Wow! Even being south of Highway 29 didn’t save me today. The snow was falling as I drove through Onalaska and went the rest of the way to Rice Lake. Along the road were many tow trucks and police cars as other cars littered the ditches.

My drive today has been uneventful. I’ve stayed calm, even remembering to slightly loosen my grip when the tires started to slide out on me. No big deal, I’ve driven bad roads before and it’s nice to not have tight shoulders from all the stress of driving in rough conditions.

That’s what got me thinking today. I am so grateful that I headed out to work early today. Knowing there was a snowstorm about to bear down on us I hit the road a little more than an hour before I normally would have. Figuring it would be a longer ride I also downloaded a new audiobook and decided snuggle into my seat and plan on it taking a long time to get there.

It was funny how much differently I viewed the drive in with over an hour of extra time. I didn’t feel pressure to drive faster. I wasn’t looking for areas to pass. Settling into the speed of traffic I gave more room than normal to the vehicle ahead of me. While it wasn’t necessarily relaxing, it was peaceful. What a difference than if I was cutting it close! I’d have been stressed and possibly taking chances that I shouldn’t be taking.

Today I’m thankful for heading to work early. My ride was peaceful and my day started out much better than it would’ve otherwise started. A little planning in advance of going to bed early and waking up earlier than planned made a huge difference today!

Thanks!!!

With the kids off of school today I had a checklist for them complete prior to playing electronics for a little while.  The list today had many of the old standbys like reading for an hour and playing their instruments.  It also had chores like folding laundry.  There was also some exercise thrown in for good measure.  Then they got to the fun stuff…

On their list was “create a 4 to 6 panel comic strip,” “research your favorite video game designer and put together a 3-8 slide presentation about them,” and “design the ultimate survival knife.”  They didn’t disappoint when I got to see their finished products tonight!  The comics made me chuckle.  They learned some interesting facts about their favorite video game designers (both involved in Minecraft!)  Their survival knives were AWESOME!!!  Dominic’s including throwing knives inside while Gavin opted for magma inside of his knife that also folded out into a sword!  Seeing the two of them use their creativity brings a huge smile to my face.

The second thing I’m thankful for tonight is going to bed early.  It’s been a long day and tomorrow’s going to be an even longer day (both in good ways).  Knowing that I’ll need to be running full steam ahead tomorrow this old guy is going to bed early.  When I was a kid I used to hate going to bed early…  Tonight?  That sounds awesome!!!

Thanks!!!

While driving back from up north today I kept going back to a thought I had on Friday… Boy, oh boy, am I glad we live where we do! While heading home we seemed to travel back through time from January to April, from Winter to Spring.

When we were kids it used to blow my mind when I’d see the huge piles of snow we had everywhere and then hear my grandma say that they had no snow on the ground. My child’s mind just couldn’t quite fathom that. How could there be a magical line in Wisconsin where all the snow disappeared? More importantly, how do I live south of that line!

As we travel and see some crazy beautiful and scenic places I get it. There are some magical places that have no snow. There are other places where the snow never goes away. Sure, I’d really like to move to one of those snow free places like Hilo, HI or New Zealand, and I’m sure that someday we will live there for periods of time. That said, it’s funny how much more I appreciate where we live.

Living in La Crosse provides a mix of all seasons, for better or for worse. Our seasons will occasionally bleed into each other, but they are very defined. The changes in season help remind me that time is continuing to pass by. There’s something about that ongoing reminder of time that I really appreciate. It forces me to remember that time isn’t slowing down and I need to keep getting the most out of life as opposed to letting it slip by. Becky and I may live elsewhere fo months on end in the future, but we’ll always have a strong tie to our home in part because of the beautiful transition in seasons.

In the case of today I’m just thankful to be out of the snowy Winter and plunge back into Spring.

Thanks!!!

This morning we headed up to see Grandma Nancy for a short visit while we were up north for Easter. She had some goodies for the boys including a nerf gun (that Dominic and I shot each other with… a lot…) and an assortment of candy. One of the boxes that each boy received was a box of Nerds.

When Nick and I were kids Nerds were one of our favorite candies and we’d eat them all the time while lying on our stomachs in the living room as we watched cable TV (a rare treat for us back in the day!). Being kids we weren’t always the most concerned about cleanliness and there were many, many times in which the Nerds would spill and seemingly disappear into Grandma Lamping’s incredible thick carpet.

She would often share how she would find random Nerds in the carpet as she vacuumed, even months afterwards. Sometimes we’d even find a little treat when we were back on the floor many months later, Nerds from one of our last visits. It became a running joke that continues to this day. Whoever bought her house is probably still finding those little fruity flavored bits of sugar and wondering how the hell they got there.

Fast forward back to today. As the boys were eating candy at the counter they started goofing off. It wasn’t long before I heard a similar yet different sound… I swear I could hear the Nerds falling through the air like I’d heard before, but they landed on tile, a very different sound than when they hit the carpet. Gavin immediately dropped to his knees and started cleaning up the Nerds that went everywhere. Shortly after they had been cleaned up they were goofing around again and that same sound signaled the fall of more Nerds. This time it was Dominic’s turn to clean up his Nerds.

I’m thinking it will be a lot more difficult for the Nerds to hide with the tile, but I’m pretty sure a few escapees found their way into little nooks and crannies and will magically reappear many months from now. Regardless, I kept smiling when they both dropped the Nerds, it just seemed right that they would spill Nerds on a grandma’s floor. I thought back to the times Nick and I spent at my Grandma’s and my heart was full of childlike joy. Seeing history repeat itself is something that I’m very thankful for today!

Thanks!!!

With the combination of the Brewers’ Opening Day and Easter season my mind went back to a memory from three decades ago while I talked with my little brother over the phone today.

Thirty one years ago my little brother, my mom, and I were huddled around our kitchen countertop on Easter Sunday listening to Bob Uecker call the Brewers game (I can’t remember for sure, but I’m thinking Dad was working in the basement?).  By some act of God the Brewers started the season 11-0 that season.

As we listened to the radio the game wasn’t looking so hot.  At the end of eight and a half the Brewers were down by three.  It seemed like the Easter Bunny was going to have to work some magic for us…  and he did!

After all these years I still remember cheering and hooting and hollering when they tied up the game.  When we won on a walk off home run we were even louder!

It’s funny, one game, not that big of a deal.  But it was one of those magic moments that got burned into both of our brains.  Now as we’re a couple of middle aged dudes waiting to see how the Brewers find another way to disappoint us this year we still look back to that game and smile.  How awesome is that?

Thanks!!!

Over the past few days there’ve been some pretty awesome points in which my business life has crossed into my personal life.

A couple of friends of mine have reached out to me for advice in a difficult situations (hence the lack of details). The advice and support I was able to provide came from past business trainings I’ve either attended or presented as well as from experiences I’ve had at work. One situation already went very well and the other should be worked out soon. Being able to help them out has felt awesome, it’s a great joy to be able to help people out who’ve helped me out many times in the past on other things.

What this also has me thankful for is just how different aspects of my career can apply back to personal life as well. From coaching and tough conversations to planning and strategizing it’s pretty cool to see how some of these skills can cross into other aspects of life.

A huge thank you to my friends who’ve reached out for advice recently, please know that being able to offer a couple of nuggets of advice has put a huge smile on my face.

Thanks!!!

If you’ve been reading this blog for a while you’ll already know that I have a fixation on rocks.  Ever since a young age I’ve found joy in looking at all types of crazy rock formations.  As I was in between a few tasks at work today the three rocks I have at my desk caught my eye a few times and caused me to pause for just a moment.

The rock on the right is a labradorite I got from a rock store while we were on vacation in Whistler.  The way it shines and reflects naturally takes care of my shiny syndrome throughout the day.  It’s pretty crazy how it’s inner layers are cracked and seem to glow from the inside.  In addition to catching my attention it also reminds me of family vacations like the one we were on when I got it.

The rock on the left is from New Zealand.  I can’t remember exactly what type of rock it is, but we found it in a rock store near Cathedral Cove.  It’s a piece of one of my favorite lands, a place I’d be happy to move to one day (or at least live for a few months from January through March).  When that rock catches my eye it reminds me to dream big and to find a way to make that dream come true.

The rock in the middle is my favorite of all the rocks I have.  I found it in Dad’s gravel pit after he passed.  It reminds me of the many times we had so much fun going through the pit in search of beautiful and unusual rocks.  When I look at that rock it reminds me of time with him and time with my boys.  It’s also pretty sweet!  While it’s tough to see from this picture it obviously cracked at one point and was filled in with some type of crystal that sealed the cracks.  There are times when I catch myself just looking at it with wonder.

They aren’t the most exciting things in my office by a long shot, but they are all there for a reason.  The memories they bring back fills my heart with joy, and I’m thankful for that.

Thanks!!!