I typically combine my annual look-back and resolutions into a single entry, but this year I have decidedly to separate them. 2013 was an ordinary year by most measures, but underneath the waves of change are picking up momentum. The news of my father’s diagnosis of primary progressive aphasia was the first time when I really felt as if my parents were aging. I had a lengthy seven weeks off Isilon, and I ultimately came to grips with the realization that it wasn’t work fulfillment that I was missing, but something else.

Let me first start by saying that I have a great job. I have an amazing position which affords me a wonderful balance of technical, business, strategy, and communication. I work with great people, some of whom I have known for many years and others which I have the opportunity to forge new relationships with. I work inside the fastest growing division, with the fastest growing product in the industry, contained within the industry's leading company.

Family is more than genetics. Family can be your best friends and best friends can be your family. My father was recently diagnosed with primary progressive aphasia (PPA), an identity stealing degenerative brain condition. While his body may remain healthy for some time, it will rob me of my father, my role model, and the person I have spent my life emulating. I have always been proud to be called "

The first step towards getting somewhere is to decide that you are not going to stay where you are. -J. Pierpont Morgan My 2012 theme was balance and while I didn't always achieve it, it has become a mindset. This year is about renewal. What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us.

image Eriko’s first produce - I hope for much more!

image Thanks to this site (http://soccergoalplans.com) and the neighbor for inspiration … I need to get a net and Jerry will have a backyard soccer goal!