Talk about two opposite ends of the spectrum today!

This has been a tiring week, but in a very good way. Between a couple nights of fireworks and a lot of fun it’s also been very exhausting. When I got home from work tonight I had a couple of hours before everyone else got home so I decided to make the most of it… I took an hour and a half nap and it was GLORIOUS!!! I awoke totally refreshed and started cleaning my workshop.

Shortly after Becky and the. It’s got home Tab, Tanner, and their boys arrived. After some time outside we all ended up in the house and the. It’s coaxed us into a nerf gun battle in the basement. We all had a lot of fun even though there were many shots to the head and nether regions. Much laughing from all of us, it was an awesome time!

Thanks!!!

After a long day of work there’s nothing quite like heading to yoga and then catching a movie with the family.

We ate dinner as a family and then Becky and I jumped on our bikes and headed out to enjoy one of our favorite “dates…”  hot yoga at Root Down on the Northside of La Crosse.  Getting a great workout in while getting a chance to shut down the talking part of my brain was exactly what the doctor ordered.  Throw in a couple of times when we’d bump into each other or just happen to look at each other and smile and it was pretty fantastic. The bike ride there and back was some nice bonus time.  As Becky put it on the way home, “some people like to go out for drinks after work, I’d much rather go out to yoga.”

Once we got back home we fired up a movie based on a book series Gavin is reading, “City of Ember.”  All of us chilling on the couch and enjoying the move was a pretty chill way to start our little break in the middle of the work week.

Yoga date and family movie night, chill moments like this are pretty awesome once in a while!

Thanks!!!

There are some days when it’s not even really fair.  It’s like I don’t even have to try to find something to be thankful for, the ideas just jump right into my lap.  At some point I need to pause for a moment and sift through all of the moments that appear and figure out how to either turn it into one concise thought or theme or find a way to mash many things together.  Regardless, it seems like there is always something that is missed.  Today is definitely one of those days!

Before diving into the topic of the blog let me first throw a few other things I’m thankful for out there…  A box of Lemonheads as a gift from Sammi to help ease me out of a “sour” mood this morning.  Sitting outside on the steps with a cold beverage writing my blog.  Watching the boys ride bikes and enjoy the wonderful weather.  Logrolling with friends.  Becky.  Phone conversations with my mom.  Joking around with my little brother.  So many wonderful moments and these are just the tip of the iceberg.

Last year on this day we had one of the most fun days of vacation that I can remember.  It was the day we crossed into Canada.  We were in Whistler wandering the Olympic Village.  Earlier in the day we saw the Olympic Biathlon track and range, the ski jump, and the ice track for bobsled, luge, and skeleton.  While we wandered in the village we saw a forest fire get put out.  It was an incredible day in which I don’t remember a single negative thing about the day (though I am sure there must have been), but I remember so much of the day it is borderline ridiculous!  As I spent time looking back on those old pictures tonight I’ve been smiling from ear to ear.

As luck would have it Becky and I have been spending time today looking excursions for a couple of our upcoming trips.  We’ve got some doozies planned!  As much fun as it is to actually go on a vacation there’s something pretty awesome about planning what we’ll do on them.  Jumping from website to website we’re looking at all the fun adventures we can take the boys on while we enjoy some amazing new experiences.

Mix the combination of memories of past vacations with the visions of vacations yet to come and I’m about the happiest man on Earth!

Thanks!!!

From the point that I woke up it’s been a pretty solid Sunday.

For pretty much the first time ever I cooked breakfast on the grill (much more difficult than I thought).  Becky and I took the girls out for a walk afterwards.  We met up with friends and were out on the water for about five hours.  The clouds parted and passed right by us without rain (other than a three minute light sprinkle).  After shooting the bull and just hanging out for a while we headed back home.

Once we got home we knocked out a handful of things we needed to get done.  Some actual work around the house (dishes and cooking lunches for the week) and others were way more fun (changing over the rocks in the tumbler).  After a while we ended up chilling on the couch watching Malcolm in the Middle as a family.  Before I knew it I was ready to write my blog and head off to bed.

As I think over the day pretty much all the bases have been covered.  I had alone time with Becky while we went for a walk.  Dominic and I had time together watching the World Cup shoot outs.  When changing the rocks in the tumbler Gavin and I had time doing it together.  There was time with friends, and there was time alone.  Sounds like a pretty solid day to me!

Thanks!!!

There are some days when I have a really deep and profoundly thoughtful blog post in mind. A mash up of several thoughts and concepts over the past few days it gets pretty much 75% written in my brain, but then something happens that causes me to stop, smile, and realize there was something else I was meant to write about. Tonight that’s exactly what’s happened.

Scratch the introspective blog that was being formed in my head… there’s something that has taken its place. Monty Python’s Holy Grail, movie theater popcorn, and a pitcher of mojitos made with Gavin’s homegrown mint.

The Kreiling family is embarking on a family movie night that may or may not leaving lasting memories. We’ll see what happens shortly!

What I do know for sure is that means a night of chilling with my family, something I’m always grateful for.

Thanks!!!

Thank you again so much to Kelsey Lyons for the copy of The Book of Joy by the Dalai Lama and Bishop Tutu!!!  I’ve been re-reading it lately and last night I went back through the chapters about gratitude and compassion.  The section on perspective really sunk in again as well a couple of nights ago as you could see by the post yesterday.  As often happens my brain soaked in more than I thought and I was looking at the world very differently when I woke up this morning.

When my alarm went off I laid there for a second and felt how stiff and sore my legs were.  Remembering the book I paused and said to myself, “How lucky am I to be alive this morning?  How fortunate am I to have a body that is capable of exercise?  How wonderful is it that I am able to spend quiet time with Becky doing something so healthy and fulfilling?”  I couldn’t help but smile and get out of bed.

While running Becky and I talked about many things and it reminded me of perspective again.  In every moment of every day I have the opportunity to determine how I will view a situation.  If I am in a bad mood or seeing something negatively it is entirely my fault and I need to find a way to change it.  Not only change my perspective, but find a way to learn from it and be thankful for the opportunity to learn and grow.

For lunch today I really wanted to go for a walk but had second thoughts due to the heat and my sore muscles.  My mind went back to the thought of gratitude and I realized that I wasn’t looking at it the right way.  This was a beautiful day to go for a walk!  The sun was out, there was a little breeze, and the exercise in the heat would strengthen me, not break me.  I headed out and enjoyed a wonderful stroll that allowed me to take a deep breath and think through several challenges I have in front of me at work.

My normal path took me through the cemetery.  Yup, you could say it’s morbid, but I find it quite motivational.  As I walked through I kept thinking about how thankful I am to be alive.  It led me to think about what they would like to do over if they had more time which then reminded me of what is truly important in life.  As I walked I thought about how fortunate I am to be alive to enjoy those important moments more.  I was thankful for all their grave stones reminded me of.

About midway through the cemetery loop I happened across and older gentleman.  As we passed we both smiled at each other.  He looked at me and said, “We must be a couple of walking diehards, huh?” as his smile spread even bigger across his face.  Mine did the same as I agreed with him.  It was a moment of bonding and companionship.  We both were congratulating the other for finding the reason to go out instead of using the heat as an excuse to do something we enjoy.  That moment was pretty cool.

At work there were a couple of times in which my mind kept returning to that thought of gratitude.  Even though certain things are definitely challenging they are opportunities to grow and learn.  In some cases I was thankful for past painful lessons that helped me guide others through their own challenges.  Had I not struggled and failed in the past I wouldn’t have been able to help, or even worse, I might have hurt them with my advice.  Funny how after the fact it’s so much more clear that something was a great learning experience instead of a really difficult time.

Throughout the day my attitude, mindset and life were impacted by those wonderful lessons from The Book of Joy.  I highly recommend it to anyone who could use a little nudge to help them through the challenges they may be facing.  It’s well worth the time to read and inspires me on an almost daily basis.  Today those lessons really stood out loud and clear and I was thankful for each of them.

Thanks!!!

This morning I attempted to be as disciplined as Becky so I set my alarm to wake up early and get an extra run in while she lifted weights.  Sadly, my dreams won for about 15 minutes before I finally got my butt in gear.  This was the first time in quite a while that I had a truly solo run, no Becky, no dogs, just me.

My runs with Becky are awesome and I truly appreciate each of them. They’re a great way for us to seemingly cheat time by creating some extra time for the two of us to be together throughout the day.  Once in a while it is nice to run by myself.  I appreciate the runs with her more after I run alone as I can see how much she motivates me to stay on pace as well as how much more quickly the run goes when we’re talking and spending time together versus alone.  It reminds me to be grateful for this tradition we’ve established.

I also enjoy having the time to myself to just let my thoughts drift.  Nowhere in particular, they just drift in different directions.  While running this morning that feeling was amplified by the fog that had settled into the Mississippi River Valley.  The combination of running alone, listening to some great music – Soul to Squeeze by RHCP, letting my thoughts just drift and seeing the view below led to a run that felt more like a capricious dream than a workout.  It was amazing and soul soothing at the same time.

The other thing that I am thankful for I am not quite sure how to put into words without getting into detail that isn’t necessary and almost takes away from the concept.  Here’s the long and short of it…

In every event that happens to us we have the opportunity to choose how we view the event, good or bad, happy or tragic.  The label we apply to it, the perspective we choose depends completely on us.

I could look at the death of my dad as the worst thing I’ve experienced thus far in life.  It would be so easy to hold onto the sadness, loneliness, and feeling of no control.  I could sit on a throne of pity and ask every person I meet to sympathize with me.  This one event could consume me and even become my identity in a horrible way if I let it. It could a huge source of fear and weakness that would be the downfall of my happiness.

Or…

I could look at the death of Dad as a part of the natural cycle of life, something that was bound to happen and would happen regardless of my thoughts and wishes.  As such, instead of feeling sad I could use this as a source of knowledge to bring more joy to my life.  I can use his death as a way to learn more about life and death.  His death can help me to help others through difficult times.  I can pause and just feel all the love that was shared by so many friends and family during that time and I’ll never feel lonely for as long as I live.  It can be a tremendous reservoir of strength that can power me to do right through any challenge. As odd as it sounds to write, I can be thankful for his death as it has helped me to be a better and more joyful person.

The choice is up to me. The event is the same, the only difference is my perspective. Only I can make the choice.

Today I’ve chosen the right mindset and was able to do right by others specifically because of what I learned through losing Dad.  I know he is smiling from up above as he would be so happy to see how that experience has changed me.  I’m thankful for taking the time to choose the right way to view his passing today.

Thanks!

When the boys and I headed home after getting haircuts last night I had this weird feeling that I’d forgotten something.  My mind raced and I realized that I’d forgotten my laptop.  Still driving, I quickly realized that I had it in my hands when I left.  A lightbulb went off and I quickly yet ever so delicately pulled onto the next side road.  Yup, my hunch was right…

By some crazy act of God and purely wild luck my laptop had managed to stay on the roof of my car for about a dozen blocks!  How ridiculous is that???  While it happened yesterday there were several times today (often while entering and exiting my car) that the memory popped into my brain and had me laughing at myself while being very grateful for my incredible fortune.  The even sillier thing is that this was the second time it’s happened, and the first time my iPad stayed on the roof for a couple of miles!  I am so thankful for that crazy string of luck!

This morning I received a very nice and motivating note from one of my closest college friends about my writing and gratitude.  My smile widened as I read his note and saw that he’s been keeping a dream journal for the past 6 weeks and counting – great job Brian!!!

Later in the day my inbox contained an email from my cousin who also commented on the impact my blog has made on her and how many people read it and are inspired by it.  Thanks Julie!!!

Both of those messages warmed my heart and they inspire me to keep doing this every day for the rest of my life.  There is only thing more motivating for me to keep this blog going every day than the joy it brings me…  bringing a little extra joy to the lives of others.  Thank you both so much for these notes, they fill me with happiness and strengthen my sense of purpose.

Thanks!!!