give it away

February 14, 2016

Getting out the door

I am currently on a connecting flight from Dallas to the East coast.  It has been a long weekend. We went to a wedding last night. We traveled the day before and we have a fifteen month old daughter.

I love life with a family and a little one, but getting out the door is hard. Everything takes longer and there is more consideration with every decision. Spontaneity now entails an extra diaper, wipes, snacks and something to keep the little one occupied in all situations.

Like this morning she jumped in her stroller and said “GO, GO!!”  I jumped on the idea of an impromptu GO. We were staying with some close friends who live within walking distance of some shops and good coffee.  I thought it was a great idea to go for a walk with the little one.  Simply to enjoy time together, but also to give mommy some time without both of us in her hair. I was about out the door when she pointed out the white shirt I had on was covered with peanut butter and other baby breakfast bits from my attempt at an early morning breakfast feeding before any coffee. So I through on some other shirt, then realized it was the exact same color of my sweats, so I changed those too. She then reminded me to bring a diaper, wipes and of course a toy or two and her sippy cup.

In the midst of all of these “precautions” we almost lost the momentum to just GO… but we did’t.

Nuelle loves outside. She is at an age were she is discovering so much all at once, along that journey she is discovering what she likes or wants and the magic word NO. It is a very interesting phase. She still cannot do everything on her own, but that does not stop her from trying.

Having an almost toddler is a constant cycle of joy, crying, eating, playing, eating, pooping, joy, crying, learning and love. It is never ending and constantly stretching. Your life is not your own. I guess it never was in the first place.

LIFE IS A GIFT

We were given life…. and maybe the purpose of that gift is to keep giving it away.

The only true way toward fulfillment is to give yourself away. Discover your gift and give it away. Discover your strength, your gifts, your skills and share them with the world.

In the context of parenthood, for me, it is giving my daughter the spontaneous walk. Letting her run around and being there with her. Giving her my time, my focus, my energy, my love, my gifts and strengths.

Give yourself away. It is tiring, hard and the most fulfilling thing you can do with the gift of life you were given.

*Please note – my wife is the one that holds us together – with her knowledge of food, health, etc. She researches everything – I am glad she can be the detailed one in our family and I can be the visionary dreamer — she’s a legend!! She dreams too, but I am the one with my head in the clouds most of the time….and she pours herself out each day. She loves Nuelle and I well. I’m glad she’s my forever valentine – she truly is the love of my life.

**Please note that I am not saying you have to do everything for free – that is not the point here. Find your gift and share it with the world and in an entrepreneurial sense, I hope that gift makes you lots of money — we were created to do what we love)

***Workout Note — Durning my two hour layover I enjoyed the sunset out the window, did a little stretching and 40 pushups. Not bad for an airport mini fitness session.