Still not sure how the heck we pulled it off, but Becky and I were able to watch our niece pitch in her HS softball game, watch our nephew take a couple of at bats and field a fly ball, and catch Dominic’s 4x400m relay. Everything just happened to work out that the two ball games were literally within 40 yards of each other. They were both done with plenty of time to head 30 minutes away to catch Dominic’s meet. Not too shabby!
So much fun watching them all do their things tonight, I’m grateful for the planets aligning so it could all work out.
Instead of our normal run I opted for waking up a little earlier than usual and went for a hike. The woods were dark when I entered but quickly started to lighten up. The weather was just about perfect and there was no one else on the trail when I started.
Just a little ways into the hike I encountered something I have never experienced. An owl started hooting loudly and almost immediately there was a response from another owl. The hooting then got more intense, more rapid, and higher pitched. There was just enough light that I could make out the shape of one owl flying towards another on a branch. Both owls spread their wings to increase the size and they were so close together I could not make out where one stopped and the other started. Within a second the one on the branch took off like a shot and the other took its place. The one that had flown was easily trackable against the dark blue pre-dawn sky and I watched as it settled into a new location. It was awesome!!! I could not believe the luck I had to see such an event.
I then walked up and down the valleys while listening to both the bird songs and their echoes. The sound bounced and resonated through the coulees and added a little extra beauty to the music. I was surprised to hear the changes in the types of birds as the minutes ticked by, it was almost like each species had their own alarms set.
Along the path I scared up a deer. He was well off the trail by the time I saw him. I slowed my pace and was rewarded with an encounter with two more deer, neither or which were startled. It seems as if they know there was no threat to them from me and we spent a few seconds just enjoying the sight of each other before I got back to my trail and they slowly walked and ate.
The woodpeckers all kicked in at about 5:35 and were going hardcore for a good 10-15 minutes. There were at least three different types based on what I saw and observed with their pecking patterns and sounds. A few times I just paused and watched them go to town on top of a dead tree, so entranced by watching them do what woodpeckers were made to do. I was lost in a state of awe watching their heads pile drive into the tree over and over again in rapid succession while also remembering that their tongues wrap around their brains to provide extra cushion. That’s legit, look it up 🙂
By the time I’d reached the top of the bluff and started heading down the sun was up and the woods were as light as ever. Thinking I had enjoyed pretty much all I would see I was left in quite the state of shock when I came across three different deer. They were also not at all spooked by me and took their time crossing the trail. We slowly watched each other as we went our separate ways, me descending, they heading up the bluff. In many ways it felt like going to church, seeing and acknowledging the people you know by sight and haven’t had a conversation with, but you’ve always both smiled at each other. We shared what seemed to be an acknowledgement of each others company, four beings enjoying the wonder of the woods.
My morning was so enriched by the time in the woods. The sights, the sounds, the smells, all of my senses except taste enjoyed the journey. Throughout the day there was a different level of calm I carried with me, a peace which can only be found by spending time in the woods.
I was so struck by it that I used my lunch time as an opportunity to hike a very short distance into the bluffs near my office, put up my hammock, relax and eat lunch, enjoy more of the woods, and then head back to the office in almost exactly 60 minutes. That extra dose of the outdoors time only enhanced my day further.
Late in the morning some friends were texting about current affairs and all I could do was laugh. I responded with a text sharing that I feel like I’m living in a different world and shared all I had seen in my morning hike. I can only imagine so many of the ills of our world would be slowly solved over generations if we all paused to get outside and experience a sense of awe in the outdoors. I know, I’m totally biased on this one, but there are so many wonderful benefits to being outside more often. This was proven to me multiple times today.
So many incredible experiences seemingly in my own backyard on an early morning hike. What a perfect way to start the day!
Hmm… Many different options and ideas for today’s blog. Not sure any of them are specifically ready to hatch, but who knows, this is sometimes where the fun happens!
First off, I’ve had many memories in mind of a past vacation out to the Pacific coast in Washington. The beach there was epic, one of my top 10 favorite beaches. The landscape was unlike anything I’d ever seen in real life (and then we saw something similar in Cathedral Cove, NZ). So beautiful, one of my happy places for sure.
Having the opportunity to spend time with a thought leader can be very enlightening on so many levels. Even if I’ve heard the story before I’m always appreciative of an opportunity to learn from Marlene Chism. She did an excellent job of sharing the concepts from her new book on a webinar for pretty sizable number of our clients today. One of the reasons I love Marlene so much is her openness and candor, there is so much to learn from her.
Digging deeper into strengths and how to best work with my teammates has been top of mind all year. As I review some interesting next steps I’m grateful for the opportunity I have to read, learn, and review past experiences to apply to the teammates of today. I’m blessed to be surrounded by some incredible people each day, I’m excited to see them continue their growth.
Throw in an awesomely peaceful morning run, the promise of a hike early tomorrow morning, a dinner outside, and an evening with moments shared with each of my family and it’s been a stellar day all around. So much to be thankful for!
Sometimes the easiest and most obvious appreciation is best 🙂
My drive into Eau Claire today was very gloomy, damp, & dreary. Not exactly the type of ride that gets me all amped up and ready to take on the day. Thank goodness for COFFEE!!! Sipping away from my Yeti mug while driving through the gray helped spark some life on the road this morning.
My drive home was pretty amazing – the sun was out! Even though I was just in Jamaica a short time ago it feels like I haven’t seen the sun since. Spending the entire drive home in the sun and with the moon roof open was awesome. Nothing like the sun and the feel of it on my face on the drive to wrap up a day of work.
Coffee and sunshine on the drive home… life is good!
I’ve often mentioned how interesting the timing of so many things in life are. It seems as if I almost can’t help but accidentally stumble into a right answer, sometimes even before I knew I was asking a question! Through a bit of research on a different topic I happened across a book and the code it contained with an online strength and leadership assessment. As I was digging into retention and engagement I found this little treat which really opened up a new path for me. Within a short period of time I was knees deep into a treasure trove of information which will help me out in multiple directions.
One of the reasons I have a passion for learning is the opportunity it may provide in the future. I never know when a nugget of knowledge from a past lesson may come back to help me out in a future moment. When it does I’m so pumped and grateful for it. Even if I don’t utilize a new lesson right away in the moment I know it is floating around somewhere in my gray matter ready to be grabbed when the timing is right.
Yesterday I missed Dominic’s band concert because I was in Madison for Gavin’s soccer game. Thanks to Becky I was still able to enjoy the concert on TV tonight. Dominic and I loaded it up on the living room TV and watched it together. It was pretty sweet having him right there to point out the things I should be watching for and listening to. Not only did I get to watch and hear the concert, but I also got the behind the scenes version which was awesome! I really appreciate Becky recording the concert for me to watch.
It feels more appropriate to hand write today’s blog first rather than type it. Going along with the peacefulness of the woods, the sound of pen on paper and the lack of a screen felt much better. My handwriting is still slow and sloppy, but it is much more in harmony with today’s blog.
Inspired by the book I read yesterday I loaded up an excellent next read from the same vein – Forest Bathing by Dr. Qing Li. This book gets into research conducted on why we see so many benefits from spending time outdoors. Dr Li cites several studies showing the medical, mental, and emotional benefits of being outside. One point in particular I found to be very interesting was showing how the emerald ash borer has played an unexpected role in the deaths of over 1,500 people in the US. Crazy!
As I read I see over and over again the reasons I enjoy spending time outside in the woods. Each sentence fuels my desire to get outside and spend ever more time away from screens and indoor lighting. I haven’t found a way to be outside more during the work day so I know it won’t be as long as I would like… yet. 😉
This morning Becky and I had the opportunity to run the majority of our twelve mile run through the marsh. We were surrounded by so many different types of birds, all of which were talking to us almost constantly. There were frogs chattering away in the background while rabbits and red squirrels ran on the trail ahead of us. The trees were starting to bud out and we saw a couple of flowers. All throughout the bluffs loomed in the background with mist slowly rising from them. So much green, so much nonhuman life, and almost no sounds other than those created by nature. Perfect!!!
Reading about being in the woods and then being in the outdoors… What a wonderful way to spend a Sunday!
With a schedule change due to weather the majority of the day was spent at home. Throw in a sore heel and I wasn’t up for too much moving around. This meant some couch time so I reached for an awesome book I’d recently ordered.
A couple of weeks ago Becky sent me a text about this book:
As soon as I read the details I knew she was right (as usual 😉). The book arrived while we were gone and I just got it on Thursday. With the bonus quiet time today I was able to read the entire book and it was more insightful than expected.
Long story short (because I need to get to sleep so I’m ready to run tomorrow) the entire book increased my passion for spending time outdoors and helped me better understand some of the reasons why. Throw in some wild facts and recent research and I was like a kid in a candy-shop.
Bring on the non-soccer weekends, I’m ready for some camping!
Life is a series of choices and trade offs quite frequently. The easiest route to take is the one of habit, the well worn path, the old reliable. Once in a while the right decision requires jumping out of the rut. There may not already be a path there and the travel will be more difficult, but it is the right decision.
This may sound a bit crazy, but writing this blog has, in some ways, become the rut I need to pop out of. This evening is a case in point. Gavin’s track meet went way longer than it should have (4 full hours), and though he did very well it threw off our plans of calling it a relatively early night. By the time we’d finished supper it was already a little after 9:15 and I was planning to go to bed to blog and go to bed. I had a long blog mentally written and it was going to take a while. Meanwhile, we’d just gotten to one of my all time favorite episodes of Seinfeld, both Dominic and Gavin wanted to watch one more episode, they were both in laughing and talkative moods, and it had been a week since we’d spent time together. Rather than write the long blog post I stayed up and had a very enjoyable 21 minutes of laughter with them. That previously mentally written blog will wait another day. I’m way too fielder now and need to crash.
I’m tired and I’ll likely wish I’d slept more when my alarm goes off early tomorrow morning. But I know I made the right call. The past we gave me an opportunity to get extra sleep – I chose early bed on vacation rather than late nights – and the will help me power through tomorrow.
Trade offs and decisions – I’m thankful for making the right one and for getting extra laughs with my boys.
How on Earth could two decades have flown by so quickly while also being so completely filled? When I think about the length of time twenty years covers it seems like almost an eternity. When I think about the life I’ve lived within that 20 years I can’t imagine how we could have packed so much in.
Today Becky and I celebrate our 20th wedding anniversary. Twenty years ago were married in an incredible late-April snowstorm which was so intense it took out the power to the town it was in later in the evening. The day before I was wearing shorts, the day of we had friends helping to shovel the sidewalk to the church.
Throughout the past twenty years we’ve shared so many moments and experiences. The highest of highs, the lowest of lows, and everything in between. We’ve had time to experience life as a married couple without kids, having two kids, and now seeing the end of the boys’ time at home dwindling more rapidly than expected. There’ve been so many wonderful successes, so many dreams accomplished, and yet more are added to list more quickly than they are crossed off. Together we’ve experienced profound loss, setbacks, health issues, career challenges, financial stress, and so many other difficult moments. In looking back those moments made us stronger and seem to fade a bit from memory while the former gave us the strength to push through the latter. All of the moments experienced together.
When looking back I know my life is infinitely more joyful thanks to sharing the journey with Becky. She’s propped me up and been my foundation when I am weak and in pain. She’s motivated me to live grander and grander dreams while supporting me as I reach for them. She’s given me the difficult feedback and advice I’ve needed when I haven’t lived into the person I know I should be – but always in a loving, respectful, and kind way. She’s the first to celebrate my successes and always is there to bring an extra smile to my day – sometimes through no action other than just her sheer presence in my life. She pushes me through example to be a better person, to live a better life. Becky brightens my life in so many awesome ways.
Twenty years of our journey in marriage lay behind, who knows how many lie ahead. I cannot imagine anyone I’d rather spend an eternity with than her. While I push myself to be appreciative of and blog about something unique each day, there has not been a day in the past twenty in which I wasn’t thankful for her.
Here’s to the past twenty, the next twenty, the twenty after that, and then maybe even another twenty… May our travels be many, may the journey include the difficulties we need to grow while full of living our dreams and enjoying each incredible moment we are gifted to share together.
Thankful for Forty 