I once had a boss who loved to use the phrase “Hope is not a strategy” to shut down coworkers during status meetings. If a team member used the word “hope,” as in “we hope this new campaign will…” or “we hope the new pricing will…,” he would interrupt with, “Hope is not a strategy.” While I never contradicted him[…]
On a Six Months Report…
It is April 14, 2025. In addition to being my baby brother’s 58th birthday, it is the six month anniversary of my Mitral Clip procedure. I get to celebrate by taking one less pill after today. This morning I took the final pill in my bottle of blood thinners. To commemorate the day, I got a nasty paper cut getting[…]
On What ALSO Is…
The Cozumel sky is this blue; the Cozumel water ALSO is this blue.
On What IS…
Serenity comes when you trade expectations for acceptance. – Buddha When I get up in the morning, Charles is already awake and he always has coffee ready. I’ve learned to expect that, and I am grateful for it. But, if one day the coffee is not ready when I get up, do I have the right to be angry or[…]
On What Others Think; Like Father – Like Daughter…
My Daddy and I liked to ride horses. He taught me to ride. But that is not things we shared in common. On the night the above photo was taken, I had been indulging in another of our commonalities. After which I thought going barefoot after midnight through an artistic display of the Oklahoma land rush and hop on one[…]
On Farewell to 2024 and the Usta Coulds…
As I say goodbye to 2024, I want to express my gratitude, and apologize for my impatience and grumbling. I entered 2024 disgruntled because 2023 didn’t turn out the way I wanted to. My heart surgeon did not finish the job I hired him to do (replace two valves) in September and I was… shall we say… slightly, uhm… PISSED[…]
On My Heart (A Series)… Just a Month.
Today, November 14, marked one month since my MitraclipTM procedure. I was quite shocked when I realized it. To tell the truth, I thought it had been much longer. It seemed like at least three months that I’ve been recovering and trying to manage things, riding the sadness train. I had expected to be up where I started activity wise[…]
On The Porch (To Sit or Not to Sit)…
I didn’t insist on the porch to improve the curbside appeal (we have no curbside), I had envisioned a place to relax and observe God’s beautiful work.
On Unicorns and Rainbows…
“It’s not all unicorns and rainbows,” someone says to point out that whatever they are going through isn’t all fun and games and they shouldn’t expect it to be. Whatever it is might be college, a job, or raising kids or just a random Tuesday afternoon. The point being, we have to live in reality and not be all “woo[…]
On My Heart (A Series) … Here We Go Again
A year ago next Tuesday is the anniversary of my open heart surgery to replace my leaking aortic and mitral valves. As it turned out, the surgeon made a (poor) judgment call and decided the mitral was not bad enough to replace. I say this again, not because you may have forgotten that I mentioned it several dozen times in[…]