Chapter One

The secret of getting ahead is getting started.

I look back to a year ago, stuck in a job that had since promised promotion after promotion, married a lovely woman who makes me a better man and the desire to achieve something more. Three months later I took a leap of faith. And succeeded.

I take you ahead to the "now". I sit on my computer letting my fingers wander over the keyboard, deciphering my thoughts onto a media center that can be viewed by many(or all) and I can hear the wind blow, wondering just where life has taken me as a small paw juts under the door followed by an audible whine. I have a 6 month old puppy that warrants more than attention. I'm chasing 60 hours of work a week. Trying to find time for the little things with the woman I love. Where is the balance point? Where is the tipping point? All of this a year ago would have made my head spin. Forever ago I had never spent long periods of time away from most of my family and here I am. Curiously glancing around at my surroundings wondering how it came to pass. At first I thought, "You know! I will work 15 hours on Monday and 15 Tuesday! 10 hours a day on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday and take every weekend off" ..haha! Yeah. Right.

The dog needs a bath. More pee pads. Food. Hasn't been outside in three days and is about to loose her mind.

The wife dropped me off at work at 730 a.m. She won't see me until 1130 p.m. because its Monday. She cooked dinner at 6, cleaned the living room, made the bed and curled up on the couch waiting for my phone call.

So I stopped planning.

I started rolling with the punches.

And so it begins, my readers, this is my fighting chance to chase 60.

Some may ask and ponder, so allow me to elaborate. This doesn't mean I will always achieve this goal, but in life there are debts and there are bills. My goal is to find a way to bring my lovely wife and I, to ground zero. Perhaps live one day, on gravity fed water in a cute little cabin with little or no worry of the future, our little ones running around in the grass laughing, crying, sad or mad, being the father and mother they come running to. One day. But not quite yet.

This is, by all intensive purposes, "Chasing 60".