This evening I attended the 2021 Hatch event – an event similar to Shark Tank. Eight different entrepreneurs came up to the mic for five minutes to present their business idea. They then answered questions from the judges while the crowd voted for which presentation they liked best.
The event itself got my creative juices flowing. So many people working to make their passion a reality or to grow it beyond their humble beginnings. It was awesomely inspirational!
My notebook is filled with notes about presentations, follow up ideas, concepts to utilize within my business, and reminders of who I would like to reach back out to. Hearing their stories got me motivated to get moving on a few of my own ideas as well.
This was my first time attending an event like this, but it certainly won’t be my last!
The boys and I just spent an excellent weekend up north with Becky’s parents. Spending time in the woods with their Grandpa Ken was awesome on so many levels. Time outside. Working with my hands. Time with my boys. Time with my father in law. Enjoying the intergenerational interactions between all of us. Lessons learned. Learning new skills. Talking about carpentry. “Shopping” for lumber in Ken’s shed full of wood. Hearing new stories. Sharing last memories. Laughing out loud often. Feeling Dad’s presence. Many new memories created.
At home I spent time focused on cleaning up my workshop. It’s going to take a while as I’ve really led it slide throughout the spring, summer, and fall. For a moment I was overwhelmed. Then I remembered to take just one action and I was off and moving. My mind was focused specifically at the task at hand and didn’t wander or stray. I somehow slipped into a zen like state of flow as I put tools away, vacuumed sawdust, and sorted through wood. Time flew by while I focused on each individual thing I was putting away. Afterwards I paused and reflected on the experience and realized just how calming, peaceful, and joyful it was for me to clean – specifically because I was present throughout. Serenity can be found in even the most mundane of tasks.
The process of conceiving this blog is another gratitude tonight. In my gut I knew I was grateful for many things, but it was more simplistic – time up north and hard work. There was more to my thankfulness and had I not blogged I would have left it at that. In pausing to gather my thoughts I was forcing myself to truly start to process the thankfulness on another plane. By really focusing on the specifics of why I was grateful I found new insights I would have missed otherwise. Taking time to journal daily provides me an opportunity to see my life more clearly.
Full disclosure, I’m exhausted, horizontal, and will be sleeping within five minutes of finishing this post. I’m tired in a fantastic way which is only felt after spending much time outside in the late fall.
Dominic and I assembled a tree stand while Gavin helped his grandpa fix a U joint on a four wheeler. We all went out and set up a few tree stands which included stacking some firewood, clearing some brush, and other activity along those lines. We moved and reset another stand and put up another. Gavin got some rifle practice in while Dominic helped his grandpa with a couple of other things. By the time it slaws all said and done the majority of the day was spent outside in the fresh air.
Now I’m feeling the impact of all that fresh air. This type of tired is a beautiful thing, it means I’ve done the day right!
After the busyness of this past week today was a welcome detour. The day started early and contained a list of tasks I wanted to accomplish, but there was a definite state of chill riding shotgun to my productivity. Even changes to the preset plan were met with a smile and a shoulder shrug as I simply flowed from one action to the next.
Intensity is the right answer in some scenarios. Other times a state of relax can make a more profound impact. One state isn’t always right, and doing only one for extended periods of time is also the wrong answer. Today the chill was the exact counterbalance I needed.
I’m getting ever closer to the finish of writing. Today I read back through the last section and the conclusion while making notes and changes. What really caught me was the ability to pause and reflect on where I was mentally as I began writing this shortly after Dad passed away over four years ago. The lessons I learned during that wildly difficult time still permeate my thought processes. So much of the person I am today was honed and shaped and tempered during what has been the greatest challenge of my life to date.
In taking time to write down what happened, how I reacted, and what I learned I’ve been able to deeply embed so much more. Between writing, reading, editing, re-writing, reading, clarifying, expanding upon, and reading again I’ve re-lived that test many times over.
To be sure, it still hurts. Each read feels like I’m pulling the stitches out hours after the wound was sown shut. That said, I learned so much about myself during that trial. To have been tested and not deeply imprint all of the lessons into my soul would be a waste of the experience. Taking time to write has helped me find purpose in the pain, to find a way to potentially help others.
As I wrap up writing I’m so grateful for taking the time to write about the experience on paper and on my soul.
Hmm… a few different directions to go today with my gratitude. I always like days like this, they usually include several nuggets from the day rather than just one main theme. I think I’ll go rapid fire bullet point style tonight 😁👍:
If anyone heard the groans of an undead ghoul this morning I can assure you it wasn’t a Halloween holdover… it was me doing my best to roll out of bed. Yoga last night was INTENSE!!! By far one of the hardest yoga workouts I’ve had in a very long time. Each muscle group was sore and stiff this morning and it felt amazing!!! While it hurts it also feels like accomplishment.
The annual check up for both boys went very well today. It is so easy for me to quickly overlook good health and take it for granted. Days like this remind me to appreciate the excellent health and fitness of both of them.
Often the boys help me rise to the occasion to be better for them. Today was an opportunity to both help them and coach them on why it is important to communicate and ask questions.
Making difficult decisions isn’t easy – that’s why they are difficult 😉. Remembering to listen to my values is, on the other hand, quite simple and won’t lead me astray. I was reminded of that today.
In looking ahead to next year it would be easy to feel overwhelmed. There are so many opportunities for growth and so many paths to potentially take. Today we took first steps in setting that path and are remembering to stay focused on one step at a time. I am reminded that there will always be more excellent ideas than there is time to execute all of them well. Brainstorm, focus , execute. Fantastic progress.
So many great things, and that’s not even all of them. Thank you to everyone who played a role in making this a great day!
There are so many reasons our family loves to travel so much. I’m intrigued as to how many times the words “vacation” or “travel” have appeared throughout the past 2,227 blog posts. What I am grateful for today is another reminder of why I am thankful for traveling with my family.
Over our family dinner tonight Dominic was sharing how he had temporarily misplaced his earbuds in the side pocket of his driver’s side door. We talked about the weird rip in the time space continuum that must exist there as it seems objects put into the pocket gravitate to hat one little place in the pocket in which you can’t quite feel the object you’re searching for the first several times you reach your hand into it. You know which part of the side door pocket I’m talking about, right? I swear, there’s a weird shifting of gravitational pull in that door…
Anyways, as we laughed about that I remembered someone losing their phone in that pocket on a vacation a while ago. Very quickly we remembered that it was in Maui. Dominic “lost” his phone and he and I had to drive back 15 minutes to go look for where we thought it must’ve been left while Becky and Gavin hiked (and saw whales). By the time we got back I happened to reach into the pocket for the 375th time and was rewarded with his phone.
Next thing we knew, our dinner conversation shifted to memories of that trip to Hawaii and the sights we saw. We talked about Gavin sleepwalking out of the condo in search of “a better…” Not only that, but we even got a little into other vacations as well. Every one of us were smiling as we re-lived some of those excellent memories.
I am still in disbelief of this photo being from three years ago!
I’m so grateful for our family putting a high premium on family travel – distant or local. In those moments we have the opportunity to create incredible memories, learn new things, experience different cultures, and walk away with fodder for future dinner conversations. Stuff comes and goes, memories are forever inscribed in our hearts.
My drive to Eau Claire was a very calming endeavor. The sun slowly rose while I drove. Rather than a book, podcast, or music I chose the sound of silence as my driving soundtrack. With all of the busyness of the last weekend it was refreshing to pause and think. With few cars on the road it was easy to focus my thoughts on what I had going on today as well as a handful of near and long term future projects and decisions as well.
This quiet time also helped me better live into one of the goals I set for myself for the year. By taking time to prime my brain in the right way I found it easier to still my mind and focus on listening more than talking. It made a very positive difference in the results of my day.
Another thing I’m thankful for today is the reason I’m currently blogging while laying in bed rather than driving back from picking up Gavin from soccer… we’ve got Student Uber in our house. Dominic offered to take Gavin to practice but instead I asked if he’d pick Gavin up so I could head to bed early. How awesome is that? A few extra zzz’s for me tonight!
Tonight we celebrated Steve and Kathy’s tenth wedding anniversary. Spending time together as a group of friends was fantastic! After the past year and a half I am so much more grateful for events like this. It’s always been a great time with friends, but after experiencing prolonged time without event like this I appreciate each gathering so much more.
Thinking back to ten years ago was a trip and a half! Going through old photos brought back foggy memories and has us laughing all over again. Spending time together to reminisce was an awesome way to spend the evening.
Thankful for Forty 