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Shortly after sunrise on a late spring morning, I walked to the end of the dock at my sister’s and brother-in-law’s house. After seeing the name of their boat, Next Chapter… , a heaviness of emotions consumed my chest. The quiet activity of Cornfield Creek provided a perfect backdrop while I contemplated life and sipped my coffee in the comfort of an Adirondack deck chair. I watched a bonded pair of

Sometime in the middle of March 2020, my emotions began growing weary and my physical body tires more easily now while exerting less effort. My symptomatic suffering is a result of one thing: job burnout. I have suffered from this intermittent dis-ease since 2006 when I created a private dog training business, The Problem Pooch. I recognize what the source of my condition is, but I also understand there is no known c

This post will be a stray off course for me, but my muse has been pestering me to share a message in a unique way. So, here we go. Every evening, I settle into a restful spot on the sofa and fluff up a head rest alongside my right hip. Meanwhile, our five-year-old male Samoyed dog, Tuukka, watches me intensely, waiting for his prompt. “Okay, big boy. You ready to snuggle? C’mon up.” Before I can pat

Nearly all of my life, I have held jobs where others have told me what to do, when to do it, and where to do it. In return, I received a paycheck. And nearly all of my life, I’ve not maintained an allegiance to a single employer for more than four years. I’ve disappointed a lot of people, including myself sometimes. I’ve brought my dear wife, Cathy, along with me to some harrowing crossroads. Some p

I had an experience last Wednesday that broke a levy which held back an ever-rising flood of my emotions. A single tear slowly cascaded down my cheek as I walked across a busy parking lot of the building I just left. My eyelids “gave-way” once I reached the shielding comfort of my car. For several months, my attention and energy has been directed away from the elements of my life where I am comfortably pr

Imagine that you play the position of shortstop for a baseball team. You have played the position for seven years. You are an athlete. You have a strong skill set that complements your abundance of talent. All of a sudden, you are asked to switch positions. You now have to play the position of second base. You tell yourself, “No problem.” Suddenly, reality hits you. You find yourself fumbling with your fo