Don’t take moments for granted

Here is my Journey in the Footwear Industry and the lessons I learned along the way #258

In Blog # 257 I Talked about having fun with product again. In this blog I want to talk about don’t take moments for granted.

If you know me well, It wouldn’t come to you as a surprise that I’m a little obsessive about things. When I get into something I don’t test the temperature of the water first, I just jump in. I’ve been so busy with my two stores lately, the one on eBay and now the new one on Etsy, that I didn’t write a blog on Saturday night like I usually do.

I was sitting in my office making new designs for some shoedog pint glasses for Etsy site and I started daydreaming about my grandmother Si. Grandma passed away in 2008. It’s been 14 years now. There were so many great moments I had with her I thought it would be a good topic to write about. We get wrapped up in our daily lives sometimes and we forget to really enjoy the moments as they are happening. So you have to reflect on those moments. I was trying to be better at this when I left Zappos and found I had a lot of time on my hands. I tried to be mindful to smell the coffee aroma when I opened a new can or really marvel at the beauty of nature. Flowers blooming, bees pollinating them, it’s fascinating to take it all in at the beauty of this world we live in.

So, I was daydreaming about a dance I had with grandma at my cousin Kathy’s wedding. Every summer when I was a young guy, I would spend a lot of time with her and my grandfather at her cabin located in Huntington Lake California. And we would go fishing or, hike around or play cards. The air was fresh and crisp in the mountains, so I loved being up there. Some evenings grandpa would be engrossed in a book, so grandma would put on some music and teach me to dance. Basic box step first 1–2–3–4, 1–2–3–4. Years later at the wedding she complimented me on my slow dance, I reminded her I had a good teacher. I wouldn’t say I took this moment for granted but at the time I didn’t appreciate it as I do now. Especially since she isn’t around to talk about it with me, I sure do miss her.

I remember the birth of both my kids very vividly, with James I ran over a cat trying to get to the hospital while his mom was in…