We’ve all been there. Someone says, “Can I get your honest opinion?” What they usually mean is, “Can you please confirm that the decision I already made is brilliant, courageous, and possibly visionary?” Honest feedback sounds great in theory, right up until it arrives.

We returned home last week and since then we have been busy (operative word) reacclimating to our Home environment.  The list includes cleaning, unpacking, going through mail, paying bills, making appointments, doctor visits, activating newspaper deliveries, food shopping and, most important, catching up with Family (can't wait for Mother's Day)!It's tough work, but well worth it :) 

Let me add to the several blogs about AI.....Several years ago, my daughter inherited a side buffet from my Mother where it found an honored - and well utilized -- place in my daughter's home. Last week she sent me a picture of a matchbox that was left in  the drawer and, somehow, survived the years and trip to DC.  She asked how old I thought the matchbox was and what its Hebrew writing said.

Memories can come up at any random moment. My wife and I recently spent half day at a working farm in Clermont, Fl called Southern Hill Farms. We usually go strawberry picking when in season, but they also have a variety of veggies, flowers and fruit that you can pick yourself. It is a lot of fun, and the taste can’t be beat.

Does anyone else like to work on planes?Yes, those who know me will say I tend to work everywhere -- but this is different.There is something about the white noise and closed quarters of an airplane that creates focus for me.   Some might say I could read a book instead -- and I could, and I do -- but you get the point.Some of my best editing, analyzing, studying and strategizing happens just as the plane doors are closing.  I once read the entire Family and Medical Leave regulations -- probably 100 pages -- on a flight with highlighter and pen in hand.

My 90-year-old mother-in-law is relatively independent, financially astute, and surprisingly tech-savvy. Because of that, we were shocked to hear her response to a phone call that she received. The call nearly compromised her financial security.  

Well almost.  Monday, my deck got power-washed in advance of setting up what I often call my "outside office.  Also, two roots that lifted some patio blocks some also got cut out. And two new out lamps replaced the one existing; they make it real easy work after the sun goes down Friday morning. the patio got sealed.

Living well does not always look or feel what you might think.Sometimes, it looks like a slow morning with a good cup of coffee. A conversation that reminds you who you are or a walk outside when your mind feels too full. Maybe it's a moment of gratitude that arrives quietly, without needing to be announced.We spend so much time chasing the next thing: the next goal, the next milestone, the next version of ourselves. Somewhere along the way, it becomes easy to forget that life is not only something we are building. It is something we are experiencing right now.