Thirty-one

Clearly, the smartest move I’ve ever made:

It’s been a great thirty-one years.  My best friend and I have managed to do quite a few things together since then. For example, we…

Graduated from UM (three times); moved to Chicago (two times); moved back to Ann Arbor (two times); started a business (several times); sold a company (two times); bought a house (three times); joined a juggling club; developed custom home automation software for our Chicago home (then got that software used in nearly 100,000 other homes); won some industry awards, went to Tahiti and Moorea (that was cool); took a three-month driving trip; visited dozens of state and national parks; backpacked The Wonderland Trail (a few times); climbed Mt. Harney; camped in the San Juan islands; hiked the Black Hills, watched whales, got caught in a few bad storms, biked the Illinois rails-to-trails paths, went to dozens of drive-in movies, trained sales forces on three continents, visited Paris and Lyon, France; visited St. Lucia, Martinique, and Union Island in the Caribbean; spent a Christmas week x-c skiing in Yellowstone; enjoyed countless restaurants, films, and books; raised venture capital; got into kite flying; ran a jazz dance company; saw a whole bunch of great shows on Broadway, in Chicago, Detroit, and Toronto; many many concerts…

Then, 18 years in, we had Frankie; two years later, Rita & Rose (and Carol did not flinch, not even a little, when she was pregnant with twins and we decided I should quit my good paying job at Starbase to launch a self-funded start-up); bought a timeshare in Florida; took the kids to San Diego, Seattle, Chicago, Mt. Rainier, Mt. St. Helens, Hilton Head, Toronto, Montreal, Door County, Traverse City, Smokey Mountains, Calgary, Jasper and Banff and the Canadian Rockies, Tigers games, Mud Hens games, Mariners games, soccer games, track meets, lots of Michigan sporting events, field trips, museums, and concerts; landscaped a yard, remodeled a kitchen, roofed a house, read tons of books out loud, had family dance parties, prepared and enjoyed thousands of family dinners and made many, many friends.

And, we’re still going.  I’m feeling pretty lucky today.

Thanks, Carol.  For everything.