I just learned a very valuable lesson…Always save your work! just when I completed what I thought was a very engaging and well written thought, zap! It was erased as if the thought had never occurred to me. Oh well…

As human beings, excuses are so ingrained in our mind that at times you would think that they no longer represent habit but instead nature or our way of life. In a society filled with get rich quick schemes and promises of instant gratification it is amazing that the word “can’t” seems to be such a stifling and counterproductive word. But it exists today as the hammer in our tool belt of incompetence and denial.

Now of course I understand that there are certain limitations (perhaps physical) that prevent us from accomplishing the things we want, but overall I would say that “can’t” is often mis-used. We use can’t when we really mean to say “won’t”. Yes, this does seem quite remedial but just stop and think about it before you habitually use the overwhelmingly accepted and often unchallenged word “can’t” or cannot in your vocabulary. Challenge yourself to question whether it is appropriate in the given situation and ask the introspective and unfortunately unusual … why can’t I?

I’m not making any promises but I wonder if you really “can’t” leave your job? I wonder if you you really “can’t” eat a more healthy diet or if you “can’t” find time to do the things you enjoy? I would venture to guess that you “won’t” sacrifice the loyalty you have displayed (or perhaps you feel as though your talent will not be appreciated elsewhere), you “won’t” try to embrace new foods and you “won’t” limit other people’s priorities to make room for yours. (keep in mind that I tend to use the implied ‘you’ as often I am thinking about past situations that actually apply to me)

But it is the mind that should be your hammer since it is truly the most powerful tool. It is the command center for your body and the translator of your heart and soul. It is adaptable and so is your sense of worth, taste and priority. It is this new and seemingly junior varsity talent acquisition that has helped me to make some of my more recent decisions, as have been expressed in the annals of this very blog.

However, this is where I shift gears and move away from the first person as my life ceased to be a solo mission a couple months ago. It can now be best described as one journey with two moving parts instead of one. When we last left off Felicia and I were on our way to Denver. First it should be known that Denver, as I now know, is one of the treasures of the western United States. Coloradoins will tell you in a second that people are gravely mistaken when they picture endless snow storms and the like. In fact the statement, “there are 320 days of sunshine in Denver” is usually followed by “but let’s just keep that between us. we don’t want everyone moving out here”. Denver is gorgeous beyond words and the Rockies are truly something everyone should see for his/herself. The unfortunate part of the trip was that we experienced record lows. In 1886 it was -4 and in 2006 they hit -7 not including the wind chill. The first few days were cold beyond cold with low visibility throughout the day. As a matter of fact, I didn’t even see the mountains until day 4. Which, if you’ve visited Denver, is a truly unbelievable occurrence.

The purpose of our trip was to visit an old friend, find a home, obtain new jobs and return to Connecticut to prepare for the move. Pheeewwwww!!!! Without ever really questioning ourselves (true we needed to work within our limits and curb expectations), we set out and accomplished everything we planned. We got re-acquainted with a childhood friend of Felicia’s, made an offer that was later accepted on a townhome (almost 2,000 sq ft, 3br, 3bth, full bsmt, fireplace with a Western Plain/ski lodge feel) and secured paid jobs. I will be working with a local college as an admissions representative and Felicia signed on with a local modeling agency. Her goal is to find a home with a new Pharmaceutical company eventually but she is not looking to settle.

We now have boxes and wrapping tape up to our ear lobes but it is actually a stimulating visual effect and a reminder of a transition set into motion by mutual desire. Working backwards: We close on April 3rd, fly out of Connecticut on the 2nd, have a “moving away” party on March 31st and the movers will show up on the 30th. Yes, it all seems to be happening very quickly but it is to be expected. After all, this is how we put our minds to work. This is what we wanted and we challenged ourselves accordingly.

So when people ask “why Denver?”… now I just say because we CAN!