Waterparks offer a fertile ground for terrifying/teachable moments with young kids. Take today for example. My young family and I went to such a place, replete with giant slides, lazy rivers, splash ponds, and everything else in between. A paradise for children in the throes of endless summer. The crowds have gone back to school… Continue reading I Knew Something Was Wrong When the Lifeguard Went Running Up the Slide

I wish I could tell you a fateful taxi ride changed everything. But it didn’t. I was too far along an arrogant path of betting on myself. It was a bet I lost. You win some, you lose some; so it goes. The unfortunate part is I let that failure define me for the better… Continue reading After Stumbling Upon Essential Life Wisdom in the Back of a Taxi, Hubris Deals a Bitter Lesson in Humility

Today was that sad return trip home after a great vacation. It was the kind of trip you don’t want to end, but then can’t wait to return from. You can’t wait to return because you got what you needed. You feel reinvigorated. Ready to get after it with a fresh attitude and a renewed… Continue reading That Sad Return Trip Home and Turning Our Attention Back to the “Real” World

It didn’t hit me until I was standing in the ocean watching the sunset. After months on the grind, I didn’t even realize I needed some time away as much as I did until that moment. After a rough travel day yesterday, we had a full day of fun and family today. The dazzling colors… Continue reading Man Stands in Ocean, Realizes Some Shit, Resolves to Be Better

It’s been a hell of a long travel day with my young kids, but we arrived. After a near miss on our connecting flight in Charlotte, we thought we were home-free on our final descent into our beach vacation. Alas it was not to be. Pop-up storms in the area forced our pilot to abandon… Continue reading Our Plane Almost Ran Out of Fuel and It Kinda Restored My Faith in Humanity

In a sales job with quota, every month the scoreboard gets reset to zero. If you’re having a bad month, you can’t wait for the calendar to roll over and start fresh. If you had a great month, the glory is ever so fleeting before you have to do it all over again. In a… Continue reading The Paradox of Why Success Is Only Rented and Never Owned

In Spring of 2021, I got rejected for a promotion I thought I had a good chance at. I’d even gone all Jerry Maguire on preparation, writing a 20 page strategic plan and vision statement for my sales team. I’d gotten back in shape after almost surrendering my health forever and I was feeling pretty… Continue reading How Saying “Poopie Pants” to My Company’s Vice-President of Sales Changed Everything

Self-care is not a common buzz word among the “Dad” group. It doesn’t come up on the golf course or during the occasional manly steakhouse dinner with the brüs. But why not? Modern parents live in a world where the expectation is largely one of shared responsibilities when it comes to parenting, housework, and even… Continue reading Want to Meet Your Future Grandkids? Stop Avoiding this Word Immediately.

And on the final night of my wife’s latest international work trip, there was another crisis. After picking up the kids from school, we went to one of the local libraries to read, play, and run around away from the house since it’d just been cleaned that day. With mama on the way home from… Continue reading The Day My Son Straight-Up Told a Nice Librarian to Give Him His Raccoon Back

As I closed the book, I thought I was home-free. Picking up my nearly sleeping child to put into his crib, I allowed myself a moment of satisfaction. It was a tough day, but it was the kind of tough day that makes YOU tougher and ready to take the world. My wife has been… Continue reading Why Do Kids Always Know When to Deliver the Hubris? And Why is it Always When My Wife is Traveling?