Over the past five hours I’ve been able to crank through a large number of tasks that needed to be done.  Some were work related and others were personal.  The list was long when I started on them after work tonight, but now they’re almost all done.  There’s a couple to go, but they’ll have to wait until Friday.  As I look at the long list of everything that’s been crossed out I can’t help but smile with a sense of accomplishment.

I am not a fan of nights away, but sometimes they are necessary.  Tonight I was so thankful for taking advantage of the time in a hotel room, it allowed me to focus on what needed to get done and I’m already feeling less stress.

While working tonight there was a thought that kept crossing my mind and making me smile.  How excellent is it to work with teammates with huge dreams?  Through a conversation today it hit me how fortunate I am to be able to work with people who dream huge, so huge that it pushes me to dream bigger.  Their dreams drive me to be better, to accomplish more, and to do everything I can to help them reach their dreams.  To be able to help them on their journey is extremely gratifying, to see how their dreams drive me is an awesome feeling…  one that I am very thankful for.

Thanks!!!

Another year of school has begun for the boys.  Dominic’s last year of middle school and  Gavin’s last year of elementary school.  While I was already on the road by the time they left I was able to catch up with them later in the day and it was fun to fall back into the normal habits of the school year.

My first post school conversation went about the same way as probably 90+% of after school conversations will go this year with Dominic:

Me:  How was school?

Dominic:  Pretty good

Me:  Anything fun and exciting?

Dominic:  Nope

Me:  How was cross country practice?

Dominic:  Pretty good.  Hot.

My time with Gavin was mainly spent in the car as I picked him up and took him to soccer practice.  On the way home he started with grand plans of how he was going to spend the evening only to realize that it was already quarter after 7pm.  From there he was in full on meltdown mode as he realized that he had to eat supper, put away laundry, shower, and practice his violin before he could do anything else…  and by that time it would be just about bed time.  He flung himself on the couch face down in feigned exhaustion.  Bud, welcome to the daily grind!

Becky and I saw each other for a couple of minutes as we both got ready for work.  She tagged in for the morning kid stuff and I tagged in for the evening.  She made supper while I was at Gavin’s soccer.  We ate as a family, talked for few minutes after dinner, and then back to getting things done around the house.  Put the boys to bed soon, chill on the couch for about five minutes, go to bed, and repeat tomorrow.

It’s busy and seemingly never ending, but it kind of feels normal.  Sure, I’d love to have extra free time, who wouldn’t?  That said, I’m glad that it’s the start of the school year and back to the normal chaos.  I’m sure it’ll get me down once in a while, but tonight I’m enjoying it’s familiar feeling.

Thanks!!!

 

Today has been nonstop travel thus far. We were at the airport late last night in Anchorage and as I start this post we’re in the air on our way back to Minneapolis. From there we still have a long car ride back to La Crosse, and then back to reality. I’ve gotten some sleep on the flights and in the airports, but I’m feeling pretty exhausted. It’s a lot like the feeling after a great workout, that tired feeling that you kind of look forward to in a sick way. The feeling that you’ve accomplished something and now need to recharge. Personally, I love this feeling in small spread out doses – giving all in an effort to live a life I am proud of.

When I started thinking about my post for today something really sunk in that I had kind of noticed, but hadn’t quite appreciated until now. I’ve spent more time with my brother Nick this summer than I’ve spent in any summer since we lived together. This weekend marked the fourth time we’ve gotten together since early May. We took our families to a Brewers game in May, went camping with the boys in the UP in June, spent time at the cabin with our families and Mom in August, and just wrapped up our trip to Alaska. It’s been awesome!

To have made time for so much time together this summer has been fantastic. We usually shoot the bull during the week several times, but actually getting together has been tougher to line up. We’re both going in so many different directions it can feel almost impossible to get things on the calendar, but everything has just lined up this summer.

Over the years our friendship, brotherhood, and bond has continued to grow stronger and stronger. I’m so grateful for his presence in my life. Sure, he’s a little brother so he’s kind of annoying and a pain in the butt 😉, but in spite of that (or perhaps sometimes because of that) he’s one of my best friends and I’d be lost without him. I appreciate him greatly and I’m so thankful for so much time with him this summer. It’s brought more joy to my heart than I can begin to explain.

So Nick, I’ll close this up in two ways, the way I really feel and the way brothers are supposed to sound in public. Feel read to read only one or both based on your mood.

Love you tons tons Dude, thanks for being an incredible friend and brother. I appreciate you more than I can ever begin to express. <Gives a big bro bear hug>

~or~

Hey dumbass, you’re seriously a pain in the butt, but as far as brothers go I guess I you’re not the worst I could have had. <Punches in the arm and possibly gives a turtle bite>

One critical side note – huge special thanks to Becky and Jennifer for allowing this to happen this year. I’m sure it hasn’t always made your life easy and you had to deal with the aftermath (so many things the boys learned with Nick and I this year!). Thanks for your support and love while Nick and I acted like big kids!

Thanks!!!

On September 13, 2016 Dad sent Nick and I text that we both remember so well.  It said, “Well guys I’m down to one state yet to set foot in.  Alaska.  We’re in Nevada tonight and then onto Oregon tomorrow.”  After that text he’d mentioned heading up to Alaska more than a couple of times.  As happens in life, Dad had less time than he thought to reach his 50th state, his dream was not quite complete.

Early this summer Nick and I were on the phone and the topic of Dad’s incomplete dream came up.  Talking big and without putting too much thought into it we thought about how happy Dad would have been to see us head up here to complete his quest with him along for the ride in our hearts.  We could both see the smile on his face and the twinkle in his eyes as he would have given us a hard time for being “dough heads” or something long those lines.  The more we talked about how much of a kick he would have gotten out of it we set our minds to it and talked our incredibly understanding spouses into letting us embark on this somewhat ridiculous quest.

Net thing we knew we’d gotten flights for the six of us (Becky, the boys, and I as well as my brother Nick and our niece Sela) and rented a perfect home from AirBNB (which not only felt like something that Dad would have loved, it even smelled like his workshop!).  Our plans were set, we would head to Alaska for essentially a long weekend to bring the spirit of Dad up to his last state.

On this trip we’ve experienced so many natural wonders.  The landscapes have been so beautiful and picturesque.  We split into smaller groups a couple of times to experience different things (Nick and Sela heading out for a helicopter ride and then riding on a dogsled, my family heading out for a long hike to see the ice field up close).  Other times we did things as a big group like the day cruise yesterday and every supper.  While it was easy to get lost in the scenery, wildlife, and conversation there were so many times that I paused and thought of Dad, just like I’m sure everyone else did.

In some cases I would talk with him in my head and ask how he felt about the views.  Once in a while I would hear his voice in the back of my head and could almost feel his presence with us.  While on the hike during a particularly serene moment the air went from still to having a slight breeze that blew a small handful of yellowed cottonwood leaves across our path…  and I could almost swear he was right there with us.  So many times as I look in the distance and see the silhouette of the mountains in the distance across the ocean bay I think of him and the smile he would have had on his face if he were here…  the smile I know he has on his face as he is here with us.

I am also very sure that something else Dad is enjoying is the time we are spending as a family on this trip.  What an amazing opportunity to enjoy each others company than on a vacation like this?  The amount of laughing, smiling, healing, and bonding we’ve done as a family has been incredible.  Sure, there’ve been tears too like when Gavin made a comment about how much he misses Grandpa Pete and we had a good cry as a father and son with him sitting on my lap as I hugged him as hard as I could while telling him how much I miss Dad too.  So many moments of joking and smiling, so many moments of learning more about each other, so many moments of enjoying spending time with each other, and so many shared memories of Dad.  The grin on Dad’s face is huge and he sees us spending this time together, it’s almost as if he were here.  In many ways, this would have been like heaven to him.

As we head out on our flights later this evening a part of Dad will remain here in his 50th state, his dream complete.  It wasn’t in the way he’d hoped to explore Alaska, but he was still able to experience it through our eyes and with his family.  We’ve all talked many times about how much he would have enjoyed this or that up here, and there’s a pretty good chance that this state would have been his favorite.  While we fly home it’s safe to imagine that part of his spirit will remain here to explore and enjoy this magnificent  state in even more detail.  I’ll also be dreaming of returning to this bay one day in the distant future to be with him once again and to explore this paradise with him.  We’ll walk side by side through the trails and share so many stories, see so many wondrous sites, and enjoy the time together.

Dad, I miss you more than I thought I possibly could.  I’m doing my best to stay focused on being thankful for the time we had together and for the having the best father I could have dreamt of having.  Thank you for inspiring Nick and I to bring our families to this awesome place together to enjoy it as a family.  Thank you for sharing your presence with us this weekend, you were always on the top of our minds and hearts.  I am so thankful that you were able to experience this last state through our eyes and our hearts, this would have felt like home to you for so many reasons.  I love you dearly, think of you often, and am so thankful for you.  See you in Resurrection Bay one day, I will be anxious to see what you’ve found while exploring here.  Love you Dude!

Thanks!!!

There are some days when this blog is pretty tough to write.  I have to dig deep to find inspiration or meaning and then write through my thoughts.  Other days it may be that I’m having a difficult time thinking about which to write about or how to clarify my thoughts.  Today?  Nope, this is about as easy as they come!  Today’s blog is a total softball.

Today Becky, the boys and I went to Kenai Fjords National Park, the 25th (of 59 National Parks).  It was AWESOME!!!  With one 10 mile-ish hike it has become the favorite or second favorite park for each and every one of us.  How crazy is that?  We haven’t even seen the ocean portion of the trip (that comes tomorrow), and it was that fantastic that it moved up to the top of the charts. The park had pretty much every single thing that we could ask for in a park…  mountains, forests, rocks, wildlife, glaciers, hiking, beautiful flowers, and an ocean.  Check to each and every one of those.  Throw in the possibility of seeing seals, whales, and other marine life?  Yup, this park is an awesome one!  Being able to experience it with the boys and Becky made it all the better.

The hike itself was nothing short of fantastic.  We went up over 3,600 feet and after the first mile and a half every step brought a bigger and broader view of the vast Harding Icefield.  We started off seeing the Exit Glacier and as we kept heading up we got a better view of the ice field.  It was wild!  The pictures don’t do justice to the view, it was one of the most amazing views I’ve had in my life.  This hike was easily in the top 10 hikes I’ve ever done.

#25 is now in books, we’re getting closer to the halfway point of the biggest dream in the list of 100.  Life is pretty awesome!

Thanks!!!

I am so incredibly blessed to be surrounded by the teams around me.  Over the past few months we’ve had many changes, challenges, and successes, an in every single case my teams have risen to the occasion.  Earlier today we had our monthly Eau Claire territory meeting and it always starts with sharing our biggest successes.  When my turn came I shared that my biggest success over the past month was to be surrounded by amazing teammates who continue to exceed expectations my eyes got a little misty.  I can’t or don’t want to imagine a work life without them, they bring much joy to my life.

One of the other icebreakers we kicked off the meeting with was the following question:

Your house, containing everything you own, catches fire. After saving your loved ones and pets, you have time to safely make a final dash to save any one item. What would it be? Why?

Take a moment to let that one really sink in.  It really says a lot about us and what we value, doesn’t it?  Hearing the answers from my teammates was enlightening and helped me learn more about each of them.

While Becky was driving tonight I pulled up the website that I got that question from and  started asking Becky, Dominic, and Gavin that question as well as several others.  We turned off the radio and enjoyed thinking about some of the answers and sometimes went into slightly different topics of conversation.  It was an interesting way yo learn more about those that I love so dearly.

There are 36 questions, and odds are you’ve seen them before online.  If you have a coupe of minutes I’d recommend pausing and asking a loved one or friend a question or two.  You may be amazed at where the conversation takes you.  In my case it was so much more rewarding than staring blankly at a screen, it was an awesome way to connect.

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/open-gently/201310/36-questions-bring-you-closer-together

Thanks!!!

Gavin was at a friend’s house tonight so I took the opportunity to fire up one of my favorite movies with Dominic, The Usual Suspects. I won’t fire up the details of the movie in this post, I wouldn’t want to give anything away.

It was pretty great sitting on the couch, eating popcorn, and pausing to help Dominic catch all the details of what was going on. He hasn’t watched many crime / suspense movies like that so I wanted to make sure he was picking it all up. By the time the movie reached its conclusion he just said, “Whoa… that was a good ending!”

Yes, yes it was. It was also a fun time hanging out on the couch chilling with you Bud!

Thanks!!!