This evening a bunch of my friends and I got together to do something Becky had set up with her friends. We had a virtual happy hour! Talk about a great way to wrap up the day. Of course it’d be better to be hanging out with all of them in person, but this was a close second. At times it was crazy to think we were talking through the screens as it felt very much like hanging out as normal.

It’s funny how this is the second time in less than a week when I’ve had quality time hanging out with friends. Over the past few years it seems increasingly rare to find time to spend with everyone. Between work, events for the boys and other aspects of life we all seem to be moving in different directions. All the action and chaos makes it more and more difficult to line up times when we can all get together.

Of course I would prefer to skip the whole coronavirus stuff, but it’s interesting to find some of the positives in the situation. When we tossed this idea around there was no need for a back up date. We didn’t have to worry about who would be left out because they had something else going on. There wasn’t a concern about being done by a certain time so we could get on to the next appointment. We all have the time available. Throughout the beginnings of this challenge it’s amazing to find the gift it has given many of us, time.

This situation has created so much more time and slack to be able to focus on the things that are truly most important. I’d prefer to skip the whole thing for the obvious reasons, but it’s out of my control. With that being said I’ll make the beat of it and continue to enjoy and appreciate all the time that is being created for us to spend time with friends and family, even if it is online instead of in person.

Thanks!!!

Something I’ve been doing to help myself fall a sleep better is reading.  Normally I hop on my phone for a quick check of the world before I turn on my side and go to sleep.  I know, looking at light isn’t good before bed.  If I hop on my phone now all I see is news that leaves my heart racing and causes me to not sleep well.  If I take a lesson from Becky and read for a few moments before bed I feel tremendously better and get a more fulfilling night of sleep.

The book I busted out is a fiction I picked up a while ago.  I still remember buying it and reading it.  I can even tell you what new-ish CD I was listening to on repeat while I consumed most of the book.  For a moment I paused and thought about all the memories tied to that book and then started to do the math to figure out when exactly it all happened.  About that moment my book opened a little and my old receipt for the book fell out.  It was the bookmark I used when I first got.

On the day before Thanksgiving in 2000 I was headed off on my first major flight.  Up until that day I’d only been flying in one small four seat airplane.  I was flying out of Minneapolis to go see my new little niece who’d been born in Washington DC just over a couple of weeks prior.  My parents got me a ticket and I was off on my first flying adventure.  I still remember having no idea what I was supposed to do and just wandered through the airport without a care in the world.  With it being before 9/11 there was minimal security.  It was packed with people heading out for Thanksgiving.

I still remember trying to figure out what I was going to do to keep myself busy on the flight.  As luck would have it I happened to see this book in the bookstore.  The recommendations from two of my favorite authors sealed the deal and next thing I knew I was coughing up cash for the book.  Yes, I paid cash as I didn’t have a card or checkbook back then, but that’s an entirely different story for a different day 😉

Book in hand I headed to my gate, plopped myself onto a seat, put my headphones on, fired up my portable CD player, and started reading.  The sound of Lifehouse almost drowned out the rest of the world while I dove into the book.  I remember the rush of feeling the jet take off.  The sudden sound of the landing gear dropping caught me off guard and I jerked back to reality from my book.  My eyes went from side to side to see what others were doing – should I panic or was that normal?  I remember an older lady catching my eye and she smiled at me.  I’m pretty sure she knew exactly what had happened and quickly figured out that it was my first flight.  All in all it was a memorable experience.

I remember hanging out with my parents, my brother and then sister in law, and seeing my niece for the first time.  Much of my time there was a blur, but I remember how great it felt to be with my family as a family.  When my parents took me back to the airport to head home I remember it was raining lightly.  Dad said, “this isn’t going to be good,” just seconds before we saw a reckless driver in front of us lose control and slide across the right rows of traffic.  I remember getting to the airport and the flight back, the search for my truck in the parking ramp, and the drive home.

So many memories from that long weekend and that first solo-ish trip.  Of course I’ll always hold onto those memories, but sometimes it is so helpful to have something that helps bring them back into view.  Sometimes it’s seeing the book itself.  Other times the memories come back when I hear a certain song or two off the album.  Once in a while it’s when I see someone’s head jerk up at the first unexpected loud noise on a flight and I catch myself smiling at them.  This time it was an old airport bookstore receipt that’s been a bookmark for so many years.  I’m grateful for keeping that bookmark, somehow it’s been with me for almost twenty years!  I am looking forward to the moment in a decade or two when it falls out of the book again and takes my memory on an excellent adventure.

Thanks!!!

We all have rough days.  We all struggle through tough stretches.  All of our challenges and obstacles are unique and very similar all at the same time.  Throughout our life we never know when we’ll face a trying moment.  One morning we might wake up and BAM! there it is.  Sometimes we’ll see the struggle coming a long ways away and we feel like the Titanic slowly cruising towards the iceberg pulled by our own inertia.  Times will be tough for us.  That’s part of life.

Throughout these past dozen days or so it seems like there are more and more of those moments.  Often they appear to be worse as they are magnified by all of the constant change and seemingly unending state of uncertainty.  In facing these moments today I caught myself being very grateful for something specific.

When the going gets tough, which has been often as of late, my mind automatically goes back to the base of gratitude I’ve slowly been building over the past four plus years.

“How can I be grateful for this?”

“Why should I be thankful this has happened?”

“What can I learn from this?”

“When will this experience come in handy in the future?”

As I ask myself these questions seemingly automatically I am always surprised by the answers.  Each obstacle and challenge I face is something to be thankful for.  The specifics might be negative or very unpleasant, but there’s always something to learn from the experience.  When I view it through the eyes of gratitude I find my mindset much more upbeat, optimistic, and hopeful.  If I view the frustration of the event I become angry, sad, and frustrated.  Gratitude has the ability to lift the heart through any situation, no matter how difficult.

Thank you to myself from over four years ago.  Little did you know then just how many challenges you would face.  Through each you’ve pushed on.  In many you even found a way to smile through it and become better as a result of the experience.  Gratitude, such an incredible gift we all have access to.  I’m so thankful for it!

Thanks!!!

Okay, I kind of feel obligated to start with this…  It’s a bluff, not a mountain.  Just for clarity in case someone isn’t quite sure of the geography in this area.  Just sayin’… 😉

Somehow we’ve never really gone to spend any time at Wildcat Mountain State Park.  It’s about an hour or so away and very scenic, but for whatever reason we’ve just never gotten there until today.  We’ve driven past it a few times but have never actually pulled in.  With a little cabin fever setting in Becky had the great idea to head over and go for a hike.  It was a great opportunity to enjoy being outside while staying well over 6 feet away from anyone (there was only a small handful of other people there and all small groups were spread out by at least a 10th of a mile).

We had a pretty excellent family hike up and down a few of the trails in the area.  The drift less area is so beautiful, this park showed off that beauty around each and every bend in the trail.  I can only imagine how awesome it must look in the fall.  There is no question we’ll be back again at least a few times in the future.

Both of the boys were using it as an opportunity to help them advance in Scouts.  Gavin is working on his Hiking merit badge so this was the first long-dish hike.  Next comes a 10 miler, another 10 miler, and a 15 miler to close it up.  Dominic has a few things left on his Cooking merit badge so he made, packed, and carried our lunches and trail mix.  How cool to be able to mix some family time in with physical activity and work towards their Scouting goals?

Yeah, there’s some very heavy stuff going on in the world right now.  It’s amazing how all of that stress and fear can melt away while spending time with family and enjoying the beauty of nature.  Throw in some pretty solid physical activity and it’s pretty much exactly what the doctor ordered.  Having the sun pop out often while hiking was an incredible bonus.  I am excited for life to get back to normal, but I’m also thankful for the opportunity to pause and enjoy some of my favorite things in life.

Thanks!!!

Hello to the new normal! Whoever would’ve guessed a couple of weeks ago that we would be in a situation like this?

This morning the weather was pretty gross so we decided to sleep in and catch our run after work. Talk about a crazy change of pace! I never realized a change of approximately half a day would create such a different experience. Running in full daylight felt wonderful, getting some exercise in after work was relaxing, and getting some seemingly extra time talking with Becky was awesome. All in all I’m thankful for our post work run.

For quite some time one of my groups of friends has suggested that I do some online gaming with them. Usually after a long week of work and the boys’ activities I’m usually ready to crash early on the weekend nights. With the sudden change in our evening schedule it seems like there may be a little more time available.

Tonight was the first time I spent time hanging out with a group of friends online. It wasn’t quite the same as hanging out with them in real life (IRL from what my boys have told me). Seeing as it will be quite some time before we hang out in person it was great spending time hanging out with my friends. I’m so thankful we live in the times in which we live to have opportunities like this. What a gift to be able to hang out when we’re not able to hang out.

Thanks!!!

Due to the rain yesterday morning Becky and I didn’t do our normal run.  She hit the treadmill and I slept a little longer than normal.  This morning I decided to catch up and go for a run.  The dogs have been getting a lot more exercise than normal with the boys being home and LuLu has been showing her age a bit.  With that in mind I decided to take a very happy dog with me on the run.

As luck would have it I forgot to bring my headlamp so Skywalker and I had a beautifully peaceful, serene, and dark morning run.  As we pounded the pavement we ran along the river and enjoyed virtual quiet.

With as fast as the world has been changing our run was a beautiful reminder that everything doesn’t have to change.  The outside world didn’t matter.  All that there was in that moment was a dog, a dude, and nature.  Between the calm and the physical activity I greatly enjoyed the opportunity to completely and fully lose myself in the present moment.  It was so wonderful to feel the weight of the past week lift off my shoulders as I ran.  Seeing the smile on Skywalker’s face the whole time made it all the better.

Thanks!!!

During the course of the day I was contacted by a local television station for a quick interview.  Based on advice from our HQ I immediately called for advice before talking with the reporter.  Before I knew it I was having a conversation with one of the most positive, upbeat, and friendly people I’ve spoken with since the world has been tilted.  When I wrote about being the light a few days back she was exactly what I was talking about.  Afterwards I sent an email thanking her for her upbeat attitude and energy.  I also mentioned that it felt like we’d been separated at birth.  Her response?  “I feel this is a ‘Step Brothers’ moment… ‘Did we just become best friends?!?!?  YUP!”  Dang, we must be related!

I’m thankful for the smile she provided me today.  Her energy was contagious and I was able to use that to keep me going at several moments throughout the day.  There’s a sales rep from another business that should be thanking her today.  When he called me and sounded all nervous I remembered how much better I felt after my conversation with her and did my best to provide the same positive and upbeat energy.

It was an incredible reminder to me of the power of a positive interaction.  Reality is pretty wild right now.  People need a source of joy.  Be the light.

Throughout the week I’ve had several calls to our Express HQ asking for help and advice.  With 800+ franchises in the Express system I can only imagine how crazy busy they’ve been over these past few days.  Each and every time I’ve talked with them they’ve been upbeat, positive, helpful, and patient.  I am so thankful for all of the stressful work they are dealing with daily to keep all of our teams running as effectively as possible.

We had a few things to grab at the grocery store tonight and Gavin decided to come along with me.  There was a definite observance of social distancing and we only touched what we had to and only after sanitizing our hands before walking into the store.  While I could almost write a complete book about the trip together let’s just say it was an eventful one!  Long story short, it was so awesome to spend time alone with Gavin.  During our time together there was no stress, no issues in the world, or anything like that.  There was only a dad and his son, two friends, hanging out and getting something accomplished while laughing constantly and doing our best to help others smile.  It was awesome and I’m so thankful for that time together.

Thanks!!!

Two of the three are very simple and straightforward today.  The third one is all about my history lesson this morning…  from just last week!

Last night I went to bed early, slept in (until 5:40am).  It felt amazing!!!  Nine great hours of sleep was close to what I really needed.  In times of stress it is so important to keep myself healthy and sleep is one of the best ways to accomplish that.  For reals…  what an excellent reminder for me to get enough sleep!

On my way to work this morning I lucked out and happened to time the drive just right.  The sun was just about to pop up as I crested the bluff heading into Arcadia.  The sky was a beautiful red glow.  With all that is going on in the world I took an extra moment to appreciate it and soak it in.  What a reminder to appreciate the beauty of nature!

Also on my drive I took some time to get caught up on a couple of my favorite podcasts.  Over the past week I’ve had quite a bit going on and had spent more time than usual driving in silence so I could think.  When I listened to the one podcast it was like getting a mini-history lesson.  With it being just about a week old I heard about the process and build up leading to Italy’s lockdown/shelter in place.  Instead of it being news as it was when it first came out a week ago it was now an interesting piece of history.  Within a short period of time it was easy to see many parallels and start to get a better guess on what to expect next.  Whoever would’ve thought we could have a history lesson form only a week ago?

Much sleep, time to appreciate nature, and using history to help predict future events.  Three very different things, but all three that helped me navigate a day with mental stability and mental flexibility.

Thanks!!!

Another day, another round of changes and updates.  At some point it’ll be interesting to look back at this time period and see just how much happened in such a short period of time.  Think about it…  it was only about 100 hours ago that the NCAA Basketball Tournament was cancelled.  In just 100 hours much of life as we know it has been tilted, stretched, flipped, bounced, and altered.

There are two opposing forces that must be very much balanced in these times of uncertainty.  We must have mental flexibility to adjust to the changes and mental stability to keep us living our core values.  They must be working in tandem in order to save our sanity and allow us to keep a positive and optimistic outlook.

Mental flexibility seems very self evident at present.  The flow of information is constantly changing and revising our direction and recommendations.  The ability to stay open minded to the shifts is our way to keep a growth mindset.  If we stay mentally stiff we will break, shatter, and most likely fall victim to anger and depression when things don’t go our way.  Maintaining our agility is the only way to be able to roll with the punches.

Mental stability is also necessary.  We must maintain our values, personalities, and humanity.  It would be so easy to go off the deep end to go off the deep end due to all the changes and be caught up in the chaos and hysteria.  Without mental stability we end up raiding the grocery store for three years worth of supplies.  All this does is continue to validate our own selfish inner demon while causing more issues for everyone else.  By keeping mentally resilient we’re able to ward off the panic and continue being the people we were meant to be.

Today I had moments of doing well in each.  Today I also had moments in which I didn’t do very well.  I will continue to pay attention to the pull between these two forces and do my best to walk the fine line.  Occasionally I’ll need to be more flexible and other times I’ll need to be more stable.  The trick will be to observe, determine which is correct, and choose to be the right one in the moment.

Tomorrow I will continue to view my actions through this lens and do my best to find the balance.  Today wasn’t perfect, but I’m thankful for the awareness of the need to balance mental flexibility and mental stability; it could make a huge difference in helping me be my normal upbeat, optimistic, and positive self.

Thanks!!!