It Ain't Over, Till it's Over

A couple months ago I entered a photo contest on Fossil.com's website. Initial entries were submitted during the month of May and then Fossil's marketing team selected the finalists. I was fortunate enough to have my photo selected as a finalist. The contest winners would be chosen by votes cast through the website in the first couple weeks of June.

Despite a strong start and numerous tweets and facebook status reminders to vote, after the first week I was about 1000 votes behind the top 5. With only 6 days left of voting, more than 2000 votes separated my entry from the supposed leaders. At that point I gave up. I stopped voting and I stopped reminding everyone to vote.

This action, or lack there of, is not charactistic of me. I rarely give up and frequently preach to others to push on for success until the end of the journey. Many people I work with probably get annoyed with me and my constant push, push, push. So it is in this context that it is strange that I would throw in the towel so early in this contest. How ironic is it then that when the contest finished, my photo had gained in votes and finished in 2nd place?! While I am very happy with 2nd place, what really bugs me is that I probably could have won the whole thing if I would have followed my own advice and push on until the end. Serves me right for quiting early.

An Example to Follow

This morning for Father's Day, I was spoiled with a great breakfast prepared jointly by all the kids, with Mom's direction, and a present of a new anti-gravity chair on the deck! After breakfast, I retreated to my new chair with the Sunday paper. Amidst the updates on Iran, concerns over GM's Indianapolis plant, and the insert about Chrysler's future. I found this in the comic section:

I realize that this type of interaction between Father and Son is pretty common, but thankfully I don't know that I have ever experienced this. Whether sharing a story of personal or professional success or venting about frustration when experiencing a failure, I can't recall feeling anything other than support from my Dad or hearing how he was proud of me. In high school, when I chose to pursue interests in performing arts instead of athletics, my Sports Fanatic Father didn't tell me he was disappointed or try to convince me otherwise, instead he became fanatical about my new interests. As a Grandfather, he's never told me how to raise my own kids, but has shared what he felt worked and didn't in his experiences, then supported me in my decisions.

My Dad has been, by his own admission, far from perfect but I appreciate the effort he has taken to be a great Dad. In my opinion that effort has proven worth it as he has a wonderful family to show for it. To me, He has been a great example of strength, support, and encouragement that I continue to try to be for my kids. I'm thankful that, unlike Sir Rodney, I have been blessed with a Father that has been and continues to be a positive impact on my life.

Happy Father's Day Dad!

And, yes. I still read the comics.

A Great Vacation

I recently returned from a much needed vacation with my family and after being home for a few days I have an even greater appreciation for the time away to relax. In fact, I think it was probably the most enjoyable family vacation we have been on since we've had kids.

Typically, our family vacations that involve driving or flying a significant distance involve some once in a lifetime event that you hope never happens again (e.g. Disney Abulance from park to hospital) but this vacation was not typical. It was our first time to Destin, FL and definitely not our last. My heart belongs to the Oregon Coast, but I have found a new love in the Gulf Coast. Absolutely Beautiful! As great as Destin was though, it was the lack of agenda that really made this trip wonderful. We didn't have a ton of sites that we wanted to see or people wanted to or felt obligated to see. It was just us, great friends, a pool, and the beach. The opportunity to relax.

Watching the kids play and have fun, unplugging from work and just focusing on family time, and building relationships with family and friends was what it was all about. On one hand, I could have stayed there forever. On the other, it was the perfect dose of R & R to keep me rejuvinated until the next family vacation.

If you haven't taken the time to breakaway on vacation yet this summer, I hope you do and I hope your break is as great as mine was!