I like the way you work it, No Diggitty

3/30/12

"I like the way you work it. Work it today, baby! ! :-)"

Every morning my wife and I have a little bit of time tocatch up and brief each other about the day ahead. She has known for a while that today was a big day at the office, and she knew the day would be quite stressful. When I woke up she had coffee ready, and this huge grin on her face.“It’s a BIG day BABY!” she said. Just seeing her act silly, and encourage mehelped me shoot right out of bed, and look forward to the day ahead.

Encouragement and positive reinforcement is such a bigthing, and so necessary in any relationship. Last night before we went to sleepHeather got a text from a friend that delivered some really bad news. I went tosleep worried about her being stressed out because of it. I just knew that whenI woke up this would be something we needed to work together on. However,looking back on it, I believe my wife realize that today meant high stakes forme at the office. She knows me well enough that if something is bothering her…itis going to bother me. She made a deliberate effort to make sure I saw herhappy and excited about the day, because she knew I needed to be focused and positive.

Now I’m not saying that if things are bothering you to keepit to yourself, and let it fester inside until it comes to a boiling point. Butwhat I am saying is that there are times when you can put your problem aside,for the benefit of someone else. Heather could have easily got out of bed, andhad a terrible attitude about the day because of what had upset her. And she had every right to be upset. She choseto focus on making MY DAY start right because we both had a lot riding on theday’s meetings. If I am completely honest, I would have to say I would not havebehaved this way. My day ended as well as it could have today. All meetings weresuccessful, and my entire family will benefit from that.

I have so many friends who’s wives are unable to recognizethat there are certain days a man just needs to be uplifted. To hear your wife whisper in your ear “I’m proud of you, and I’m thankful for the things you provide for our family” is a boost like no other for a man. Men need to feellike they are providers, and that their wife and children need them around(which we all know is the other way around J).

I want to encourage you if you are in a relationship (husband, wife, boyfriend, girlfriend, coworker, etc) to be aware of what people are struggling with, and learn what their day’s hold for them. If you realize someone has a huge day ahead, put your struggles aside for the day, put on ahuge smile, and tell them with confidence “I like the way you work it, work ittoday!”

Sidenote: Now I have that Blackstreet song “I like the wayyou work it…no diggity…I gotta bag it up” in my head….click here for the song if you don’t know it…Warning…it willmake you laugh…and it will be in your head for weeks.

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=nnwgFAuQExE

Addicted to you...

 
"Have the kind of day that makes everyone wish they were on your drug"

Have you ever seen the movie When Harry Met Sally with Meg Ryan and Billy Crystal (I'm sure that is a dumb question)? If you have then there is no way you could have forgotten the most famous scene in the entire movie. You know the one...where Meg Ryan's character (the young and gorgeous Sally Albright) begins banging her hands on the table, faster and faster, moaning louder and LOUDER...and finally, when she "finishes," the camera pans to an older lady and she says...I'll bet you already knew it before I finished the sentence...you are correct! She say's "I'll have what she's having!" 

Clearly the older lady could see in Sally's body language and facial expressions, and that was SERIOUSLY enjoying something... and she wanted it. I believe that when you are in love, or just truly at a happy place in your life, people around you can sense that about a person. It's a beautiful thing when you see someone that you haven't seen in a while, and when you bump into them they just look...well...different! You can't put your finger on it, but there is this new spark about them that was never there before. You begin to catch up with them, and they tell you about something that has happened that has led them to a place in their life where they are the "Happiest they have ever been." 

The unfortunate part about this is that we are somewhat limited at how we can control our own feelings of sadness or regret. But the amazing part about this is that we have the ability, and FULL CONTROL, to make someone else feel like "they are on a drug." It really is empowering if you think about it. You have the ability to give someone that spark. The way you treat someone, the way you love someone can actually turn their life upside down....and in the best way imaginable. So much so that a complete stranger can take one look in someone's eyes and know they have found that perfect balance in their life. Think about that the next time you see someone gushing. Are you doing something to make someone in your life have that spark...or are you putting out their fire? Even worse...Are you doing all you can to provide the spark, and all you receive in return is a bucket of water on your flame?

Gone Fishin

3-28-12

What is it about fishing that just makes you completelyforget about the busy world around you, and focus on the people you arespending time with? After getting home from work I invited my wife to gofishing at the community lake in our neighborhood. She thought about it forabout a second, and said “Let’s do it!”

Now my wife and I have a FEIRCE rival when it comes tocatching fish. And to be completely honest, she usually out fishes me on anygiven day. So we grabbed our poles, packed a cooler and strapped our 10 monthold to my chest in the baby Bjorn. By the way we left our cell phones at home. Fortwo hours we sat and joked and caught up on the day’s events. Actually, thatwas about the only the thing we caught. Not a fish in sight. But I can tell youone thing. There is nothing like spending time outdoors with the family, andnot having a phone to distract you. It was so relaxing… standing by the lakeholding my fishing pole, my baby girl was trying to figure out how to crank thereel (which she did figure out by the way) and my wife was laughing at me andcracking jokes…The time together was nice, and that night when we went to bed Icouldn’t help but thank God I’m married to a girl with a great sense of humor, adventurousspirit and most of all someone who after a long day of chasing a baby aroundthe house would put my wants in front of hers by allowing me to go fishing whenshe could have just as easily requested to stay home and put her feet up.

My wife and I have a long running statement, and it’s “I love you more.” We are constantly trying to convince the other that we loveeach other more than the other. So if one of us does something that they should not have, orif there is a funny thing that happens and the phrase fits….We’ll say…”see…thatjust proves I love you more!” I know it sounds cheesy…and it is, but hopefullyall couples have cheesy inside joke they can turn to when the time is right.If you don’t…GET ONE! 

The Little Things...

About this blog: 

Nowadays...it seems like everyone and their bother have a blog. After looking into "blogging" I have discovered there are endless reasons for starting a blog. For me, at this time in my life, I find myself in a position of wanting to remember the little details of my life. It seems like most of my life, as I look back on it, it's stamped out with memories of major accomplishments. Things like the day I graduated from college, my wedding day (both of them), the birth of my children, job promotions, the loss of loved ones...and the list goes on. My wife, Heather is the best at taking in the little things. She always finds little ways to show me she loves me, and to make sure I know she is thinking about me. There is no other better example of this than my lunch letters. 


The name of this blog came from something that my wife started doing for me a couple of years ago. Each day, my wife packs my lunch for me to bring into the office. I rarely go out to lunch. It costs WAY to much money to eat out everyday, and I have found that during lunch, the office is much quieter, and I can get more done between 12 and 1 than I can in most of the morning. Each day I dig into my lunch pale to find a hand written note from my wife. They are always different, and they are always relevant to the things taking place in our lives. While some are more clever than others, they never disappoint. My lunch letters are definitely one of the little things that I have come to cherish. 


I have come to the point where I can no longer continue to stock pile these napkins. Imagine, one note a day for two and a half years...Every Single Day. That is nearly 700 napkins that I have in my possession now! For some reason I can't bring myself to throw them away.  


Lunch Letter 3-27-12

Maybe this will give you an idea of where I'm going with this. Some notes are sweet, some notes are sassy, and in times where we may have had a disagreement...well...you will just have to see how those go....As for my wife, she will not be aware of this blog. The reasoning for that is because I don't want anyone thinking she is in on this.