Anytime I get too big for my britches..

I just have to come home.  Kids are incredible and I am so blessed to have two wonderful children.  They can light up the room, make you angry, make you laugh until it hurts, make you cry, and make you look inside yourself.  All of that can happen in just a couple of hours!

My daughter asked me this weekend about writing a book and she felt that she should write a book.  I took her up on her offer.  Throughout the weekend she was thinking of characters, stories, situations for the characters, and the general flow of the book.  It was truly an amazing process.  She is 9 years old and has an incredible imagination.  To see her eyes light up when she saw how it was all coming together is something I want to hold in my heart.

My son, who is 3, is fascinated with "Where The Wild Things Are."  I caught him looking at himself in the mirror and practicing his "monster" face.  He was practicing a scowl and getting his hands just right, and then would stomp in the room and announce that he was going to "Eat you up!"  We just laughed and laughed!

We also got a chance to step out for some beautiful weather and go to a park.  I forget how much fun it was as a kid to just be outside and run.  They ran themselves silly and you couldn't get the smile off of my face.

As I reflect on the time this weekend with my family, I look at my station in life.  The job is going well, new ideas and advancements for the company is growing.  The speaking career is really taking off and I am getting booked in Germany, Panama, Brazil, and all over the US.  I am in real negotiations with book #3 and have taken some major steps in advancing towards a life long dream.  Yet, the role that I think I will really be measured on is the role of a Father and Husband.  Was I the best that I could be for them?  Sometimes, I have to remember that the career is a means for them, not the end or the quest.

I took time this weekend to work on that life long dream.  Many are asking me what it is, yet, I do not want to jinx it or discuss it until it is a done deal.  That could be a couple of days, weeks, months, or even years before it happens.  As excited as I am about having a clear vision as to what my future holds, I am so glad that my kids reminded me this weekend of why I pursue this future.  Why I am pushing the career so hard right now.

We were playing a game and my daughter questioned if I really did know anything.  It made me laugh.  It is truly amazing how someone can look at you and hold you in  such high regard, love you as much as they do, yet can make sure that I keep things in perspective.  I hope you take time as you read this to reflect on what is important in your life.  What the quest is really for or why we do what we do.  Realize that "tomorrow" is sometimes too long to wait to make time for what is important.

There really is no day but today,

Rick