Work is hard today. News this morning a former employee, someone I would not describe as a close friend, but a friend nonetheless, died in a motorcycle accident last night. Miles was a good guy. He and I were polar opposites politically, philosophically, and socially. Still, I enjoyed his company, and I was sad when it turned out he didn't fit at our company. That was a couple months ago, and although I tried hard to connect him where I could and help him find people or things that would land him a new job, he continued to struggle; even through yesterday when I talked to him last.
Miles had an ex-wife, and a son, Gunnar, who was 11 or 12. I only met him once or twice, but Miles was clearly very fond of being a dad, and relished their relationship. They were snowboard, soccer (although, as a brit, he called it football) and ice hockey buddies. Although it seemed Miles didn't lament the failure of his marriage (at least not outwardly), he definitely worried about its impact on his son, and he worked hard to mitigate it in as many ways as he could.
I find myself reflecting on what this means; to us as a company, to me as a friend, and most importantly, to me as a father and husband. The simple things are: make sure life insurance is paid up; review will & trust with planned guardians; make sure Jenny knows what to do and when. The harder parts are making sure each of the kids, and especially Jen, know just how much they mean to me, each and every time we part company. The precariousness of our time here, not knowing how much longer we've got, or what lies around the next curve, makes each moment we're together more important than the last. I try hard to remember that always. But incidents like this remind me to stop, and purposely focus on it more often. I will. I promise.
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