Golden Anniversaries and Goopy Eyes
August is Augustus. Renamed from a number when Rome invented a title to honor their emperor: “The exalted one." Before, it was Sextilis or the sixth. Just a number. Now, the month born from an impulse to honor encourages me to do the same.
62 running miles, a few less than usual. 380,605 pounds moved, literally a few tons more (thanks Doc). 148 weeks of closing my Apple Watch rings. 52 weeks of new Beli stops, including my first Ube Latte. That’s a full year of new places and new tastes. Zero flights, feet on the ground for all 31 days. After hundreds of dollars, dozens of hours, and endless emotional labor, I’ve harvested my first $2 tomato of the season.
That thing I started in January, mentioned again in March, and have thought about every single day this year is finally live. Fifty years summarized into 90 seconds. A year of countless revisions in there too. Hundreds of lines written and cut. Like Heinz, worth the wait. I even saw it on broadcast TV, a first for me. Funny how a year of effort arrives without fanfare, sandwiched between the evening news and an insurance commercial. Finishing one big thing makes room for the next. Wasted no time announcing a partnership with Zonda to make a virtual thing today, that will become a game changing thing next year. One project done, one just beginning. Both worth celebrating.
One special number kept showing up. M/I Homes turned 50. My parents’ union hit 50 too. Half a century behind, a lifetime ahead. I didn't plan the rhyme of work and home, but I sure felt it resonate. Fifty years of choosing the same person, the same mission, day after ordinary day fused into gold. In an age of short attention spans, that kind of staying power is beautifully stubborn.
Pelotonia rode past my house. Thousands of riders pedaling for a cure. I stood at the end of my driveway sipping coffee, waving at the parade for people I'll never meet. A few days later, I opened my backyard to our online sales team. Meditation around the pond, a game of telephone on the lawn, and a plethora of good vibes. Grown professionals untangling themselves while laughing uncontrollably. All different techniques of celebrating people.
Always baking more sourdough. One for me, one for mom. Even guested on a podcast to talk sourdough diplomacy and yeasty tariffs. Ran 15% of a friend's 100k, moral support for an incredible feat by an incredible guy. Took a sound bath at work and got reminded the power of "for now." Kicked off a new Game Time for my friends. Sometimes, instead of cat cuddles, you gotta clean their goopy eye. Both count as love.
“Blüh im Glanze dieses Glückes”
Micro moments accumulating into showstoppers. Short stolen asides that last for years. I don't celebrate easily or often enough. August dragged my introverted and pessimistic self to the party. Elation is worth honoring precisely because it passes. “Blüh im Glanze dieses Glückes” (bloom in the radiance of this fortune). Because nothing blooms forever. So congratulations, August. I'm proud of this one.
