Wish You Were Beautiful!

Yes.  It’s a line in a song from Jimmy Buffett’s CD, Coconut Telegraph.

“The weather is here, wish you were beautiful”.

I used to travel all over the country, from 18 years old to 24.  Traveled by bus, car, foot and bicycle.

One year, I wound up in Pullman, Washington and called it home for a while.  My best friend was a Residence Hall Director at Washington State University.

Anyway, back to the point of this post.  In the 1970’s & 80’s, I was an avid post card sender.  It fit my budget.  🙂

Whenever I was somewhere warm, and sometimes cold but spectacular, and my friends back in Pennsylvania were cold and gloomy, I’d send them a post card.

Californian Coast, Glacier National Park, Grand Canyon, Key West, Yellowstone, Bourbon Street, Times Square, Appalachian Trail – you get the picture, right?

So yesterday, I’m enjoying lunch with my family and Jimmy Buffett’s song is playing.  My wife had just told our son some stories about the post cards she’d get from me, many ending with, “The weather is here, wish you were beautiful”.

My son asked me, “So you insulted Mommy”?

I said, “No son, that phrase comes from a special place in my heart.  It may sound weird to say that to someone, but I only say it to people I care about”.

While it’s hard to know exactly who reads Mid Life Celebration, I do hope you readers know that this site is dependent on people who want to make a difference in this world.

On the journey to finish the last part of my  life, I want to make as big a difference as possible.  And, I’m looking for a few Baby Boomers and Gen-Xer’s to pitch in.

How could I not care about that?

Carpe diem, jeff noel  🙂

PS.  I never liked Jimmy Buffett because my college buddies, who liked Buffett, were so fanatical about his music, I was put off by it.  Years later, as a bartender in Moscow, Idaho (home to University of Idaho), I fell in love with his music too.

Mid-Life Parenting

I’m a mid-life parent.

My wife and I have been married 26 years and we have an 8-year old son.

This morning we are headed to one of his doctors, a Gastroenterologist.

Just before his 4th birthday, and right after we returned from our summer vacation, we started to notice some unusual physical complications.

We tested him for many things.  Leukemia, IBD, JRA, etc.

A litany of blood tests and x-rays, including a barium x-ray and a full-body scan (45-minute x-ray).  Specialists.  Challenges.  Screaming.  Worry.  Despair.  Hope.  Faith.  Love.

He also had three colonoscopies between his 4th and 5th birthdays.

Anyway, one of the benefits of having a blog is that you can write what you feel, when you feel like it.

I just did.

Hope you have a great Tuesday.  Carpe diem, jeff noel 🙂

Dude, where’s my blog?

Holy cow Batman!  It was not effortless.  Yet, finally, here it is!  Hey, if you’re reading this, you’ve stumbled upon a brand new blog that may challenge you in ways you’ve rarely, or never, been challenged.   If you like to get better at things – anything really – to make yourself a better human being, this blog could help you sustain your efforts.  Or, it may be just what you were looking for to jumpstart your desire to improve – (again) at anything, really – but mostly to be a better person overall – to leave the world a little better than you found it.  If you don’t like to be challenged, this is definitely not a blog to return to.  Seriously.  I try really hard not to take myself so seriously (I’m a serious professional, by way of my career).

30-second elevator speech #1

How often do you work on self-improvement?  I work on it every single day.  As a professional speaker, father, husband, and internet entrepreneur, I’m using my half-century of life experience to offer free information on “Life’s Big Decisions”, and help make the world a better place before my time is up.