Tag: life

Thankful for Perspectives of Time, Combining Friends and Family, & a Day of Moments

Day 4,024

Growth:


“There are so many kinds of time. The time by which we measure our lives. Months and years. Or the big time, the time that raises mountains and makes stars. Or all the things that happen between one heartbeat and the next. It’s hard to live in all those kinds of time. Easy to forget that you live in all of them.”

Robert Chales Wilson, Spin

Throughout the “sweatshirt book” I talked about yesterday (Spin by Robert Charles Wilson) there are several themes interplaying all at once. Connections to people. The way we view life and meaning. The shifting of perspectives. One of my favorites is the the various sizes and weights of time in our lives.

The quote above really encapsulates the concept throughout the book so well. Wilson does a masterful job of shifting between each of those types of time in the story, helping us feel the conflict as we shift uncomfortably from one angle to the other.

What sat with me today was how often I can catch myself in one mode and completely miss another, forgetting that the others exist while I’m hyper focused in viewing time from one perspective. I’d love to find a way to help keep this quote in front of me with regularity help me remember to choose the appropriate frame of reference.

Appreciation:

Very grateful for the opportunity to spend time with my some of my best friends AND Dominic all at the same time today! It was a busy time, loading and unloading the UHaul for a couple of moves in the same day, but so much fun and laughter throughout. So often I’m used to spending time with either my friends OR my family, this was fantastic to blend the two together and enjoy the time. The jokes were all combined, there were a few times when someone was about to hold back and I assured them it was totally okay to let ‘er rip and we all ended up having a blast! I’m sure I’ll be a bit sore from the moving and lifting and whatnot, but that is such a small price to pay for the opportunity to create new memories while also sharing old ones together.

Presence:

Quiet time on a long early morning drive. Fun conversation with Dominic as I pick him up to help friends move. Spending time combining the laughs and jokes shared with my lifelong friends with the laughs and jokes shared with Dominic. Taking a quiet moment to create space to share a moment of emotion with a friend going through difficulty. Enjoying the excitement of friends as they move into new homes. Hearing about Gavin’s first rugby matches and all the fun he had via text messages (can’t wait to hear more about it tomorrow on our family FaceTime). Dinner with Becky on the deck with a relaxing walk afterwards. Taking time to jot down notes from books I’ve recently read. All these moments, so much joy!

Thanks!!!

Thankful for Positivity, My Forties, & Ouimet Canyon

Day 4,018

Growth:

I’m so many ways this quote from Speaker for the Dead hits home today:

“No human being, when you understand his desires, is worthless. No one’s life is nothing. Even the most evil of men and women, if you understand their hearts, had some generous act that redeems them, at least a little, from their sins.”  Orson Scott Card, Speaker for the Dead

Today I was reminded of how easy it is to look at the life of another in a binary fashion – they were good or they were bad – when we know our own lives are across the spectrum of those two ends of the spectrum.

Throughout my life I’ve made mistakes, but I’d like to think I’ve made a more positive impact.  That said, if someone was to focus only on my biggest mistakes they would likely be accurate in saying I am a terrible person – and I would not be able to disagree if that was the only point to argue.  I would find it very unfair and would be so frustrated – “but what about all the good I did???” – why don’t you focus on that???

And then I realize that is what I do when I judge others.  I focus on only one or two key things.  Who am I to judge when I have not been in their shoes?  When I have not been their ugh their life?  When I don’t know the positives they have done?  How dare I judge?  What if my judging of them was the only thing someone judged me by?

Mike – remember to pause, remember there is always so much more to another person.  Do not judge – listen, love, help, support.  How much better will my fifties be if I lived this lesson?

Appreciation:

The last day of my forties being spent doing another ridiculous hike with Becky, a return to Nanabosho atop the chest of Sleeping Giant.  While it may have been a little longer than expected it was about as perfect of a way as possible to wave goodbye to my forties as I move on to the next stage.  We were outside for hours and hours, spent time talking and enjoying each other’s company while knocking out the miles.  So many stories remembered, some new ideas and adventures planned.  

Crazy to think of all that has happened in the past decade, so many positives, a many challenges, a lot of learning, and so much time shared with loved ones.  This decade of life has been one of the best, even the most difficult times led to more love, intentionality, and joy.  The memories made in this ten year span alone were a lifetime’s worth, so grateful for each of them.

The memories made who kicked off the big Four Oh had no idea how much there was to learn in life, how deep love could be, how full one’s heart could be.  I can only imagine and look forward to the big Five Oh and all I’ll continue to learn and grow through.

To my forties, thank you for working through the discomfort, for finding the power of gratitude, for intentionally living into what was most important.  Thank you for all of your beautiful stumbles and mistakes, your painful life lessons, and all the other events that helped shape me into who I am today.  May my next decade do you honor by continuing that journey, by continued learning, and by better closing the gap between who I am – who you grew me into – and who I should be.

Presence:

Standing atop a 300+ foot vertical drop down a rock cliff, looking over 400 feet across at an equally sizable drop.  The Ouimet Canyon did not disappoint, the sight of it shut off all in my brain except the focus on its beauty.  The views towards the end of the valley, the views of the cliff walls, the rock formations defying gravity and standing vigil over the canyon floor.  Everything in that view grabbed my attention and left me completely captivated!

Thanks!!!

Thankful for Changed by Mistakes, the People Who Make Home Home, & the Highway

Day 4,015

Growth:

Well, I’m thinking this might be a little more common over the next few days as I read more and more of The Speaker for the Dead. There is no question that it is one of my all time favorites as I discussed yesterday. So many nuggets of wisdom, so many themes that wind slowly throughout.

This was one of the quotes that really stuck out to me today, a quote about giving oneself grace. This theme is interwoven throughout the entire novel in so many ways with so many characters. We’ve all made mistakes, have regrets for actions we’ve taken and actions we didn’t take when we should have.

This quote reminds me that the me who made those mistakes is not the me who is realizing that the mistakes were made, to remember to focus on the me who is here now, who is different, who is changed, as a result.


A strange thing happened then. The Speaker agreed with her that she had made a mistake that night, and she knew when he said the words that it was true, that his judgment was correct. And yet she felt strangely healed, as if simply speaking her mistake were enough to purge some of the pain of it. For the first time, then, she caught a glimpse of what the power of speaking might be. It wasn’t a matter of confession, penance, and absolution, like the priests offered. It was something else entirely. Telling the story of who she was, and then realizing that she was no longer the same person. That she had made a mistake, and the mistake had changed her, and now she would not make the mistake again because she had become someone else, someone less afraid, someone more compassionate.


If I’m not that frightened girl who heard her brother in desperate pain and dared not go to him, who am I? But the water flowing through the grillwork under the fence held no answers. Maybe she couldn’t know who she was today. Maybe it was enough to know that she was no longer who she was before.

Orson Scott Card, The Speaker for the Dead

Appreciation:

A full and productive day at work hot off the heels of a nonstop day of adulting had me worn out for sure. All good, a productive worn out, but worn down nonetheless.

Getting home to Becky back was awesome! We’re both pretty tired, but it just feels more like home when she’s here, no question.

At 6:15 the two of us hopped onto one of our twice a week family FaceTime sessions with the boys, the four of us all getting together even though we’re separated by about 16 hours of drive time. Those moments shared catching up with each other were amazing, though we’re far apart we’re able to stay connected. Many jokes, laughs, updates, and so on – so much love on the call.

Today I’m thankful for all of the people who help home feel like home, for the time shared with family to help re-energize and remind me of why I do all that I do.

Presence:

My morning drive was again the source of my presence inspiration today. The weather was just too perfect of a “driving in the morning while the sun is coming up and keep the music blasting while drinking my coffee” kind of weather!

With the windows down the cool air blew through the car, the fog intermittently hid and exposed the sun, providing a very intriguing combo of sunlight and dreary all at once.

I sang aloud to a little Audioslave (I am the Highway) and several different Rural Alberta Advantage bangers while occasionally pausing to drink coffee in the guitar solos.

All in the world was at peace, no stress, no worries, no looking ahead, no looking back, only the moment I was in as the highway laid out before me.

Thanks!!!

Thankful for Asking for Help, Vacation Planning, & Hypothetical Puppy Snuggles

Day 4,006

Growth:

Sometimes our ego gets in the way of asking for the help we need. Sometimes our ego gets in the way of having an uncomfortable or difficult conversation. Sometimes we are too nervous about hurting someone’s feelings and decide to avoid something tough. Sometimes we take too much on and find ourselves buried, but too afraid to figure out how to lighten the load.

We always want to help other people out. When someone is hurting we always want to find a way to help them. In the moments in which we’re able to help, able to be useful, we feel joy for being there for the person.

Why do we struggle when we are the ones who need help when we are so giving of help when others need it? We even know others will be filled with a sense of purpose, possibly joy, for the opportunity to help.

Does it make us selfish to hold onto our own hurt and not allow them to feel the joy of helping?

Today I was reminded to ask for help, to get others involved, to help others when they are struggling – even if it means pushing through an uncomfortable conversation. Regardless of whether we need help or are there and able to help – remember that we are together in this and no one makes it out alone. We are one.

Appreciation:

Planning a vacation can be frustrating, no question, especially when wrestling with small little airports in tiny towns. I experienced much of that this evening as Becky and I were just about done wrapping up the skeleton of one of our next adventures. That said, as soon as we got the logistical stuff largely out of the way it became a total rush!

The trip itself will be amazing, no question, but I’m also very grateful for all of the planning that goes into the trip in the first place. I’m not a fan of the details, but I am a huge fan of the anticipation of the adventure! We started really getting the details put together and were starting to see what we are going to do – we were able to start dreaming more clearly of the specifics we will be enjoying and that was pretty awesome.

My favorite part of the entire night was when Becky looked over at me with a wild smile full of awe and excitement and exclaimed, “so we’re doing it???” Her excitement was off the charts and somehow raised mine an entire new level!

Yes, logistics and can be a little rough, but the dreaming ahead for the adventure is priceless and well worth the price of admission, long before the trip even begins!

Presence:

Okay, you make a promise before you read this one. Whatever I write next you are NOT to share with my wife, Becky. She would definitely give me a hard time for this one. 😉

Sooo… let’s just say, hypothetically, that I got home from work first and was treated to nonstop snuggles from our dog, Leia, as soon as I walked in. If that were to happen I’m sure I would’ve enjoyed the quiet rubbing of her belly while she pants and smiles at me and puts her paws on my arm. If that happened I guess I might find some stillness and calm as I just sat there, snuggled, and pet her. I’d bet it would have been very relaxing, and likely would have been a wonderful way to transition from work to home for the day. Maybe even for ten minutes or so. Maybe. 😉

Thanks!!!

Thankful for Writing Down Dreams, a Reminder of Love and Forgiveness, and a Morning of Music by The Rural Alberta Advantage

Day 4,004

Growth:

On our hike this morning Becky and I were talking about the power of writing down dreams and goals. We both recognized multiple times in which we had written a dream down, let it slip from our conscious memory, and were then surprised when we happened back up on the list long after and realized we’d already knocked out some of the dreams we’d written and forgotten.

When our mind puts pen to paper there is a re-wiring of our brain, somewhere deep down we remember and unconsciously find a way to help to transmute the dream to reality.

Write my dreams down more often, it doesn’t cost anything, write them down and see what happens.

Appreciation:

Our priest dove deeply into the concept of forgiveness today and it was a clear and direct reminder of one of the biggest things I need to work on in myself. As he shared multiple stories and ideas I kept coming back to one specific phrase that will likely become a part of my 2027 Top 3 Lessons to Remember:

Choose love and forgiveness over fear and anger.

So easy to get angry and frustrated. So easy to have fear and close one’s mind.

Pause, breathe, and remember to love, remember to forgive. Our life is not fully our own, it is to be shared. Share it openly with others, remember to love ALL people, not just those I know, am related to, am friends with, care about, and agree with. Love all, we are all a part of one shared humanity. Love will conquer fear, forgiveness quenches anger.

Thank you Father Conrad for another moving sermon that will have a lasting positive impact on my life.

Presence:

After our morning hike I got into one of my music driven moods, my soul was craving a dose of something specific – The Rural Alberta Advantage, specifically their song Late September Snow. A song about transition, time slipping by without being noticed, the shocking realization that time has moved by as I was oblivious.

I know this change it
brings a heavy heart,
Breaks us all apart.
So, I don’t know where the days they go,
I’m always shocked by late September snow.
I don’t know how the years erode.

Rural Alberta Advantage – Late September Snow

With so many changes in life this seems so appropriate. Turning fifty, becoming an empty nester, the sensation of turning a huge new chapter, they all have created a vortex of “Last Ofs” and “First Ofs,” the combination of which has my brain simultaneously crying in sadness and joy and grief and excitement and wonder. That combo has really helped me see the passing of time so clearly, almost a day by day ticking of the clock which wasn’t there several months ago.

As that song wrapped up I slid back to 3 Sisters, another of their songs focused on the impermanence of our lives, the way we grow so quickly in life, especially when compared to being viewed through the “Eyes of 3 Sisters” – three majestic and iconic peaks outside of Canmore, AB. To us our lives fly by at a breakneck pace, yet they are our entire existence. When viewed through the eyes of 3 Sisters we’re but a blink, a blip.

The music of The Rural Alberta Advantage, such a wonderful way to get my soul and brain rolling this morning after our hike!

Thanks!!!

Thankful for Saying the Difficult, Blogging on the Deck, & The Nights by Avicii

Day 4,002

Growth:

It is so easy to give the easy answer, the one that someone wants to hear. To say yes rather than no, to say the something that is so easy to express rather than that which puts a lump in our throat.

Life is so much better, more vivid, and more real when we face the difficult, when we share the tough news. It’s not comfortable, not by a long shot, but the difficult thing helps move things forward.

I was reminded today of the importance of sharing the difficult rather than glossing over it with the easy. We all grow when we face difficulty and hardship, that is where we are forged. We may not enjoy it in the moment, but those are the moments that really create us. Speaking truth, no matter how difficult, helps us all grow.

Appreciation:

What a perfect weather evening!!! We ate supper outside on the deck. We went for a walk. Now I’m blogging on the deck while enjoying the outdoor air, the smell of a neighbor’s fire wafting over, the sounds of crickets chirping and clicking. The sensation of a light breeze blowing across my face. Balancing the temperature with shorts and a sweatshirt, occasionally looking up to the stars.

Fresh air, the outdoors, this is my happy place! There may be sounds of traffic, people, an AC unit running, and a train in the distance, but it doesn’t matter, I am outdoors. So grateful for the space and time and weather to be able to sit out on my deck and relax as I type my blog. Once this is done my feet will go up and I’ll be lost in a book until I finally decide to crash and go to bed. What a way to wrap up the week!

Presence:

Not gonna lie, I had a moment while I was driving to work this morning. I played the song “The Nights” by Avicii and got a little choked up.

Thinking about the lyrics and their meaning.

Thinking about my sons and how this is our song.

Thinking about time with Dad.

Thinking of all the adventures my boys and I have gone on together.

One song, so many emotions tied back to it, all released in a torrent as the music played. A moment of sublime joy.

Thanks!!!

Thankful for Shared Wisdom, Family FaceTime, & Getting My Ass in Gear

Day 4,001

Growth:

For several reasons over the past few months I’ve run into an interesting phenomena… I catch myself attempting to coach someone who is doing something I’ve attempted to do when I waas much younger. This includes personal stories with family as well as on the professional side of life. In each case I’m usually a thought or two deep when a feeling of deja vu hits. My brain pauses for a moment, and then I’m suddenly back in the past about to do the same thing I was about to coach the other person on. In many of the situations I catch myself about to give the same coaching I received.

What I’m grateful for in growth is two things. First, the understanding that we all go through so many of the same challenges, it makes it so much easier to understand and love each other as humans. Second, it reminds me to pause and ask for advice – especially now – and remember that others have been in similar spots and are likely able to pass on useful wisdom they learned through their own experience.

Remember to provide grace and coaching for those who are doing the same as you did at their age. Remember to listen for and heed the wisdom of those who’ve already done the same thing you are about to do.

Appreciation:

This evening we had one of our twice a week family FaceTime calls. Part of what has made the transition of Gavin heading off to Baltimore for school has been the ongoing contact that we still have.

Becky really blazed a great trail for all of us, to this day she still calls her parents every Sunday night like clockwork. Dominic attempted to one up her and from his freshman year got into the routine of FaceTiming us twice a week on Wednesday (now Thursday) and Sunday evenings. Gavin’s jumped right into the same practice since his first week of class.

What’s been bonus fun is that it is now all four of us hopping on together to shoot the bull and joke around for a while. Tonight we were on our call and I caught both of the boys in the same type of pose and couldn’t help but chuckle as I got a screenshot of them both with their hands behind their heads.

I definitely miss having them at home, being able to eat dinners together, and have family game nights whenever. That said, knowing that we still have a couple of nights each week in which we get to hang out as a family is a pretty sweet alternative, one I am very grateful for!

Screenshot

Presence:

Our morning run didn’t feel good, but it was outstanding! Between travel, the heat, prepping for the long hike from last weekend, and recovering from last weekend’s hike today was the first morning in about three weeks that I went our for a run. Crazy, it’s just kind of a core of who I am and what I do, but I just hadn’t done it for a while. Talk about discomfort – getting everything back up and moving was a little rough. My time was terrible. I made the mistake of getting new running shoes which I received the evening AFTER my previous run. My hips, which I’ve never paid any attention to, were feeling tight and stressed. Honestly, the run wasn’t good at all, kind of crappy actually… Which made it feel all the more amazing.

I’d forgotten how good a bad run can feel when viewed through the appropriate context. No one forced me to run. No one was making me go a certain distance (though Becky would have wondered if I was okay). It was 100% me pushing myself through something very uncomfortable simply because I could. And I did.

By the end I wasn’t feeling the discomfort, frustration, heavy breathing, disappointment, or anything like that. I was feeling joy. I pushed through the discomfort and got my ass in gear. And that felt great!

Thanks!!!

Thankful for 4,000 Days of Gratitude

Day 4,000

Growth:

Quick spoiler alert, it is only fitting to share that I often don’t write these sections in order. I often have one or two categories that come flying off my fingertips while one sometimes gets caught in the weeds a bit. Tonight is one of those nights, and part of this section is a direct result of the Appreciation section below.

As I pause and consider all that has happened and all that I’ve learned over the past four thousand days of blogging my mind bends as the sheer volume of what I’ve written in those past four thousand blog posts starts to sink in.

There are a couple of large themes and lessons that have continued to grow and expose themselves over this expanse of time.

  • Pause first, then choose. The simple act of pausing to think has come through over and over in these 4,000 posts. It’s often as clear as being grateful for pausing, other times it is almost hidden in the landscape as it is the pausing to write this blog that created the space for my thoughts to form before I took action and started writing.
  • Discomfort is the address of growth, and the boundary keeps moving. In reviewing the past posts I’m intrigued by how often they involve the way discomfort leads to growth. As the blogs keep going it seems that I’m more and more actively pushing myself into more and more intense discomfort specifically to grow.
  • Trials of miles, and miles of trials. The act of doing the exact same thing day after day after day can either be drudgery or bliss – how do I choose to see the discomfort? Novelty is fun and easy, the trials of miles, of putting in the reps is difficult, but so rewarding!
  • My attention has a location, and it is outdoors. I’ve always enjoyed the outdoors, but somehow this blog seems to have helped me see just how much of a core part of me it is, and it has helped me re-focus my life in a way that I’m able to enjoy it more often and share it more with those I love.
  • This practice has not created more time or life, but it has helped me get so much more out of the time and life I have had. There is no way to get more time than we are each allotted, but we can certainly control how much we actually live the time we have. By pausing to write I’ve been able to see and enjoy so much more of my life, to help me live more intentionally into the life I want to live.

These lessons and so many more… the past 4,000 days have taught me so much about life, I’m grateful for each of those lessons!

Appreciation:

Today I pass an interesting trail marker. This is the 4,000th time I’ve blogged in the past 4,000 days. Almost once per day with the exception of one around the 2,750 mark that I immediately wrote the next morning to get myself back on track.

This daily practice has cost me virtually nothing but about 15-45 minutes per day. The return on the investment has been priceless. In no other practice have I learned so much about myself. The simple act of pausing to breathe and think has helped me coordinate the dreams of who I want to be with the actions leading to that person – even though they are seemingly impossible to completely live into and I’ve yet to have a single day in which I’ve lived the entire day in the way I would like to live it. In taking this time to pause I’ve been able to help close the gap just a bit, significantly more than I ever had in that period of time in my life before.

My heart is full of so much love and gratitude for so many in my life, it’s a reminder to appreciate those around me, those who impact me. It reminds me that none of us make it through life alone, that life is so much better when shared.

This practice throughout the past 4,000 days has brought so much joy to my heart, not necessarily creating it on its own, rather helping me see all the joy provided by life that I so easily could have looked right past had I not paused. That might be one of the things that has surprised me about this practice – it hasn’t given me more time or life, but it’s helped me more completely enjoy and appreciate the time and life I have.

To 4,000 days – a true trial of miles and miles of trials!

Presence:

The moments in which I gently press the pause button on the rest of the world to dive inward and reflect upon the day is amongst my favorite moments of the day. It is my moment to breathe, to think, to be honest with myself and my situation.

The thinking about gratitudes from the day usually brings a smile to my face, sometimes a frown, and sometimes a blank stare… but each brings me joy.

It is that moment on a great day when I have the opportunity to bask in its successes. It is that moment on a trying day in which I realize I need to shift my mindset and find the positive spin while embracing the suck. It is the moment on a nonstop day full of action in which I pause to re-focus and get my mind straight.

Each moment when I am done and press the Publish button I am smiling – for the events of the day, for what I have learned, what I have worked through, for the moment of calm, for the reminder of gratitude creating joy (remembering that comfort and joy can be two wildly different things).

Thanks!!!

Thankful for Living Intentionally, the Unexpected Upside of a Goal, & a Soul at Peace

Day 3,995

Growth:

Time to start winding down for the night, big day of adventure and challenge ahead tomorrow.  What’s funny is that the goal tomorrow isn’t technically on my dream list, but the concept of it is very much in line with the type of person who would live my dream list.  

This is a well timed reminder for me that while the dream list itself is in many ways the gateway to living more intentionally, living the life it is meant to lead toward is so much more important than living the specific dream itself.  In many ways I’m reminded of the metaphor used by de Mello of the vehicle that takes you to the house is needed, but you don’t use it to enter the house itself. 

In which other times have I focused too tightly on the specific dream rather than the life the dream was meant to support?  How can I keep that dichotomy of needing a clear dream to use to get me moving, yet keeping the flexibility and awareness to shift as needed?

As I prepare to start working on my 2027 revision of my dream list this reminder couldn’t have been more well timed!

Appreciation:

In a similar vein to the section above, I’m grateful for the goal which led me to today’s day with Dominic.  With a goal of being fully present with Gavin during his last year at home I was reminded of both the importance of presence and the impermanence of all stages of life.  The time we have with loved ones is so limited and can slip by so quickly, I must remember to be intentional with my moments.

As a result of that lesson I remembered to be very intentional and parlayed that into an adventure to Canada with Dominic for a ridiculous hiking adventure.  There’s maybe a 50% chance of success in our goal for tomorrow (the 20+ mile, 4,500+’ hike of Sleeping Giant in Ontario in one go), but there’s a 100% chance of creating memories.  We’ve already had so much fun on the drive up, almost no screen time for either of us on the entire drive except for confirmation of hiking details.

The goal was presence with Gavin, but there’s true intent was to be intentionally present and to create more moments with loved ones.  Today that had nothing to do with Gavin and had everything to do with Dominic.  Again, I’m grateful for not focusing on checking a box, rather, living the life the box was meant to support.

Presence:

I absolutely LOVE the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, and the North Shore of Wisconsin and Minnesota.  The entire US shore of Lake Superior is spectacular.  That said, I was in for quite the shock this evening as we drove across the border into Canada.  Literally only miles before the border the entire topography somehow shifted into an even more majestic topography.  This entire area with its severe cliffs, verdant forests, lowland swamps and lakes, and continually undulating landscape are beyond anything I could have imagined around Lake Superior.  Dominic and I spent the last two hours of our drive in awe as we soaked up all the sights.

There is something about this area that feels so right, so much like home, like a bit of my soul has always been here, like it is returning to the place of its birth.  I know no other way to put it, my core of me is more in tune here, more grounded, than virtually anywhere else. 

For clarity, it’s not a desire to live here (visiting is definitely the right way for me), not a place I need to come to all the time (but I’ll likely be here a little more often), but something similar to and yet more intense than what I’ve always felt up in the UP.  A peace, a calm, at a visceral level.  A feeling of home, of rightness, like I’ve crossed a boundary into something that exists just outside of the plane of life.  Not the sense of awe and wonder of travel to places like Sequoia NP or Patagonia or Iceland, there is awe for sure, but more feeling like a deep exhale when walking into my home after being away for two weeks.

Thanks!!!

Thankful for Planning Ahead, a Top Ten Hike, and Shared Adventures

Day 3,996

Growth: 

I can’t express enough how grateful I am for remembering that the point is not to check a box, that the point is to live the life the box was meant to check.  I’ve had the opportunity to create a core memory with Dominic, one we’ll hold forever.  While it wasn’t specifically a goal this year it is directly as a result of a lesson I wanted to remember in 2026, a different goal I set in 2026, and a supporting goal I set for myself in 2026.  It is also in part thanks to honoring the season of life I am in, of living intentionally, and also thanks to remembering that living into our purpose creates so many opportunities for joy in our lives.

Thank you to the Mike of the end of 2025 for taking the time to pause, create a plan based on how I wanted to live my 2026, and putting all of the work into action for this all to have come together!

Appreciation:

Today was easily one of the top ten day hikes I’ve ever done in my life.  The scenery was spectacular and stunning to say the least, ever changing and full of wonderful surprises if I want to go deeper.  

Honestly, while all of that blew my mind, what I am most thankful for today was not the hike, the park, the views, the accomplishment or anything else.  I’m most grateful for a day share completely with Dominic, one we will both remember for the rest of our lives.

We will forever remember the sights we saw together.  The ridiculous hike we accomplished together.  The conversations and the jokes we shared together.  The memories we shared while having walking tacos for supper and a couple of cold beers after.  We will remember the laughs, the talks, the experiences, the dreams, and the stories.  We will remember the time together – I’m beyond grateful for creating this opportunity for us to share this day together!

Presence:

I can’t even…. Every peak was a practice in presence.  Each overlook was a practice in presence.  Each lake and beaver dam and boulder field was a practice in presence.  Most importantly, the conversations with Dominic throughout and after were practices in presence.  The total amount of intentional presence was through the roof!

Thanks!!!