Author: Michael Kreiling

Thankful for Planning Ahead, a Top Ten Hike, and Shared Adventures

Day 3,996

Growth: 

I can’t express enough how grateful I am for remembering that the point is not to check a box, that the point is to live the life the box was meant to check.  I’ve had the opportunity to create a core memory with Dominic, one we’ll hold forever.  While it wasn’t specifically a goal this year it is directly as a result of a lesson I wanted to remember in 2026, a different goal I set in 2026, and a supporting goal I set for myself in 2026.  It is also in part thanks to honoring the season of life I am in, of living intentionally, and also thanks to remembering that living into our purpose creates so many opportunities for joy in our lives.

Thank you to the Mike of the end of 2025 for taking the time to pause, create a plan based on how I wanted to live my 2026, and putting all of the work into action for this all to have come together!

Appreciation:

Today was easily one of the top ten day hikes I’ve ever done in my life.  The scenery was spectacular and stunning to say the least, ever changing and full of wonderful surprises if I want to go deeper.  

Honestly, while all of that blew my mind, what I am most thankful for today was not the hike, the park, the views, the accomplishment or anything else.  I’m most grateful for a day share completely with Dominic, one we will both remember for the rest of our lives.

We will forever remember the sights we saw together.  The ridiculous hike we accomplished together.  The conversations and the jokes we shared together.  The memories we shared while having walking tacos for supper and a couple of cold beers after.  We will remember the laughs, the talks, the experiences, the dreams, and the stories.  We will remember the time together – I’m beyond grateful for creating this opportunity for us to share this day together!

Presence:

I can’t even…. Every peak was a practice in presence.  Each overlook was a practice in presence.  Each lake and beaver dam and boulder field was a practice in presence.  Most importantly, the conversations with Dominic throughout and after were practices in presence.  The total amount of intentional presence was through the roof!

Thanks!!!

Thankful for Unplanned Time, Shifting Perspectives of Being a Dad, an Unplanned Trip to the Amethyst Mine

Day 3,997

Growth:

Just because we have time doesn’t mean it has to be packed with activity.  Just because there are trails everywhere around us doesn’t mean we have to be hiking.  Just because there are lakes all over doesn’t mean we have to be paddling.  When you get tired, relax.  When you’re worn down, rest.  No need for constant activity just because the activity is there to be done.

How many times has Becky helped to teach me this?  Today Dominic was the one reminding me it was okay to chill – and reminded me of the epic hike we did yesterday. 

Slow down, enjoy the ride!

Appreciation:

I had an absolutely grand day with Dominic, from start to finish we had a blast shooting the bull and enjoying each other’s company.

Quite often my thoughts went to Dad and the time he and I had together.  I wish there would have been more of it, and I wish it would have been doing more things like this.  I love Dad, but I feel we could have had so many memories like this of time spent together, but that was not the case.

While so much of who I am came from Dad, I’m grateful for times like this when I’ve created my own path as a father to do more of what I feel a dad should be.  What’s interesting is that I know Dad would not only understand, but would hold me to that type of standard.  All we want as sons are two things – to have an awesome dad and to be a better dad than ours was.

Today I felt like I lived into both and was hopefully the first half for Dominic.

Presence:

Such a great day with Dominic again today!  We knocked out a 7.5 mile hike in the morning to get our legs stretched out and warmed up, and then we opted for one of the most random vacation side quests ever…. We went mining for amethyst!  Yup, we went to an active amethyst mine, dug through piles of dirt, rock, and mud, and walked away with about five gallons of amethyst covered rocks!

Such a unique activity, such a blast!  We were joking and talking as we learned the ins and outs of the basics of amethyst mining, delighted by so many wonderful finds AND the times we thought we’d found something big, only for it to be nothing.

Throughout it was one of the best investments of a couple of hours ever, we had a blast together and enjoyed our shared passion for rock collecting!

Thanks!!!

Thankful for Grasping the Moment, Moments of Calm with Becky, & More Outdoors Moments with Dominic

Day 3,998

Growth:

Life changes, it always has and always will. Regardless of how we try the hands of time continue to spin, and in a cosmic joke they seem to increase in velocity each time the calendar cycles through. Just as I try to hold onto a moment I’ve already lost it as it slips through my grasp. The more I attempt to cling the more ethereal it becomes.

When I allow the moment to happen, let it unfold and be there in it, focused right there at that moment on only that moment, the moment seems to expand and grow. After it has gone and my mind reaches back for it the moment seems to contract again to a flash – the same moment which lasted for so much longer as it happened.

How do I stay more focused on each moment as it happens? Why do I let my presence wander to the past so freely and run for the future with such reckless abandon? The more I stay here, right here, in this moment right now, the longer it feels, the more I get to enjoy and savor it. Slow down, be here.

Appreciation:

The whirlwind of the past few weeks continues, the reminders of appreciation for moments of simple joy like eating at home with Becky come through loud and clear. Quickly unpacking and eating supper with Becky on our deck was exactly what I needed. Pausing all of the crazy and nonstop motion to take a deep breath and relax and spend time together was fantastic.

I love vacations, travel, and adventures – no question… but my favorite times are the moments spent with Becky as we relax and enjoy moments of calm. This transition to empty nest life and turning fifty will be interesting, but knowing it will be shared with Becky reminds me to look forward to more time together for the two of us.

Presence:

Spending the night talking with Dominic while having a beer (or two) around the campfire. Totally relaxed, still respecting the father and son relationship while also very much honoring the awesomely deep friendship, a great night for so many reasons.

This morning we both got up early (4:45am CST) to give seeing an early morning moose one more shot. There was no one else stirring in the campground, no one else on the trail head, not even a moose on the trail! Getting that early morning walk in together using our headlamps to guide the way was a wonderful way to get the day moving.

Spending time on a beach outside of Grand Portage looking for agates in Lake Superior was another opportunity to spend time together enjoying the outdoors, doing something we both enjoy while having a combo of time talking and joking while also being lost in our own thougths.

These moments were all concentrated in the present moment, creating memories for a future me to enjoy!

Thanks!!!

Thankful for Remembering to Sleep

Day 3,994

Today has been a great day in so many ways. Way more positive professional growth and success than expected throughout the day. Lots accomplished, progress on several projects, and living into the goals I’ve been setting for myself. I’ve been present in my conversations, been attuned to where I should be, and in some ways ahead of where I expected to be at this point in the week.

That said, I’m feeling worn down, exhausted, and kind of beaten up. This is exactly the opposite of how I should be feeling. Everything took a little extra work, more effort than expected. My motivation keeps waning, I’m struggling to stay positive. Again, so bizarre because for all intents and purposes it has been a great day!

What’s the issue? Why the dissonance between how I should feel and how I actually feel? I’m exhausted. I packed in too much. I haven’t slept enough. A little under 6 hours of sleep in average over the past to nights. I feel gross, lazy, like my brain is foggy. Very meh. The only reason is specifically because of a lack of sleep.

Way back in the day I thought I could accomplish more by skipping hours of sleep, staying awake for all but four hours to give myself bonus hours of awake time. Now I realize how foolish that really was. To go from averaging well over eight hours per night over the past week and a half to a sudden drop to a little under six has blown my mind with the impact.

This evening I’ll be sleeping much longer, making sure I get the eight plus I need to feel human, and then will do my best to do that again tomorrow night.

While this sensation of being exhausted sucks, it is a very clear reminder to me of how important it is to get enough sleep. The positive impact of sleep is much more intense than I’d remembered!

Thanks!!!

Thankful for a Moment of Awareness, Our Shared Humanity, & Maximizing Family Time

Day 3,993

Growth:

Why do I attempt to fit in too many things at once over and over again? I know better, I’ve been there done that before. Yet I still seem to struggle to keep the buffers needed for optimal performance.

Today the universe threw me a lifeline and shifted part of my schedule for me, creating the space I needed, the space I should have created for myself in the first place. Why did I need that intercession rather than realizing it on my own?

So easy to take on extra, to overcommit. Today this issue was made so much more clear to me, how do I leverage this moment of awareness into an ongoing change?

Appreciation:

This may be short and simple, but I’m glad we don’t get through any of this alone. There are always others out there willing to help us, to support us. There are always others facing similar challenges, issues, changes, situations. There are certain changes in life we all encounter should we live long enough. We are each unique, but we are also all so similar. No one comes into life alone, no one lives their life truly alone.

I’m very grateful for those moments that remind us of our common humanity, of our shared struggles, of the importance of loving and supporting each other, of our universal connection. In these moments it is so much easier to love all people intensely.

Presence:

So much bonus time with family in my limited outside of work hours today! Joking with Becky before she headed out of town for work. A family FaceTime with all four of us (& some Caitlyn too!). A conversation with my brother that left me laughing, Shopping with Dominic and Caitlyn and then spending time with them shooting the bull while snuggling with Leia.

There weren’t many hours outside of work today, but almost all were shared with family and I was there for each moment.

Thanks!!!

Thankful for Sharing Vacation Photos as a Family

Day 3,992

Super exhausted from a very full and busy day, going to be a short one tonight.

The first day back to work after vacation is always bonkers, sometimes more so than others. Today’s was largely full of busy in a good way, there was just a lot of everything going on all at once.

What I’m most grateful for is the time we had with Dominic and Caitlyn to celebrate Dominic’s birthday dinner. We all went out for some tasty Mexican food (Dominic wanted his first legal margarita) and we followed it up with time on the couch going through their recent vacation photos from Glacier NP and the Canadian Rockies.

Several parts of the experience really caught my attention:

  • The shared passion for some of our favorite places to travel. Seeing how excited they both were to see some of the places Becky and I love most was heart warming, so glad to see their love of both Glacier and the Canadian Rockies.
  • The nonstop smiles of excitement, awe, and wonder as Caitlyn experienced seeing those majestic sights for the first time. So wonderful seeing how much she was truly glowing in the experience, there’s a magic to witnessing the reaction of someone seeing those places for the first time. In so many ways it reminds us to look at the places through fresh eyes.
  • The reminders of how badly Becky and I need to head back out to those areas was palpable! Each scenic pic had me moving the next trip up there about a week or so in my mental calendar.
  • Their pictures were also such vivd reminders of the times Becky and I went out there together. In some cases their photos were in almost the exact same spots, so wild how t refreshed the memories of our travels!

Lastly – and most importantly – the bonus time as a family talking about some of the things we appreciate the most, sharing in each others’ experiences, reminding each other of what is most important, and doing so all together as a family. Some of my favorite moments in the world!

Thanks!!!

Thankful for Lyrics Sharing How I Feel about Becky

Day 3,991

Over the past week Becky and I have had the opportunity to launch Gavin off to start his college career and took time to spend time together traveling and soaking up the outdoors as our lives transition to being empty nesters. Throw in closing in on the big 5 – 0 and our 25th wedding anniversary and it’s been wild to think of how much we’ve been through and how much life there is ahead of us.

All of these shifts and changes and milestones and everything are so much easier to work through knowing I’m able to partner with my absolute best friend and love of my life. Everything can change, we will remain – and, more importantly – we will find a way to keep growing closer.

What I’m most thankful for this evening is a shortlist of song lyrics that I swear the artists wrote specifically for how I feel about Becky. I’m beyond blessed to share my life with her every day!

This might not be an easy time
There’s rivers to cross and hills to climb
Some days we might fall apart
And some nights might feel cold and dark

But nobody wins, afraid of losing
And the hard roads are the ones worth choosing
Someday we’ll look back and smile
And know it was worth every mile

And it don’t matter to me
Wherever we are is where I wanna be
And honey, for once in our life
Let’s take our chances and roll the dice
I can be your lucky penny
You can be my four-leaf clover
Starting over

Chris Stapleton – Starting Over

And when the stars don’t shine no more and all the good days have come and gone. Well, I just want you to always know – my home is you, my home is you…
…I don’t know where I’m going, I don’t know where I am, But I’m here till the end with you. All this time, well, I’ve known – that my home’s with you.

The Strumbellas – My Home is You

Home is wherever I’m with you.
Home is when I am alone with you.

Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros – Home

We swore we’d travel, darlin’, side by side
We’d help each other stay in stride
But each lover’s steps fall so differently
But I’ll wait for you, and if I should fall behind, wait for me

Now, everyone dreams of a love lasting and true
Oh, but you and I know what this world can do
So let’s make our steps clear that the other may see
And I’ll wait for you, and if I should fall behind, wait for me

Bruce Springsteen – If I Should Fall Behind

Since we met, I feel a lightness in my step
You’re miles away, but I still feel you
Anywhere I go, there you are…
…Everything is fine, when your head’s resting next to mine, next to mine.

Vance Joy – Fire and the Flood

I don’t get many things right the first time, in fact, I am told that a lot. Now I know all the wrong turns, the stumbles, and falls brought me here.
And where was I before the day that I first saw your lovely face?
Now I see it everyday and I know that I am the luckiest.

Ben Folds – Luckiest

Thanks!!!

Thankful for Utilizing the Spaces Between, Re-Visiting a Birthday Tradition, & Quiet Calm on a Cliff

Day 3,990

Growth:

Becky’s been reminding me that we don’t have to squeeze more into our trips, sometimes the spaces in between, the unfilled times, are exactly what we need.  This trip has had opportunities for over-scheduling, but we’ve kept it pretty calm by our standards.  Having that extra time to breathe and process has been exactly what I needed.

Appreciation:

Another vacation with Becky is just about wrapped up!  This was a kind of crazy one, we dropped off Gavin and became empty nesters, we go to give our camper van it’s first “Mike and Becky only” trip longer than two nights, and we got to celebrate Becky’s birthday on vacation.  In past years we’ve somehow happened to time being on a vacation or outing of some sort on Becky’s birthday – including the Grand Canyon and Alaska.  Nice to get back to celebrating on the road!

This bonus time for the two of us has been supremely relaxing, this was pretty much the only morning we woke up early to an alarm.  We were able to get in one last hike at New River Gorge NP this morning before starting the trip back and it was a beautiful one for sure.  The clouds were hanging in the river valley as the sun slowly rose.  To add to the fun the moon was still out and the sun rose to just the right height to create a circular rainbow in the clouds.  It was pretty epic!

Another trip for the two of us, likely the first of an increased number with just the two of us with both boys being out of the house.  Celebrating her birthday while on the road doing what we love seemed a very appropriate way to spend the day!

Presence:

At one point this morning Becky and I both sat on a rock that was very close to the edge of a 1,500’ vertical drop.  We sat watching the rapids in the river between the ever increasing gaps in the clouds above the water but below where we were sitting.  We watched the sun slowly rise up, the clouds drift, and we just enjoyed a moment of quiet calm.  

Thanks!!!

Thankful for a Reminder to Choose Calm, a Life Well Shared, & the Focus of a First

Day 3,989

Growth:

There is always a choice to make, regardless of the situation.  How will I respond to what’s going on around me?  Hill I lose my cool and get frustrated or will I make the right choice?

Let’s say our delicious pizza we ordered for takeout is going to be 15 minutes late?  Do I get frustrated and angry or do I take a deep breath and have Becky meet me at the local store that has a bunch of locally made great foods and crafts?  Choosing the latter involves having a splendid and engaging conversation with the father of the owner of the store and includes stories about traveling, kids, and how all the proceeds go back to their farm animal rescue farm.  While the choice of frustration and staring at a phone while I wait does nothing but increase my blood pressure, the other leads to a heartwarming story of a blind horse who is essentially adopted by three other sighted horses who start leading it through the fields so it can run freely.  Which choice should I make each time?

Appreciation:

The kayaking trip Becky and I did in the New River Gorge NP today was outstanding.  We obviously took in a ton of the outdoor scenery and loved seeing the 1,000’+ bluffs / mountains on either side, but what I really appreciated was seeing how our relationship has continued to grow stronger throughout the years. 

The two of us in our tandem kayak, laughing about how pissed we used to get at each other when we owned our own aptly named “Divorce Kayak” many years ago.  Rather than getting frustrated we kept encouraging each other, each of us taking the blame on ourselves rather than the other when something didn’t work.  The increased communication as we took on new challenges.  The forgiveness when we realized I’d totally forgotten the sunscreen back in the car when it was time to re-apply.  The way we didn’t have to communicate in full sentences, the way our shared language of past experiences and quotes would get us both laughing and while one would say it first the other was already thinking it.

It hasn’t always been easy, there were definitely some difficulties and challenges, but the more of them we put behind us the more we seemed to grow together.  Spending almost 27 years with someone is wild, we’ve both seen each other at our worst and our best, and we seem to push and help each other grow towards more of our best, almost without trying.  It’s like we both want to be a better version of our self for the other, while always loving the other for who they already are only to somehow still fall deeper in love as they grow more.

As we floated and paddled on the river I just kept pausing to reflect on how grateful I am for a life well shared.

Presence:

The focused presence on the moment is so easily and greatly amplified when I’m doing something for the first time.  Today I was reminded of that while Becky and I were going through some whitewater rapids in an inflatable double kayak!  As we shot down the chutes there was nothing else in the world but the twelve feet across directly in front of me, the rocks and the waves crashing over them, and my paddle as the inflatable kayak bucked and bounced.  For sure, it wasn’t even remotely dangerous, but it was the first time I’d ever done something like that – I was laser focused!  So much fun!

Thankful for the True Burden of All Masters (and Parents), Pausing Life to Allow My Soul to Breathe, & Blogging by the Campfire

Day 3,988

Growth:

As we drove from one part of New River Gorge to another we got a fun text from Gavin saying he’d decided to opt for a double major of neuroscience and biophysics because it wasn’t that much more work.  We both chuckled and commented on how grateful we are for both boys being as intelligent as they are, and then an old quote that is one of my favorites came back to mind.  

“We are what they grow beyond, that is the true burden of all masters.”  This was from the wise philosopher, Yoda.

What struck me most is that this is exactly the moment in which there is so much the boys both have to learn which is beyond my capability.  I’ve worked to share as much as I can with them, and for sure, there is still much more for me to share with them, but they are at the point when they really need to reach out beyond Becky and I for their next steps of growth. 

There’s something very sad and empty feeling about that for me, both in knowing that they have grown beyond needing my help, and from a sense of personal purpose – what else do I have to offer if that which I am most used to contributing is no longer needed by those I focused it on?

That said, there’s still a very fulfilling and rewarding side as well.  It appears we’ve done well in our roles to help take care of them and to grow them, they are both very much ready for the next stages of their lives.  There’s a calm in knowing that if something should happen to me I’ve done what was needed to help them be as prepared as I can help them to be.  

Intriguing thought processes to be sure, where does my focus and energy go now?  To which directions should I channel it?  

Appreciation:

To pause life so much that the actual sense of relaxation really sinks in, the ability to sleep eight plus hours for multiple nights, the quiet calm of a still mind as a place to play with thoughts and ideas.  I honestly forgot which day of the week it was this morning, Becky laughed so hard as I had to do some calculations to make sure I knew which day it actually was.  

This sense of calm that is found when there is no email to check, no calls to return, no “priorities” to focus on for the day.  Creating space for my mind to breathe, for my soul to have the space it needs to create and think and reflect and put all the lessons learned into a more coherent thought.  This time to pause and reflect, to savor the beauty of nature so much more clearly, to exist with Becky and connect – often with no words needed, only a smile – this is what it means to be on vacation.  I’m so glad to have created this space for my soul.

Presence:

I think this may be the first time I’ve typed my blog on a laptop sitting in front of a campfire!  The smell of the burning hardwood, the earth of the fire, the dancing of the flames behind my screen as I type, a siren of sorts, a glowing muse for my blog.  This could be a more common practice as I create more space for my mind to pause and think.

Thanks!!!