Category: Clearing the Cache

January blurred by along with my birthday celebrations. I’m so thankful for Jenni who goes above and beyond to kick-start another year of my life with celebrations.

After ten years of employment at Vernier, each employee receives a four-week sabbatical. I remember thinking, wow, that’s awesome! What would I do with four weeks off? And now, here I am, at the end of my sabbatical thinking, “Wow, that went by fast. What did I do?”

Coconut ice cream apple pie with colleagues. Barbeque burgers with in-laws. Chow mein with parents. Allergy-friendly apple pie with kids. LAN party with the guys. Weekend date with Jenni. The best gifts from my birthday week.

“You know, we’ll have to do the routine,” I messaged to Agent R₁. I never got a response so I assumed he understood my joke. I underestimated Agent R₁—and that’s putting it lightly.

Whenever I look at what people search for to arrive at our blog, it is usually an image search. I never imagined that some of our personal photography would rank quite so high. One of our married life photo series is an example.

I don’t know whether to be flattered or concerned. At least it’s an image where I’m being a gentleman.

A rite of passage for every child and every parent, we embarked on our first journey to the happiest place on Earth with our kids and Tracy. I have not returned to Disneyland in over twenty-five years, so I wasn’t sure what to expect. In retrospect, the experience was best captured on a plaque near the entrance:

“Here you leave today and enter the world of yesterday, tomorrow and fantasy”

A perfect birthday. That’s the only way I can describe it.

During the Christmas holiday, I reminisced about the highlights and milestones for the year. I thought of what I was thankful for: a beautiful wife who loves me more every year, three wonderful children who I’m privileged as their father, generous friends and family who give us their time to walk beside us in good times and bad, an enriching career that can fully support our family financially, and a hope and faith to guard and lead us through the darkness in the world.

In addition to all those blessings, a few new ones emerged in 2012.