This Has Got to Be The Good Life

Onerepublic sang that song.

If you aren't familiar with the song, you can listen to it here.

While I can't equate my experiences with those of the band, I can say that the last year or so in my teaching career has been a lot like that feeling.

Now, don't get me wrong - I have had my fair share of struggles, and have blogged about many of them. But sometimes I let all of those negatives cloud the fact that I am having the best time of my life. I know I've getting to be a better teacher. I know my students are learning some amazing things and practicing important skills.

I've been able to attend conferences, even present at them, and ultimately expand my skill set and my connections. Just this past weekend, I got to go to Chicago for a Google Mini-Conference put on my ICE in Illinois.  Not only that, but because they allowed me to present, I also get to attend with my wife. It was awesome! We even made a weekend of it.

Sure it was small, but it was also cool to connect with people in a small setting like that. I got to meet an amazing person Heidi who was helpful in trying to give me ideas for dinner downtown Chicago. She was an impressive individual and definitely put the pressure on me for my presentation. I think we could all learn a thing or two from her extensive living abroad experiences!

I got to catch up with the brilliant James Eichmiller - leader of an awesome Google Scripts training I attended back in the depths of winter. Somehow, I was recognized by another awesome individual, Nick Giacobbe, who I had never met before. Those twitter connections are truly something else. Plus, @richmanlobster was a pretty sweet story.

After that, my wife and I hung out in Chicago. You can't really get used to views like this...

Conference presentation notwithstanding - just the fact that my wife and I are blessed enough to afford a vacation to a major city is amazing. A day doesn't go by that I don't appreciate the opportunities I've been given and the breaks that have fallen my way. You walk through downtown Chicago and see all of the homeless people and your heart breaks. In reality, many people are not far from that. Sometimes we hardly realize how tenuous our existence is.

Ultimately, the point of this post is to celebrate where life has gone for me. I'm 26 years old. I am very happily married. We own a house. We have a fairly stable careers that match up and allow us to spend quality time together often.. I get to make an impact on the future of the world every single day. I get to be creative. I get to work with some brilliant people.  I live in a safe and somewhat prosperous area. I get to watch a lot of live baseball games.

I have two of the most adorable (albeit annoying) cats to every exist:

I try not to look to the future too much, as I have a tendency to worry about things way more than I should. A really wise book talks about worrying and how it really doesn't add to your life. It doesn't. It changes nothing. So with that, I am optimistic that things will continue to get better. But I have confidence they will, because not only do I have hard work on my side, but I've got one of the greatest support networks a man can have.

So, this really is the good life. It may not always be. It may get better. But for right now this seems like a good time to sit back and enjoy the ride.