Beyond thankful; I am in awe.

Ok, so this year has been a wild ride indeed. And it has been a year to be thankful for, like none other in my 55 years of life on this planet. Since now is that time of year where we all give thanks, and I am sitting by the pool with a glass of wine on a breezy 78 degree evening before Thanksgiving, revelling in the beauty of a fine Texas autumn, here i go....

It started by spending a whole month in Breckenridge, Co., which perhaps, looking back now, formed the catalyst for learning a new and enlightened perspective on life. Sometimes I go back and peek at my blog (http://amonthinthesummit.blogspot.com)and put myself back in that mindset, feeling free and very very happy to be alive. Remembering the deep contentment I felt every day, just being in the mountains and loving the atmosphere, in every sense of the word.  I am thankful for every minute of this experience, and being able to enjoy the experience with our family and friends.

Then it was back to the "real world", but with a new sense of self; not taking myself or my job too seriously, just doing the very best I could every day. And our loving daughter Kristin graduated Cum Laude from Colorado State University, where she continues to prepare herself for a career in Veterinarian Medicine.  To celebrate,  we travelled through Tuscany,  enjoying the amazing food, countryside, art, and history.

Throughout the year,  Lynne continued to develop her yoga practice, becoming stronger every day, physically and spiritually. And our relationship grew daily along with her practice, and I followed as best I could. Yoga has opened our eyes to an entirely new frontier of physical and spiritual growth.  I am thankful for my loving family,  and our teachers in life.

Back At work at IBM, it was time to deliver a huge and challenging product launch, and by all objective and subjective measures it was a great success. I travelled the world telling our story. I met some very interesting people, and visited cool places like Wimbledon (the women's semi-finals), the Porsche Museum, Chamonix,  and the testing labs of a famous Formula One design team in Switzerland.  I am thankful for all the great people I worked with and 10 good years at IBM.

In August,  we joined friends for a wonderful yoga retreat on the coast of Maine,  a great mix of food, yoga, and the beautiful coastline and fishing villages.

But back in Texas, my mom's health was failing, where my dear sister Jaqui was taking loving care of our Nanna. The end came quickly, while Lynne and I were with our friends in Maine. Of all the things for which I give thanks this season, I am most thankful for my mom, for all she taught me, and for who she helped me become. I am a product of her dreams, not just her DNA. And I give thanks for Jaqui, whose love for our Nanna approached biblical Job-like proportions.  Today,  on this day of thanks,  we will scatter her ashes on Lake Conroe,  and stand in awe the memories of her strength and love.

Now, that would be enough for any decent blog, but my year of change and growth still had some Twists and turns in store. I got a call from a dear friend and ex-boss, Per Larsen. Per introduced me to SmoothStone, a startup in austin developing low energy ARM based server chips. Now I make a lot less money, but have an immensely satisfying and fun job creating a new company from scratch. The sky is the limit. And the journey is the reward. And it is just beginning.

So, Happy Thanksgiving to All my friends and family. I love you all, and only hope that you rejoice in Thanks Giving for all the blessings life has bestowed on you this year!

I am beyond being merely thankful for all be blessings I enjoyed this year. I am in awe of the power of love, and the strength of the bonds and connections we create and nurture in this life.

Namaste.