Who Says Kids Are Hard To Feed ?

Not much I can or should say about this picture post.

It's like feeding the birds at the park ... :)


Song Of The Day:
Let's be honest: true parenting is very challenging and time consuming.  But sometimes it can feel very "Easy" which is a classicly great tune by Lionel Ritchie.  I'm grateful for the simple times.

...

Super Pancakes ?

How do you improve on a Sunday morning with pancakes?  With SUPER-sized pancakes that include chocolate chips or a crispy cinnamon-sugar creme-brulee style crust ... and homemade buttermilk syrup of course!  :)





With a great recipe (which was a 4X the normal batch size) and the best pancake pourer (I mean look at the picture!  That guy's a super-pancake pourer!) it was an amazing meal with some amazing friends and family (and amazing General Conference talks in the background to boot!) ... and we almost ran out of pancakes!

The right food can make for a great experience, but coupled with great company it is just a little slice of what I hope heaven will be like.


Song Of The Day:
An oldie and a goodie, the song "Sunshine Superman" by Donovan came to my mind today as I wore my Superman t-shirt and made some massive pancakes in the sunshine of New Mexico.  What great fun we had this weekend ... sad to be heading home.  :(

...

Is This It ?

Yeah, it's bright and early on a Saturday morning.
Here we are in Albuquerque, NM with our friends the Amsdens awaiting the Dawn Patrol balloons to kick off their annual Balloon Fiesta.

And after a very early (and ultimately unsuccessful) test drive to the balloon fields, Kevin and I mobilized some of the troops to the open field a short ways from their home to watch for some balloons.

This was mostly what we saw ...

In fairness, this was THE first morning of the entire 8-day Fiesta, so it is not too surprising that it is not an overwhelming amount of aerial spectacularness.  But it certainly led to quite a few conversations about whether or not we want to do anything more related to the Fiesta on our weekend of New Mexico fun.


Song Of The Day:
The song "This Is It" by Kenny Loggins came to mind this morning.  Not just because it is a nice rearrangement of the blog post title question, but also because one of the lines in the song repeats Make no mistake where you are.  We are here.  It is a grandiose balloon fiesta.  It's just the first day.

...

Who's Sleeping Where ?

Often overlooked by guests when planning a vacation sleepover at a friend's house is today's title post question.  I think on some level the guests just make an assumption that the hosts will consider their bed situation and designate specific areas, locations, beds, cots, couches, etc. for their guests to sleep on.

How fortunate we Traveling Case Circus members are that our good friends the Amsdens are excellent sleepover hosts!  They rearranged almost everything to make us almost more comfortable than we are in our own home.  Shout out to Breanna for giving up her supposedly super comfy bed and her room for Karen and I (and Spencer since he's still so little).

That said, it sometimes takes convincing to help some visitors that the sleeping arrangements are going to be just fine.
To the right is a picture of the eventual sleeping set-up for our three younger girls (this was the original planned set-up but it took quite a bit of discussion to finalize with these three girls).  Catalina didn't think she could fall asleep with us playing games in the next room.  Myra wasn't tired and wouldn't lay down.  And Savannah didn't want to be all alone in the bed.

Long story short, everyone (and there are 9 of us) has a great spot to sleep for the night (and tomorrow night too) and we're looking forward to some great fun together over General Conference and Balloon Fiesta weekend!


Song Of The Day:
One of the girls (I forget who exactly) was also concerned that they might wander away in the middle of the night.  That phrase reminded me of the song "River Of Dreams" by Billy Joel, which has lyrics referencing going walking in the middle of the night.  I promised the girls we would find them if they did wander off ... not sure if that helped them much.  :)

...

Who's The New Guy ?

Today's Song Of The Day is "The Sound Of Silence" by Simon and Garfunkel.  And I am starting today's blog post with that song because the sound of silence was all I heard after I spoke up on a conference call at work today.  And I am convinced that, at least for some, my blog post title question is what was going through the minds of my peers on the call.

There is not much more I can explain about it, but for truly inquiring minds, here is as best of a synopsis as I can provide.

In my new role at work, I am now involved in a company-wide bi-weekly conference call, which includes about 35-40 leaders from our Training, Academy (New Hire), and Coaching leadership team from across the country.  Unlike many groups of this size, the TAC group actually gets things done.  This, of course, has all happened before I joined the group.

After a hearty discussion around several topics on the agenda, we were nearing the end of the meeting and did a "round table" (this is when anyone from the general group can bring up any questions, ideas, concerns, etc.)  I had previously spoken with my Manager about bringing up a general question about a recent change in our call flow.  She agreed it was a good idea so I brought it up when the round table got to our Colorado participants.

And there was dead silence after I spoke.

Like seriously dead silence.

Like the kind of silence they portray in the movies when someone says something or does something that is so offensive or unacceptable that everyone ... just ... stops.

After the call was over, my Manager came to my desk and reassured me by expressing how confused she was at the silence that occurred.  No matter.  It will still forever haunt me whenever I am on this conference call going forward.  I'll always picture the other participants hearing my voice and preparing to be as quiet as humanly possible.

Sigh ... oh well.  :)

...

Is Thinking Considered Working ?

Are you honest in your business dealings?

That is one of the questions a person is asked in order to receive a recommend for entering any LDS Temple.  I believe it is aimed at encouraging the answerer to consider their interactions with others as related to anything of a financial nature.

When I think about the work I do day in and day out, I often reflect on this question.  I feel it is a responsibility of an employee to give a fair day's work for a fair day's pay.  In fairness it is sometimes more appropriate to consider a fair week's pay or fair month's pay when you are in an exempt role, because the day-to-day may show too much variance.

It is in this spirit that I pose today's title question.

Much of what I invariably do day in and day out at work could be categorized as thinking.  It wears other names like planning, reviewing reports, listening to and analyzing calls, etc. but they almost all roll up into the thinking category.  As I think about that, I find myself wondering whether or not my time spent thinking is actually work.  Most people who work end up completing some task or accomplishing some measurable progress on something.  But with thinking, there is often not a measurable progression until much later.  And if thinking isn't working, then am I truly bringing the value to the role for which my employer is paying me?

Hmmmmm ...


Song Of The Day:
I am thinking a throwback to C and C Music Factory is in order.
The song "Things That Make You Go Hmmmm" was once quite popular and ties in nicely with this topic.

...

But Do I Really Care ?

The thing about mid-life crises is that the experience is transitional.  It is not that you are in an ambiguous state, but rather you recognize the beginning of a transformation from what life has been thus far for yourself and what it will be going forward.  This often brings about very mixed and confusing emotions and thoughts.  You find yourself asking yourself questions you never considered before.  And sometimes your answers are frighteningly candid.  This can lead to feelings of depression, not necessarily because you are sad, but often because you are unsure how to feel about this revelation or new perspective.

I am unashamed to admit that I am in full fledged mid-life crisis mode right now.

In fact, being honest with myself and anyone who cares to read these posts, I have been in this transitional phase for roughly 2 years now.  What scares me the most is that I do not have any idea when the "end" will be.  I would have guessed that the crisis would only last a few months or years, but I am beginning to feel and think that it all has to do with how you transition to the future YOU.

Let me share an example for anyone who is not understanding what I am trying to convey here about the transitional nature of a mid-life crisis.
Recently at work I was impacted by a large change.  Two-thirds of my team (14 of 22 direct reports) were reassigned to my Manager so that I could begin taking on the responsibility of our new hires in the Sales group.  This was a major change to be sure, but I have cycled through dozens of direct reports in my 7 years as a Supervisor, including some that involved nearly as many people.
So why does this change feel so different?
The best answer I have come up with is that my perspective is very different.  I have long considered myself to be a genuinely caring individual.  When I express compassion or empathy or ask questions to get to know someone better, it is not just because I am supposed to ... it is because I truly am interested and do care about them.
But as this change happened, I began reflecting on many of my peers (I consider direct reports to be my peers even if I am technically "the boss") at work who have come and gone over the years.  There are maybe only a handful that I chat with on even an acquaintance basis.  Despite my perceived genuine concern for them, when the reporting relationship ended, so did almost all of my initiated interest in them.  Almost never do I reach out to any of them just to see how things are going for them.  So doesn't that very strongly support the argument that I don't actually care about them?

The worst part, for me, is that I began thinking through this as related to my friendships.  I have always considered myself to be a true friend.  Someone you can count on to be there for you whenever you might need me.  Someone who wants to hear about your struggles or concerns or answer your questions or just hang out and do nothing (if that's what you need).  But ... as I think about my friendships over the years, there are almost none where I really make an effort to be a friend unless it happens to be convenient (they work near me, live near me, or I happen to see them at church or basketball or scouts, etc.)

This, and this alone, is the kind of self-awareness which has the capacity to excite my mind with new possibilities (how much easier would life be if I didn't actually have to care?) while also filling my mind with great depression and disappointment about the person I might actually be (what if I've never really cared and my ability to "let things go" is actually a detriment rather than a strength?)

I don't have the answers.  I have some of the questions but I don't necessarily want to ask them.  I am NOT on the verge of a breakdown, but I am on the verge of likely making major changes in the person I am.  I want to keep the genuine good parts of myself and discard the baggage or pretentious parts of my personality.  But sifting through 35+ years of experiences takes time.  And being honest with myself about who I am willing to commit to being is exhausting.

To be continued ... :)


Song Of The Day:
One thing (among many) that does remain constant is my absolute love of music.  The joy I feel when listening to creative expression through sound is one of many experiences I will never regret and will always continue to seek out.  Today's song is an anthem of sorts related to that.  I know some people have strong opinions about John Mayer, but one of his songs from his first CD is titled "Not Myself" and it often comes to mind when I am feeling a little out of sorts.  Some of the lyrics ask the question "would you want me when I'm not myself?  wait it out while I am someone else?"  I am hopeful that the people I love in my life will stick with me as I continue my mid-life crisis transition.

...