Slaby 2017

I don't remember when we started doing this little family blog, but I know it was about the time we moved from PC to Mac back in 2008 or so. (Unfortunately iWeb ate up my original site, grrrrr. One day I'll unearth it....)

Digging into the Mac world back then introduced me to a cornucopia of fun, as all new technology does. That was both a good thing and bad thing for us. Good in that it opened the door for me to create this living scrapbook for our family, bad in that it was one more great idea that I would have to nag the kids to do . . . every year, because, after all, I'm pretty loyal to my traditions.

But as with all good traditions, some take more effort and commitment than others, and this site is one of them, and one that I've more than once considered abandoning, along with Christmas cards, but every year, I keep coming back. All it takes is for one of our kids to ask me what we're doing for a Christmas picture, or to urge me not to kill the website when I lament that I don't have the time get it done this year. Or remember that Facebook does it all, or, or, or . . .

Overall though, I know this to be true: As much as this pre-Facebook blog started as a way to take our Christmas Letter to a new level of connection with our friends and family, it has become the one thing that our kids can count on to reflect back on their own lives. When you're forced to summarize, it really brings your world into consciousness and helps you reflect a little deeper on where you've been, what you've done and where you might want to go next.

Traditions. I've created many for our family, and even when I think I want to kill one of them, I'm thankful I have waged on. As for this little blog, I'm reminded every year that it's worth the battle when I see the kids pouring over their old posts, taking their own trips down memory lane...

Our Lookback

Mark and I have had a pretty wicked year. Lots of downs, some ups, and a whole lot of white-knuckle uncertainty that only shots of faith can resolve. The wickedest change for us occurred in July when Mark got laid off, and several months before then, when his salary got cut pretty dramatically. We sensed the end was near as the company was making some changes; the new owner of the small start up was ready to recapture Mark's salary. Understandable.

But even when you sense a change, how can you really be prepared when you're already coming from behind?

I got the call from Mark when I was mid-way through my summer in New York City. (Annika and I spent six weeks there when she attended her ballet camp.)

Margo had come up for the weekend and we just so happened to be touring the NYC Public Library when Mark called (strange...he usually texts during the day) and asked me how I was doing.

Dead give away.

I immediately guessed that he was laid off.

Yep.

Instantly I was thrilled. In a weird way. In a way that only Mark understands.

Back in 2013, when he came home with this same message, early from work, after his whole division of the company he worked for consolidated to Minnesota, my first thought was how now, finally, we could work together and really live the lifestyle of our dreams!

It didn't exactly turn out that way back in 2013, and he ended up getting the job he just was just laid off from, but that's ok. At the time, that job was really an answer to our prayers. Kids were still young and we were in full-blown, raise-them-mode. A full time job was just the band-aid we needed.

But back in the recesses of our minds, we've long-held the dream of living a laptop lifestyle. A lifestyle where we can go anywhere, untethered from the structure of a building job, and work remotely from our laptops in undetermined locales, embracing the power of the internet to build a business of infinite possibilities. I've been working for the last two years on a digital product, in between a million other different projects, at a snail's pace. Now he can join me, I thought. Two heads are better than one!

That all sounded great on day one. But as it were, old habits and reality die hard. Mark has been working for others for a long time, and getting a "job" seemed like the most prudent thing for him to do at this time of our lives financially . . . even though the kids are moving on and more independent than ever.

So onto networking and working the job boards, Mark chipped away. Day in and day out. After several months of not much feedback for this 54 year old guy, with a wealth of education, smarts and experience, it became pretty clear that the new age of employment might be upon us. It could be a combination of timing (hurricanes, holidays), or a world disinterested in hiring a higher priced 'old' guy when they could get (2) 30-year olds for the same price as him. Or maybe its a total change in the paradigm of management; minimizing upper management at all costs?

Whatever it is, we decided we didn't want to sit around and waste time playing the job contest alone.

With lots of soul searching and many fortuitous events, we're embarking on the major lifestyle change that we dreamed of for years. And we couldn't be more thankful for this opening in the clouds. Already, Mark has some college adjunct teaching gigs in place and we're working on a few other things we hope to share with you in our next lookback.

So it is with great pleasure to be able to view this year 2017 from our rearview mirror. . . and it is with the greatest faith and excitement that we move into 2018; the year to embrace our dreams.

Thank you for stopping by. Make sure to sign up for my updates and I'll shout out when we have news to share.

Love,

Maria & Mark