beBetter 

I started out this morning at 4:30 a.m. taking CeCe to the airport for a 6 a.m. flight to North Carolina to meet up with several of her girlfriends for four days in the mountains.  

When we pulled into the airport departure lane this morning, I jumped out and unloaded CeCe’s 49.8-pound luggage (she utilizes every ounce). As I unload her carry-on, I see CeCe frantically looking in her purse. She yanks the luggage handle from me, flips it over and unzips this overpacked suitcase. "What’s wrong?" is barely out of my mouth when she breathlessly responds, “I can’t find my wallet!”

“What do you want to do for dinner tonight, CeCe?” I don’t care is her number one response by a long shot. When I’m with team members, “Where do you want to go to lunch today?” “I don’t care.” Wow, if we only had a restaurant named I Don’t Care, it would be full of customers.

CeCe and I are headed up to Oxford, MS, for a weekend of visiting family and watching the Ole Miss Rebels play football. CeCe is on the phone with Delta Faucets trying to replace four defective faucets we have in our house. The first one resulted in over $2,000 in repairs from the leak. The second, I was lucky enough to discover it as the seal first burst and started leaking into the bathroom.

Our world is spinning faster than the teacup ride at the amusement park and most of us are feeling pretty dizzy. That was always the one ride that always made me woozy. And 2020 sure feels like the new teacup ride. COVID-19 continues to disrupt our lives and will certainly affect how some of us gather, or if we will gather at all, for Thanksgiving. Mix in some divisive politics, contested elections and social unrest, and we have a year that has been filled with disruption.

It’s 8 a.m. and I’m sitting in a very cold medical exam room. The dermatologist will be in any minute to begin my annual full-body exam. Gosh, all I can think about is how humiliating this is. It’s hard to have the discipline to do this every year. 

“We should wait until we can get more of a consensus on this,” is ringing in my ears as we discuss some strategic decisions within our partner leadership group. What is the saying — a strength taken to excess becomes a weakness?  

My daughter Kelsey has two beautiful kids, Kyler and Kylie. Now, these two kids have enough energy to power three or four Tesla cars. If only I could bottle it up. Today, we are celebrating Kylie’s fourth birthday with lunch, which will include ice cream! CeCe and I have arrived early and are waiting on our energizer bunnies.

CeCe is standing in my home office and I’m staring down at her shoes as she asks, “Do you notice anything about my shoes today?” Thank goodness, I finally realize they are not the same shoe! Wow, they are almost the exact same color, appear to be the same style and very similar sole. The only difference I can really see is on top of the shoes where the laces (which are the same color) are styled differently. Why does anyone need two pairs of shoes this similar? 

I am back out on the jogging trail for my second jog this week. My legs are a little weary from the four miles I did yesterday, so my first mile is a scorching 13:43. I walked a little to warm up.

It’s cloudy today, and the skies are looking stormier by the step. I’m getting close to the end of mile two, as I glance down and see I’m averaging 13:14 pace when the first raindrops hit me. I’m making the turn and heading back, as the bottom literally falls out. It feels like someone is dumping buckets of water on me as I jog (trudge) back for the final two miles.

It’s Monday night and we have been out of town for four nights now, which I know pushes CeCe’s travel limit. Although I shared with her while sitting on the beach that my schedule for the week would allow me to work remotely for longer, I could tell from her lack of conversation and our prior travel experiences that she will be disappointed if we do not head home tomorrow. So, I start making changes in my schedule to handle all of my calls on the six-hour drive home.  

Growing up in Batesville, MS, I wish I had a dime for every time Mom told Mike and me no fighting in this house. We loved each other and still do, but we constantly fought as youngsters. We are 3.5 years apart and like a typical little brother — he had to do everything I did. This led to lots of conflict and since we shared a bedroom, lots of scuffles in the house. Mom was constantly breaking us up and at times she would spank us for being so disruptive (usually after several warnings). Thank goodness she did not “spare the rod” as we were two hard-headed boys. We quickly learned when we were approaching the point of no return.

Capturing the beauty and power of this storm so closely is a bucket list experience. Now, it’s certainly not something I have listed on my bucket list, yet as I experience this with CeCe with the wind rushing all around us, lightening beginning to pop in the near distance, it is an experience of awe and beauty. Scary, but beautiful, is the best way I can describe it. 

As most of us have come out of the stringent COVID-19 lockdowns, now is a great time to reflect. We have learned so many valuable life lessons. And the importance of connections with family and friends and making them priorities have been highlighted in many ways.