to. Taking the time to not just get the right message but to find the right way to deliver it. Focusing time and energy on something that will bring someone else joy even though when, especially when, life continues to throw so much at us. Trissa not only made a gift of herself, she did it with a deeply heartfelt passion. The smiles and joy she brought for others will be remembered along with this lesson.
Today I am grateful for the inspiration to live more into the value of “Give” through the wonderful and passionate example of my friend, Trissa.
Some nights the words only get in the way of the actual gratitude. Dominic has been working so hard to improve his game enough to earn a spot on the varsity soccer squad. Thanks to a couple of excellent outings last week he got the nod for tonight. Not only did he get the call up, he started.
My heart is bursting with pride and joy. I’m so grateful for him to see yet another example of how hard work pays off.
Congrats dude!!! Your mom and I are so proud of the effort you’ve put in to earn your opportunity tonight! Whether you made it or not, the hard work you’ve put in towards a big goal of yours is something we will always be proud of and will always support you on. Love you bud!!!
First off, don’t you love when one of your favorite bands covers a song by one of your other favorite bands? Earlier today I found out kind of by accident that The Strumbellas recorded an acoustic version of I’m Goin’ Down by Bruce Springsteen. That discovery was a perfect counterbalance to the busy-ness of the day. Throughout the day The Strumbellas were a fantastic soundtrack for the day. Throw in a playing or two of Three Little Birds by Bob Marley and it was a piece of perfect musical peace.
The day was pretty much nonstop from the alarm until now. I had much planned and much came up throughout the day. Not bad or anything, more of a day when I felt like I was flying down the highway with brake issues.
What is most wild to me is that all of the things I wanted to get done got done today. There’s still more to do, but I put work into a handful of dreams while also putting a full day of work and then some while also adulting. Not too shabby! I have to credit Cal Newport for much of the help today as a few of the concepts from his books made huge positive impacts. From working through block time, minimizing digital distractions, and minimizing the number of emails many of the concepts I’ve learned from his books helped me keep rolling.
As I wrap this text up I can’t help but smile and remember an old Vince Lombardi quote…
We love doing stuff all together as a family. Be it a family game night, a family hike, family vacation, or anything of the like we are usually doing it together as a group. Spending time with all four of us is awesome and something I take time to appreciate often as I know it won’t always be the case. As the boys grow up, move out, and start their families I understand that the exact dynamic we have will change to something different. Not better or worse, rather just different. When I keep that mindset it reminds me to appreciate all of our moments together.
Gavin and I have been in Iowa for a soccer tournament since Friday night. Just the two of us hanging out at the hotel, riding in the car, and enjoying soccer. This dynamic is so different than the norm as it is just the two of us. We’ve talked about silly stuff, played games, given each other a hard time, eaten unhealthy, spent time in conversation about life stuff, and just chilled together. It’s been awesome to have so much compact one on one time with him.
I love our family time as a full family, but once in a while there is a different type of fulfillment to be found in these moments as a smaller group. I remember having similar experiences with Dominic at different times including soccer tournaments and Becky and I have definitely had many of those times with just the two of us. In times like this in a smaller group it seems as if we have the unique opportunity to strengthen and deepened our relationships on a different level, and I’m very grateful for the opportunity to do just that.
Gavin’s first couple of games were lots of fun to watch. The scores weren’t in our favor, but they were fun to watch nonetheless. One of the tings that I was impressed by was the continued growth of the entire team and of Gavin. He’s improved so much over the past season, it’s almost like watching a different kid. There’s still a long way to go for him, but if he keeps progressing like this I can’t wait to see where he grows. One of the reasons I am thankful for his growth is that it has largely been through extra practices in the offseason and hard work. So cool for him to see how this pays off!
The weather outside was certainly frightful during game time of his first match. The temperature was something like 46 with 10-12 mph winds… and rain. The MVP of my gear for that game was Becky’s soccer blanket. She received it as a gift a while back from Mom and I borrowed it for this trip. The waterproof and windproof blanket was exactly what I needed to stay warm all game long.
For the past few years I’ve continued to work on practicing Stoicism. Typically this means trying to keep a cool head and focus on logic instead of emotion. I’ve found myself making progress in many areas of my life. Of particular note I found it very helpful to take a deep breath during the second game of the day. Had I watched this a year or two ago I would have lost my cool on more than one occasion. As it was I also saw I have room for improvement as there were still a couple of times I caught myself yelling when I should have taken a deep breath instead.
After the first game Gavin and I grabbed takeout from Zombie Burger, a recommendation from my friend Jeremy. We both had the same burger – one with bacon, fried onion, and grilled cheese sandwiches for the buns. Throw in some tasty cheese fries and a couple of incredible shakes and we had a meal that caused us to skip supper later. So delicious! Never in a million years would I have stumbled upon this place on my own, I am thankful for the recommendation!
Way back when I was a kid my parents would rent movies for my brother and I from the grocery store. There wasn’t a streaming service or downloads to watch, we were kicking it old school… VHS. Yup, I still remember way back in the day when we would even rent a VCR in addition to the VHS tapes. When it was a movie I really liked I would watch it tow, three, or even four plus times. Each time I would watch I’d get even more into the story. I know, pretty wild, but that’s just how my mind operated.
When it comes to reading fiction I often run into the same habit. If it is a story I really enjoy I read it several times. Even though the story doesn’t change I have since the last reading. Reading it anew allows me to visualize the same story with a different perspective and I can appreciate it in different ways.
The reason this is fresh in my mind tonight is one of my all time favorite books, The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss. When Gavin was chilling in the car on our ride I fired up the audio of the book. In an instant I was completely enthralled in the incredible story telling. I’ve already read it three times, but I’m still picking up on different subtle nuances while appreciating it in different ways thanks to the changes I’ve had in life since the last reading. Nothing too crazy, but different parts seem to impact me a little differently and in unexpected ways.
There’s such a art to amazing story telling. When someone is a true artist and know how to craft a compelling story the gift they give us is about as beautiful as anything in this world. Tonight I’m thankful for those who can spin a yarn that ties our reality to our biggest dreams, desires, and emotions.
This morning I found out that my Tuesday hiking buddies (the pair of deer from a couple of days ago) must sleep in a little on Thursdays. They were nowhere to be found early in the morning today, those slackers!
Instead of taking the road as I have for the past few times I opted for the trails this time. Now that they were open and there was no lightning I had the perfect opportunity I really get out in the woods alone. The only person I saw was someone walking on the road as I hit the trail.
The woods in the dark is such a wild place. While I was all by myself I was not even close to being alone.
The first signs of life I saw where some crazy long worms sticking out of holes in the trail. When the beam of my headlight hit them they retracted in an instant. It was wild! There were hundreds of them along the trail.
There was wind rustling the dry leaves. For a little while I thought it was just the wind. After listening for a few seconds I quickly realized it was an assortment of random critters on the forest floor moving at night. Later in the hike I happened to catch a glimpse of one of the noise makers, a big toad.
Other times I’d feel the hair on the back of my neck stand up. I paused, turned, and then saw a set of beady little glowing eyes staring back at me. I wasn’t able to see exactly what it was, but I’m guessing maybe a skunk. Regardless, sometimes I saw eyes and other times I didn’t, but I knew they were there regardless.
There was a robin that I almost stepped on by accident. I’m not sure who was more surprised, me or the robin! We both jumped more than either of us would care to admit.
The hike back down was as the dawn was just starting to crack and I was able to go down without a headlamp. There weren’t nearly as many sounds in the forest, but the birds started singing. So soothing to walk alone in the woods with the birds singing a song like that!
Ahh… alone time in the woods and spending time with nature. Alone but not alone, all at the same time.
Tonight was Dominic’s confirmation. After many years of Sunday school and Wednesday night churches Dominic has reached the end of one segment of his spiritual journey and is now starting another. While I could also go more in depth into the reasons I am thankful for his confirmation itself tonight just really hit me as one of those milestone moments in our lives.
Just eight years ago we got this picture of him hanging out with his Grandpa Pete after his first communion:
and here we are tonight, eight impossibly short years later…
My mind is blown with how much Dominic has grown, matured, and changed in what seems like the blink of an eye. I was so proud of him back then and had no idea how much more proud of him I would become with each passing day.
Milestone moments like Dominic’s confirmation are such special occasions to pause and reflect on the passing of time. So many memories rushing back to my brain. My mind is also blown thinking of how many more milestones we have ahead in which this will become one which is remembered as if it were yesterday in the passing decades.
My workout this morning was a hike up Grandad Bluff with my loaded backpack on. Last Tuesday I did the same and I was amazed at how relaxed I was from the bonus outside time on a weekday. Why not try it again, right?
Just like last Tuesday I was greeted by a couple of furry friends when I got out of the car. They were in the same yard as before and less than eight feet away from me as I walked by with my pack.
As I wound my way up the bluff I left the red light of my headlamp on so I could keep better night vision. While it wasn’t quite bright enough to catch the eye shine of other deer up the bluff I could tell they were there. A rustle of leaves, the pause of movement, and the feel of eyes on me.
On my way back down I heard a noise seemingly only a small handful of feet away. There was a crashing of brush traveling up the hillside. By the time I’d flicked my headlamp’s bright spot light the four deer had already moved to about 15 yards away. When I panned the area with my light all eight eyes were locked right in on me. I chuckled to myself, switched back to the red light and started back down the hill. Yes, I may have even talked to the deer for a little bit 😉
I went to the bluff for exercise and relaxation. My kinda hiking buddies made it all the more memorable and helped it feel like I was further off the beaten path than I really was. Thanks deer!
Thankful for Forty 