The Human Experience

“Today is not a day for barbecues and parties,” our Congressman bellowed at the podium. “Today is about reflecting on and honoring the service of our Veterans.”

As I looked around the crowd, I figured my Grandpa Jerry (“Papa”) was there smiling down on all of us. He always had such a tough time seeing our country celebrate Memorial Day with a “day off” or getting great deals at mall department stores.

Papa and I occasionally attended Memorial Day services together. During the holiday, he was always pensive, thoughtful, and full of somber reflection. You can’t blame a guy for being serious; he was in the Army and endured some of the worst of World War II in the Battle of Guadalcanal in the Pacific. He earned a Silver Star and a Purple Heart, and it was rare that he’d share stories from his horrific battle days. When asking him a question, he’d usually respond with: “I just can’t talk about it.”

We kids always wanted to hear the story about why he walked with a limp. I do remember Papa recounting how he was wounded by shrapnel, then sent home on a hospital ship in a full body cast. He was told that if anything happened Read more »

We recently honored the 20th  anniversary of our little buddy’s transition to heaven. My godson, Tommy, was born with a rare disease of the immune system and died before he reached his 8th birthday.

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For seven years, there were four of us. And we were “the grandkids.”

Lucky me, I got to be the babysitter for Tommy and his sisters, Kristin and Maren. We’d play house, doctor, school, hide-and-seek, build forts, read books, walk to the local store, watch movies, and just hang out and laugh.

Tommy was a goofball. I remember one time playing school and Tommy was one of the students. As soon as Read more »

Have you ever been so overcome that you simply couldn’t speak? That just happened to me a couple weekends ago. Yep, me—the one who loves to talk, isn’t afraid of public speaking, and has a degree in Speech/Communications.

I had the pleasure of being a presenter at the Illumination Event here in Minneapolis. The event’s tagline: “It’s Time to Shine!” What a perfect place for me to share the Following Your Joy message and soak up all the inspiration of the day.

What happened to me there probably wasn’t a big deal to the participants in my session, but it was to me. A few minutes into my presentation, I became so short of breath that I could barely get my words out. I had never experienced this before and was completely stunned—I wasn’t nervous, I had done this before, and I was speaking on a topic I was passionate about.

Why this day was different

To-date, the majority of my presentations had been geared toward business groups and associations, focused on Time Management and Work-Life Balance. Some of what I talked about previously was based on the research of other experts, so it never felt too personal for me; I could easily keep my personal beliefs and ideas at an arm’s length from Read more »

Today is my birthday and the perfect day for me to honor, celebrate, and revere life. This past week has been one of the most intense weeks I have ever known, prompting me to reflect a great deal on life and the world around me.

All within a matter of hours, my grandpa had a significant heart attack; and my father-in-law went into emergency surgery as a follow-up to heart bypass surgery—landing him directly into the intensive care unit (ICU).

The next few days were incredibly intense and flanked with uncertainty—spending precious time at the two hospitals, talking through options with family members, jumping at each phone call, barely sleeping, dissolving into tears at the drop of a hat, and on and on.

Intense focus

I immediately cancelled all meetings and lunches on my calendar. While these were all scheduled with people I was excited to see, the need for focus was so strong that Read more »

One of my hallmarks of being on vacation is to be completely disconnected from TV, news, Internet, email, and phone. This time, though, the news was so big that it found me.

And I couldn’t ignore it like I usually do on vacation. I further broke tradition and was moved to go online now to donate money to the earthquake relief efforts for our brothers and sisters in Haiti. While I’m here, I also wanted to write about the extreme irony of where I sit as I send my money.

We’re sailing the Caribbean on a mega cruise ship where glitz and glamour abound. Most of us onboard weren’t even aware of the massive destruction unfolding in Haiti and continued partying on and enjoying gourmet cuisine, fancy martinis, and live jazz.

I was particularly struck by the moment I learned of the news later the following day. I had purchased a half-day pass to an elite section of the ship called The Sanctuary, an adults-only “pocket of tranquility” they call it. Here, you get your own reserved comfy chaise lounge, similar to a cloud on wheels. Cleverly named “Serenity Stewards” are on-call to Read more »