When Opportunity Knocks

"Unless You People See Miraculous Signs and Wonders," Jesus Told Him, "You Will Never Believe." John 4-48

Sometimes in life opportunities come to you that you never expected. You may look at the opportunity and shrug it off, yet the opportunity persists. The signs keep coming that this is something that should be pursued. Why not take a chance? Why not seize the opportunity that awaits you? If it's meant to be, it will happen, if it's not meant to be, it's simply that, not meant to be. I have seized various opportunities over the years and each time, I have learned something valuable. Sometime its valuable lessons learned-such as a bad investment. I can't go back and change the outcome, but I certainly can learn from it. That is why I choose to seize opportunities that have all the signs attached. I believe these signs are from above, so why not take the chance?

With this being said, Mark has decided to get his fishing guide license. This is something that he has thought about doing for over 20 years. A few months ago, we were eating out and a local guide asked Mark if he would consider doing some guiding. Mark told him he had thought about it in the past but really hadn't been thinking about it in recent years. Mark left it at that. The next time we saw this person, he asked Mark again. This got Mark thinking and he asked me what I thought about it. The next week, we again ran into this guide, and he asked to sit down and talk to Mark about what guiding would entail. Mark and I met with him in the past month and Mark officially applied for his fishing guide license (license should be active soon). Honestly, the persistence out of know where made Mark think that it was a sign that shouldn't be ignored. For now, Mark is still working his full-time job at Dakota Growers, and he will do some guiding on some of his days off. If he likes doing it, it could turn into something more full time. For now, Mark is only going to test the waters. It is an exciting opportunity that Mark, and I both felt was worth pursuing.

I looked and it has been a whole month since I wrote a post. Life has been busy, plain, and simple. Mark, Kalli, and I have been enjoying our weekends at the lake. We were determined to not be doing any home projects up there, but who are we kidding? There is always something to do or redo when you are a homeowner! No major building plans this year, only finishing a couple small projects. We also have been busy with work. I am picking up more odds and ends at work as they continue to groom me for a management position, so we will see if this works!

My mom officially moved into assisted living on June 1. Going through her things in the apartment and garage was a lot of work and I was so glad my sister Marci was able to come and help. Sheila and Ron came and helped us do the official clean out of the apartment and they helped us take numerous loads to good will. I am relieved to have this completed and so happy that my mom likes her new apartment. She says she loves the food and that is a plus too! Justine works next door in the nursing home, so my mom likes that.

Mark has been in a couple of fishing tournaments. He even did a tournament with me and neither of us threw the other overboard (even when Mark didn't believe I had the big fish that could have put us in the money). Both tournaments were not in the money, but a good time, nonetheless. What matters most is quality time and overall enjoyment. Mark and I also celebrated our 29th wedding anniversary on June 18. We were able to go out and celebrate. We had a nice meal out and gambled a little bit and even won a little money. It was a very nice evening.

It has been busy all around, but I finally think I can breathe a bit. Summer is short in North Dakota, and I feel like it's half over already. It's time to truly slow down and enjoy the rest of it, chaos and all. We have had Paislee and Gunnar several long weekends. They are so fun and are always seeking out adventure. Kalli wants to take Paislee tubing this weekend and Justine about had a coronary just thinking about it. I don't think we will do this, but I will say, "What happens at and with Grandma and Grandpa stays at and with Grandma and Grandpa!" Those two kids are going to keep us young!

As I write this, we are headed up to the lake. Bailee is almost home from her nearly 3-week trip to Bali, Indonesia. Those of you that have her as a friend on Facebook have seen many of her gorgeous pictures. It truly was a trip of a lifetime. She traveled there with two of her travel buddies. Justine is working and Kalli is watching Paislee and Gunnar. Kalli and the grandkids will join us tomorrow. So, if you were reading this, know that when opportunity knocks sometimes it is a sign that you need to pursue it. Stay tuned, and I will update you as to how things turn out. We are forever making changes within the past couple of years and that is OK. Many of them were changes that needed to be made and we are forever. grateful for this. God bless each and every one of you and may you have an amazing Independence Day.

"If a window of opportunity appears, don't pull down the shade." Tom Peters