This moment

"Change even one moment, the whole thing unravels...  There is no other life than this.  You would not have stumbled into the vastly imperfect, beautiful, impossible present." - Dani Shapiro

Pausing for a moment of gratitude for the faith that I had, when I didn't have much, that following my path would lead me out of the fog and to this place.  Gratitude, only, for everything that brought me here. 

(image)

Happy

"I urge you to please notice when you are happy and exclaim or murmur or think at some point, 'if this isn't nice, I don't know what is." - Kurt Vonnegut

My boy.  My heart.  

Monster Truck Show, February 2018

Weekend roundup

Dinners, coffee shops, Anderson Cooper live, a boat show, walks, movies and down-time.   It was great and I felt filled with the certainty that my new life is a good one. 

“The rainbow comes and goes. Enjoy it while it lasts. Don’t be surprised by its departure, and rejoice when it returns. There is so much to be joyful about, so many different kinds of rainbows in one’s life: making love is an incredible rainbow, as is falling in love; knowing friendship; being able to really talk with someone who has a problem and say something that will help; waking up in the morning, looking out, and seeing a tree that has suddenly blossomed, like the one I have outside my window—what joy that brings. It may seem a small thing, but rainbows come in all sizes. I think about Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz singing, about where “bluebirds fly,” and Jan Peerce singing about “a bluebird of happiness.” Well, they may never find it, they may never reach it, and that’s okay. The searching, that’s what I think life is really all about. Don’t you?"  - Anderson Cooper

Our community - Superbowl 2018

I do not underestimate the ease in which a community comes together.  Our neighborhood in Cambridge is starting to really come together - Joseph feels it, I feel it.  He brought out all of his toys and so generously shared them with the kids.   Families brought plenty of food and drink, kids spun on chairs and chased each other in the hallway, adults talked about summer camp choices and vacations and the game.  Nobody complained.  It was an evening out for kids and their parents - slowly but surely building a sense of togetherness and support.

Words to live by...

Ram Chara: Know-how

How to spot future leaders: (Ram Chara)

• They consistently deliver ambitious results
• They continuously demonstrate growth, adaptability, and learning better and faster than their excellently performing peers
• They seize the opportunity for challenging, bigger assignments, thereby expanding capability and capacity and improving judgment
• They have the ability to think through the business and take leaps of imagination to grow the business
• They are driven to take things to the next level
• Their powers of observation are very acute, forming judgments of people by focusing on their decisions, behaviors, and actions, rather than relying on initial reactions and gut instincts; they can mentally detect and construct the "DNA" of a person
• They come to the point succinctly, are clear thinkers, and have the courage to state a point-of-view even though listeners may react adversely
• They ask incisive questions that open minds and incite the imagination
• The perceptively judge their own direct reports, have the courage to give them honest feedback so the direct reports grow; they dig into a cause and effect if a direct report is failing
• They know the non-negotiable criteria of the job of their direct reports and match the job with the person; if there is a mismatch they deal with it promptly.
• They are able to spot talent and see the "God's gift" of other individuals