Author Archives: Suneet

by Suneet | January 13, 2017 · 9:43 am

A YEAR IN ONE DAY

I feel like … parenthood adds a 31st chapter to Einstein’s Dreams. It’s when you feel the full weight of a year passing in one single, powerful, gut checking, reality forcing, tear inducing, awe inspiring, mother effing moment. At 11:59:59pm on Wednesday you were 2. A raucous 2. An evolving 2. A personality developing 2. A very different 2 than the 2 you started at. But 2. You were our 2 year old daughter. And in a flash. It was January 12th. And all that you became while you were 2. Turned into 3. And I can’t believe it. You know what else I can’t believe? How incredibly fast time flies. And how many things you keep teaching me about myself. How much you keep teaching your mom and I about ourselves, and about each other. And how in less than 8 months you’ve demonstrated the kind of sister you’re going to be (awesome). And so many more things. But really, one more thing. We can’t believe that this kind of love is possible. #Iamgrateful and #Iamthankful for every stinking moment. You’re gracious, generous, genius, gregarious, and gorgeous. Happy Birthday, Magic. Stop bending time so quickly, please, Magic. My heart just can’t keep up.

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Tagged as father-daughter, LIFE, love, memories

by Suneet | January 12, 2017 · 10:37 am

GODIN ON GRATEFUL

Entitlement is optional. It’s not forced on us, it’s something we choose.

And we rarely benefit from that choice.

That emergency surgery, the one that saved your life, when the ruptured appendix was removed—the doctor left a scar.

We can choose to be grateful for our next breath.

Or we can find a way to be enraged, to point out that given how much it costs and how much training the doctor had, that scar really ought to be a lot smaller. And on top of that, he wasn’t very nice. We’re entitled to a nice doctor!

Or we can choose to be grateful.

Marketers have spent trillions of dollars persuading us that we can have it all, that we deserve it, and that right around the corner is something even better.

Politicians have told us that they’ll handle everything, that our pain is real and that an even better world is imminent.

And we believe it. We buy into our privilege as well as the expectation that our privilege entitles us to even more. It’s not based on status or reality. It’s a cultural choice.

And you’re entitled to your entitlement if you want it.

But why would you?

Entitlement gets us nothing but heartache. It blinds us to what’s possible. It insulates us from the magic of gratitude. And most of all, it lets us off the hook, pushing us away from taking responsibility (and action) and toward apportioning blame and anger instead.

Gratitude, on the other hand, is just as valid a choice. Except that gratitude makes us open to possibility. It brings us closer to others. And it makes us happier.

There’s a simple hack at work here: We’re not grateful because we’re happy. We’re happy because we’re grateful.

Everything could be better.

Not because we deserve it (we don’t, not really). But because if we work at it, invest in it and connect with others around it, we can make it better. It’s on us.

It’s difficult work, counter-instinctual work that never ends.

But we keep trying. Because it’s worth it.

#Iamgrateful and #Iamthankful that you thought enough to send this to me Mike Kotler. I appreciate the hell out of it. Wish I’d written it. Hope to catch up soon, man.

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Tagged as grateful, health, healthy lifestyle

by Suneet | January 12, 2017 · 2:53 am

POVs

I fully missed Trump’s press conference. I started reading headlines from NYT, CNN, FOX, Breitbart, Young Conservatives … and I’m lost. Did any of you folks watch it? Would love to hear all sides. Also, side note … does anyone else feel that people and their political parties are starting to act like NFL fans? I compare reading headlines about this news conference (and last night’s speech) to watching a football game between rival teams, with rival fans — and arguing every penalty. It’s amazing how the exact same thing, that everyone sees, can have two such wildly different interpretations.

#Iamgrateful and #Iamthankful the Broncos aren’t in the playoffs this year. I can watch football objectively, or, do what I’ve been doing, and ignore it altogether.

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Tagged as awareness, conferrence, news, POLITICS, Trump

by Suneet | January 11, 2017 · 8:06 am

GOOD DUDE

I said it about GW when he left office. I’m still looking for that one story I read way back about the way GW treated WH staff, and the way GW built out his Christmas Card list to a scale (of thanks, gratitude and inclusion) never seen before. I now say it about Obama. Not a comment or critique on his Presidency. Just a statement about whether or not he was a good man. I’ll watch and listen as folks say no. Talk about a variety of interpretations of why he wasn’t (funny Politico article today about how Obama should have picked more enemies and been less calm — like an ounce of Obama rage would not have triggered so much backlash and undermined everything he stood for). I spend my life looking for the good in people. When I debate with someone at work, I start with what kind of a son they are, what kind of mom they are, what kind of friend they are. I watched a good man give a speech tonight. (I then quickly went to Fox to watch Hannity polarize the entire conversation and find himself in position to not say one positive thing about the President — which is impossible. Not one thing? Please, stick to your talking points.) I hope, 4 years from now, I’m writing a similar sentiment. About a man’s final days in office. About a man on the cusp of his second term. I hope at the very least I’m saying, “good dude”. #Iamgrateful and #Iamthankful for the “good people” approach to engaging in debate.

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Tagged as debate, goodpeople, gratitude

by Suneet | January 10, 2017 · 5:58 pm

PLAYED

We. Are all being played. If we comment on Streep and not on Sessions, we are being played. If we take a side on Putin and the 2016 election, without acknowledging he aimed to influence and change public opinion (objectively true) but he didn’t hack votes and thus the electoral process (objectively true), we are being played. If we call what someone writes “fake news” because we disagree with it, we are being played. If we revere Obama, without honestly talking about his calming presence (he was the embodiment of Presidential), his wins (a more inclusive America as it pertains to health, gender, religion, orientation), his losses (a massive and increasing wealth gap gone uncurbed), his obstacles (obstructionism for ideology), we are being played. If we criticize Republicans for going nuclear, without criticizing Democrats for giving them that power and weakening our Democracy, we are being played. My newsfeed makes me sad today. I feel like I am being yelled at in both ears, other ear be d*mned. #Iamgrateful and #Iamthankful I can always hug my kids and hope they will grow up capable of starting with empathy. But most importantly, starting with what is objectively and undeniably true.

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Tagged as fake, falsenews, POLITICS

by Suneet | January 9, 2017 · 7:57 am

iPHONE MIRACLES

My phone has been unresponsive for the past 24+ hours. I never backed it up. Everything that matters to me (digitally) is pretty much on this device (photos, videos). The irrecoverable. It’s been a painful 24 hours thinking that we may lose some photos that are so important. And we can’t get them back. Called an Apple genius (literally, a genius). Was told to take it into the store. Called Verizon. Nothing. Called the Apple Store? They hung up on me (furreal). So I spent the past hour digging in on articles about the subject. Nothing. Then … I got desperate. Priya KC Bhatt as my witness. And I delved into the land of misfit toys otherwise known as “the comments section”. And I found this miracle. Written by this user. That worked. I bent my iPhone slightly. Just lightly twisted and turned it. And it works. I’m backing up everything. I bought a TB of iCloud storage. And I’m going to get my new phone ASAP. But for this guy. In this comments section. On this random blog I scoured. #Iamgrateful and #Iamthankful <and the hashtag is back, everyone who hates on can unfriend me. But this is a miracle and holy hell do I feel grateful and thankful right now.

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Tagged as iPHONE MIRACLES, noloss, regained

by Suneet | January 2, 2017 · 1:18 pm

#TYMMPB… | of your “A” Game

You look good. But you can’t help that.

What can you help is how you carry all that good looking.

The past few weeks we’ve had a range of events that required you to flex styles, and you did them all seamlessly. Flexing styles and fitting in require more than simply changing clothes. That would be like saying my old school Subaru GL hatchback would win an F1 race because you painted it like Nico Rosberg’s Mercedes.

Also, I totally had to look up that last reference. I know nothing about Formula 1.

At the ripe old age of 7 months you’ve found a way to change colors while also, adapting your personality to accommodate the event. Sometimes it’s as simple as how you sit. But it’s alway as simple as how you feel.

Today you make me proud because I see in you a person who has this ability to fit in, to be present, and to find happiness in any environment. You’ve got a smile that can change the world — it’s already changed ours.

Keep that adaptability and awareness at your fingertips, Jaanu. It will serve you well. And it will serve the people around you, even better.

Also, keep making your sister laugh. It’s awesome.

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Tagged as advice, baby tuxedo, free spirit, son

by Suneet | December 26, 2016 · 10:42 am

TYMMPB… | of your Shoulders

We’ve already talked about the power of touch. About being grateful and thankful. About building bridges. We’ve covered some topics.

This might be our most important.

Give. Just. Give.

Of yourself. Of your soul. Of your wallet. Of your time. Of your energy. Of. Your. Self.

You may not realize it, but 6 months in, that’s what you’re doing right now. You’re being present. You’re spending time. You’re giving love. And hugs. And holy hell are you giving hugs. It helps that you’re a fairly huggable young man, whose body basically morphs to and absorbs the shape of whatever you hug, but still. Holy hell do you hug.

Where was I? WTH I just lost myself thinking about hugging you by the way. Remember that when I take your car keys away one night.

But give.

Think of progress. Think of your history books. Not even US History, but World History. Think of how we got from Pyramids to Skyscrapers. From Woodrow Wilson to Barack Obama. From suffering to suffrage. From infant mortality to required rear-facing car seats up to like, 90 lbs (I exaggerate, but still.)

We got there because people gave forward. Ideas. Time. Energy. People gave. To make the world better than it was.

I look back on my childhood and even early adulthood and realize I never gave enough, and I never acknowledged, enough, what I was given. Perhaps the most important thing I was given were shoulders. To lean on, to cry on, and then, and now, to stand on.

I ask that you acknowledge always the shoulders you are standing on so you are thankful for what you’ve been given, but perhaps even more importantly, you look up, you look forward, and adjust your shoulders for the feet looking for their foothold. It will come at you sooner than you think. Your ability to make an impact in this world and to give starts on Day 1. (Nice work, by the way.)

TYMMPB | December

You make an amazing elf. You will, undeniably, make, an even more incredible person. I’ll leave the definition of “incredible” to you, forever and for always.

Today you make me proud because in you, I see already, such an incredible ability to give.

Go on and dust your shoulders off, Jaanu.

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Tagged as christmas, family, giving, holiday, legacy, love, thank you