Sick Day, Writing my Life One Page at a Time

“When I face the desolate impossibility of writing five hundred pages, a sick sense of failure falls on me, and I know I can never do it. Then gradually, I write one page and then another. One day’s work is all I can permit myself to contemplate.”
— John Steinbeck

Good morning; my apologies for my lack of soup yesterday.  My Queen and I got our 2nd shot on Monday, and I woke up at 3:00 a.m. with body aches.  I spent yesterday on the couch, I did eke out 3 hours of work, but it was a sick day for me.  My Queen had no ill effects; she’s the stronger one in our union.  As of this moment, I feel about 95%; you don’t know how good it feels to feel good until you feel bad.

Our friend Paul came over last night; we chatted about a few things, his kids, our vision of our future.  His lady from Rhode Island is coming to town on Friday; we’ll dine with them and meet her for the first time.  He shared his hectic schedule with me; he is a big Avett Brothers fan and will be seeing them live many times this year; the 2020 absence almost killed him.

I’ve got a meeting this morning, and then I’m connecting with a stranger.  I do that a lot, talk to people I don’t know; it’s one of my passions.  I’ve got our all-staff meeting, then lunch with a client, then a couple of meetings to round out my day. I spent yesterday booking the rest of my time in Indiana and also some new appointments out west.  It seems people are ready to meet again; it will be interesting to see how society resets after a year of virtual working, living, and playing.

Our friends from Conifer called last night; their daughter got a six-figure job out of college, we are so excited for her, and it will give us a reason to visit Albuquerque. It’s fun watching kids succeed. My son and his wife have decided it is time to move; they are looking at Ashville and maybe Denver (fingers crossed); it would be cool to have two of our kids live close. I’m proud of him; he’s a great husband, father, and provider.  It will be fun watching them do life.  I spent some time passing along his resume to some thought leaders.  He’s a rock star in a job market that is replete with folks that don’t want to work.  He’s got my work ethic, he will be an excellent addition to any team.   If you are looking for a design engineer/entrepreneur-minded young man, send me a message, and I’ll connect you with my seed.

Our future son-in-law got his 11th RBI last night; he sacrificed himself for a run; he’s a lot like Jesus.  Our daughter is staying with him in South Carolina; she had a good week last week, our team is doing some good work out there.  Our youngest is doing well in Fort Wayne with her husband; she is starting her first job and will be madly successful.  Can you tell I’m proud of our kids? Our main job is complete time to watch them go and grow.

My wife is up; I made the coffee; that is my job.  She’s cleaning up the kitchen and will soon be by my side working.  We spend our mornings together working in our living room in Indiana and our kitchen in Colorado.  We have our routine; I’m sure you do as well; there is a rhythm to life.

We are working on a plan for our future, where we are going, what do the next five years look like for us.  If you don’t plan, you have no way of knowing where you are going.  We know where we want to go; now it’s time to figure out how to arrive at that beautiful life that will allow us to give back to others. What is your five-year plan, where will you live, what will you do, how will you spend your time? 

I was given a list of questions for my Friday meeting, and I would prefer to be asked a question and then answer with my first thought, best thought.  Some people like to think about questions and prepare for meetings, but my personality type is to hear a query and then give my opinions.  

If I may ask you some questions, I’d like you to begin thinking about some things to start this fantastic day.  What is something you would call a win that has occurred in the last week?  It can be a small win, a big win, or something that gave you juice?  What has provided joy in your life, what noun can you point to that has given you a whole heart?  What area can you improve, what area of your life is suffering, and what can you do to make a small change that will help you?

My friend Doug has broken life down into four areas.  Body, Business, Balance, and Being.  Think about those four areas as you answer the question above.  I know to be true that we rarely can keep all equal; when we focus on two or three, one of our “B’s” suffers.  It’s essential to have all four hitting on all cylinders, but that is almost impossible.  What “B” needs your attention?

There you have it, another soup from a man living in the valley but will soon return to a mountain top chalet.  I’m a proud man with three successful children, a beautiful wife, and a beautiful life.  I live each day with a mission to improve myself, and I don’t always hit the mark, somedays are better than others, yesterday was not a great day, but today I will rebound and use my time to impact our world.  I’m doing what I can to make our world a better place, and I ask you to join me in this endeavor.  Be kind, be good, and I’ll see you tomorrow.

“When I face the desolate impossibility of writing five hundred pages, a sick sense of failure falls on me, and I know I can never do it. Then gradually, I write one page and then another. One day’s work is all I can permit myself to contemplate.”
— John Steinbeck