Some days it might feel like you’re just keeping your head above water – a bit like the hooded seal in the picture above, for example. Every day, we have to tackle the myriad complexities that modern life throws at us: emails, text messages, phone calls, meetings (many of which probably could have been emails), household bills to pay, people to check in on, friends to catch up with, family to care for, dogs to feed, hobbies to tend to…it goes on. And, where does that leave time for gratitude and presence? And by this, I mean simply stopping and reflecting on how lucky we are to be where we are in the moment.
“Lucky” might be a strange word to hear from a guy who learned just a few months ago that he has an incurable, rapidly progressive degenerative neuromuscular disease for which the treatments are only modestly disease-modifying. But, I do, indeed, count myself as one of the luckiest. Why?
Well, we all have a terminal diagnosis. I just have the privilege to know what mine is. That gives me an opportunity to be hyper-intentional about what I do. Every day that I get out of bed and walk down the stairs is a victory. And, even though walking up the stairs to go back to bed at the end of the day is getting increasingly harder, that too is a victory.
What I do between coming down those stairs and going back up those stairs matters. I am so lucky to be able to get to choose how I use that time. And, I am so very grateful for that choice. I don’t know that before last December, I had the clarity to recognize how lucky I am. Every day is a gift. And, we should unwrap each with intention and focus.
So, what have I chosen to do lately?
It has been a bit since I’ve put my digital pen to digital paper, I suppose, and that is because I’ve been busy. We recently went on another adventure. We took an expedition to East Greenland, a relatively unexplored coastland where the naval charts were so poor that they frequently showed us sailing our modern ship on land masses. I can assure you that we did not.
We went without a lot of specific expectations about what we might experience which, I think, is a most-recommended way to undertake an adventure like this. It is truly the way to experience the world through a child’s eyes. If you don’t have a preconceived notion of what you are expected to find, what you find will, by definition, exceed all of your expectations. And, this trip did.
Once again, we boarded the National Geographic Resolution, and Captain Martin, with whom we previously sailed to the Antarctic and through the Northwest Passage, expertly captained us on an epic adventure to find seals, polar bears, glaciers, whales, and serenity. Descriptions are hard. So, I’ll share some pictures from our journey.
Click on the gallery below for more detail, if you’d like. Admittedly, some of the photos are better than others. My photography skills are progressing. Progressing in which direction at times, I am not sure. I brought along a new 50mm prime lens, and it was like playing a whole new game. I am truly grateful to have had the opportunity to spend time learning from the amazing Camille Seaman again. We had traveled to Svalbard with her. I truly hope to have the chance to take her up on her invitation to visit her in Denmark one day in the near future. Check out the link to her work above. It is breathtaking.
But, what else?
Anne’s company is now fully on its feet and stabilized. Talk to Me, Goose! is getting good traction. The community has been very supportive in terms of providing feedback on the application’s features and functionality. She has hired an intern for the summer who has helped get things organized and develop a strategy. There are some exciting announcements anticipated in the next several weeks.
The company has also launched a second app: Fable’s Adventures. This was built from the same technical underpinnings of Talk to Me, Goose! but for a much larger audience. Using the Story Builder feature from Talk to Me, Goose! Fable’s Adventures is meant for kids of all ages (this pretty much means you, by the way) to instantly create stories and audiobooks. It’s free to try and available for all iOS devices on the App Store. I’ve been playing with it in my spare time, and I just love creating stories. The website linked above has several examples that rotate on the home page. It even creates illustrations of the main characters on the fly. It is a ton of fun.
This was a capability that was originally built for Talk to Me, Goose! to give people living with ALS (PALS) the chance to build and tell their children or grandchildren bedtime stories. It was so much fun, it just made sense to make it into its own application for a larger audience. Check it out!
I will say, the feedback from the PALS community on the Story Builder feature has been tremendous. One user’s three year old daughter said, ‘I want to read that story again and a hundred hundred times again forever.’ She was too young to even remember her daddy ever reading her a story before he had lost his ability to use his own voice. Let’s just say that when I heard that I sobbed. So, yeah. I feel pretty damned lucky to get to do what I’m doing tinkering around the way that I am.
And, that brings me back to now
I just made the decision, or maybe had the decision made for me by this disease, that it’s time for me to hang up my cleats. After more than 21 years, I will be retiring from the firm.
I have been sitting on the disability claim paperwork for several months now not reconciling yet the inevitable. I finally submitted it two weeks ago. Apparently, on January 21, 2026, I will officially be retired.
I stepped away from work for medical reasons in late January. I was struggling to meet my own expectations then. While the progression of my disease has been, thankfully, relatively slow, I have progressed.
I can no longer climb the hill to my house on my bicycle. I do have to give myself some grace for that. It is a 17% grade. But, I could do it before (and pretty fast too, mind you). I recently spent some time with friends in Colorado. While I rode my bicycle through the mountains surrounding Breckenridge, it was at a far slower pace than my usual. And, it took a lot more determination to turn the pedals than was ever required before.
Slowly, I am still reconciling these “losses” (?), but I am also still so very grateful. I did ride. I can ride. Eight months post-diagnosis of a disease which typically has a very rapid progression, I am lucky.
I recognized that there was no way that I was going to perform at a level that would meet my own, or the firm’s expectations. The work that we do for clients is too important. We need to show up for our teams and each other every day. And that requires that we be present and at our best every day. For more than 21 years, I tried to do that. I hope that I did.
I have the opportunity to make an impact in a different way. I can show up differently and share my time and my talents in a different context at a different pace. Taking my own advice, I need to be more intentional about how I choose to use the next chapter. So, after weeks of sitting on the paperwork, I finally faxed it in. (And, yeah, we can talk offline about that last statement actually being written in 2025.)
Lou Gehrig, in his iconic speech on July 4, 1939, called himself “the luckiest man on the face of the earth.” He said that he “might have been given a bad break, but I’ve got an awful lot to live for.”
His words ring so true for me. For this reason and many others, I’ve been drawn to the team at the Live Like Lou Foundation. I’ll have a lot more to say in the coming weeks. The work that they do is remarkable. Their motto, to “Leave ALS better than we found it,” also resonates a lot with me.
On a related note, Anne’s company has committed to share in any proceeds from Fable’s Adventures with Live Like Lou. We have some additional things in flight that we’re going to be doing with them and others in the future. Stay tuned.
In closing…
There is a curious thing about the hooded seal in the picture above. He is not just keeping his head above water, he’s intensely present in the moment. It strikes me that we should take a lesson from the seal.
Thank you, David.
Thank you!
Amazing perspective – thank you for sharing and inspiring so many along the way…taking a moment to remember and reflect on how lucky we are is definitely needed more in this fast-paced world.
Shawn, I appreciate you taking the time to comment. I enjoyed the time that we had to work together.
“Thank you David” sums it up for me as well. Please keep these thoughtful (and thought provoking) writings coming! I will be rereading this one from time to time!
Mark, I’m so glad that our paths crossed. I look forward to continuing to work with you.
Wishing you the best David!! You stories of life are inspirational! May God Bless you and be with you every step of your journey.
Thank you, Mike.
Thank you David for sharing and keeping us grounded on what matters most.
Always a pleasure, Vik.
Thx David for sharing all of this with us. And your pictures are stunning. Please keep at whatever it is for you, and you will continue doing amazing things.
I appreciate you, Margaret. Thank you for the kind words.
Love this! A reminder to all of us that every day is truly a gift. And your pictures are amazing- need to add Greenland to my travel wish list! Glad the company is doing well- you and Ann are doing great work!
xoxo
Andi
Thanks, Andi. Yes! Go to Greenland. It’s a must see.
I am the mother of this amazing man. He never fails to amaze me. In this time when he could be wallowing in self pity he has chosen to move forward with grace and courage. He so reminds me of his father who passed away from cancer in 2001. He too had the attitude “you take the hand your dealt and make the best of it” I see that in David.
I have spent many tear filled nights in prayer for both my children, but like him I am trying to put go forth and look for the gratitude in my life.
I am so proud of you the work you have done and I know there are many more wonderful tasks ahead for you. You and your amazing wife will face each day with courage and love. I am a blessed mother in so many ways.
Love you, mom. This means a lot to me.
David,
Thanks for taking time to share this personal journey. We admire you and what you teach us all.
Thanks, Tad.
David you are absolutely amazing! Thank you so much for sharing your journey with all of us.
Brent, I appreciate you, sir. It was always a pleasure to work with you. I learned so much from the opportunities we had to collaborate.
Wow!
Truly raw and inspiring!
Thank you and God bless!
Thank you, Patti.
You continue to be a teacher for many, including myself, on what to prioritize, and what truly matters. Your legacy at Deloitte and well beyond is carved in stone and we will do everything in our power to do you proud <3.
Urvi, You make me proud every day, and I have learned so much from you.
Thank you, David, for sharing your journey, such a simple yet always profound reminder of gratitude each and everyday.
Thanks, Geoff. I hope that you are well. It’s lovely to hear from you.
This was such a touching read. Thank you for taking us along on this journey. Although our paths only crossed briefly at the firm, I’ve been genuinely inspired by your unique and abundant approach to life. Wishing you all the very best in your next chapter, and I’m looking forward to reading more of your reflections and writing.
Thank you, Emma. I do recall our paths crossing, and I appreciate you taking the time to write.
Delightful, interesting, sometimes funny… and often inspiring, as only grace under pressure can be. I think it was Ram Dass who said, “We’re all just walking each other home”. I’m happy to be walking with you.
I am happy to be walking with you as well, Susan. I love that quote.
Thank you David for your service to our school and our students. Wishing you the very best and know we are forever grateful.
UCR was a pivotal time for me, and I owe so much to the school. I am happy to continue to engage as I am able. Thank you.
I so appreciate knowing and learning from you, David – in all of the situations in which we have interacted. Thank you for your poise, your fire, your sense of humor and your drive to make each day, each disease, and each story even better than the last. Well done, you, and cheers to you and your wife and your family throughout this next chapter!!
Elizabeth – Thank you so much for your kind words.
David, you once again lead us — to a destination where we all need to be.
Thanks, Joe. It was great to see you recently. I appreciate your comments very much.
David, thank you for being so generous in sharing your journey and what this next chapter will bring. Admiration is too small a word to describe how meaningful it is to read your words but also be inspired by the grace and purpose with which you are choosing to live! 💙🙌🏽🙌🏽
Heather – Thank you, my friend. Your words mean a lot to me.
David, I have always been impressed by your grit, resilience, and enthusiasm for what is most important in your life. While you have been thrown a curve ball, you have hit it out of the park with your intentional living, teaching all of us an incredibly important lesson in selecting our priorities. Thank you for sharing your reflections and encouraging all of us to reflect as well. Take good care, my friend.