Looking Back on 2013, Looking Ahead

I had intended this to be a "Travel Tuesday" post, but as I write this I am preparing for another set of meetings away from home. 2013 has been a banner year, a milestone in miles flown, cities visited, experiences collected and memories made. I started the year with a late January visit to Los Angeles, where I'll be concluding my travel for 2013.

In between visits to LA, I rode a train to New Jersey, made my first visits to Dubai and Ethiopia, attended Rootstech, took the family to the beach, made my first trip to Beijing and Geneva, another set of meetings in LA, Durban, a layover in Dubai, a visit to South Carolina, attended my college athletic Hall of Fame induction in Indiana, transited Amsterdam, and had meetings Bali and Buenos Aires. Whew! 2014 is shaping up to be a major year as well, with meetings already scheduled in LA, Singapore, London, LA, and perhaps my first visits to Moscow and Istanbul, along with certain surprises and locations to be determined.

2013 marked the loss of loved ones - my Gumpy and our cat Boomer. They're both remembered and continue to be in our lives.

I am very lucky to do what I do, often surrounded by wonderful colleagues, fascinating people, in amazing places. It's not all easy either, to do this, there are trade offs of lost family time and sleep, missed experiences in exchange for others. Reentry into "normal life" can be difficult, only to be interrupted by more travel. I wouldn't trade this though.

I look ahead to the coming year excited about the possibilities.