
I turned 35 yesterday! In no particular order, here are 35 things I’m grateful for:
- Good health, and good overall physical condition.
- The opportunity to grow older each year with my amazing wife.
- My kids’ bubbly spirits and zest for life.
- The love of my parents and siblings.
- Oatly, Blue Lotus Chai, and stevia to make my morning chai.
- Ending up in a job I really enjoy after the stress of getting laid off from my dream job.
- Perks of working remote in an async environment: no commute, optimizing for my natural energy flows, and seeing my family throughout the day.
- Willa, who is always in a good mood. #goals
- Oregon’s natural beauty — the coast, the Willamette Valley, the high dessert.
- Books that broaden my worldview, most recently: Unsettled. Natural climate variability seems like a far greater challenge than human CO2 emission.
- When you’re staying in a house without air conditioning and the overnight temperature drops to 53℉ instead of 68℉.
- The internet, and all the exchange of knowledge it facilitates.
- The breadth of topics on Conversations with Tyler.
- Fishing for salmon with my dad.
- The occasional long walk with my mom.
- A great set of teammates from across the globe: Brazil, Jamaica, Spain, Poland, Montenegro, New Zealand.
- Psyllium husk.
- 1% infinity — every day tiny improvements can produce substantial change over time.
- The value of editing.
- People who, for all their faults, move humanity forward.
- Learning how to lift weights last September. Even the little bit I do makes me feel much stronger and capable.
- The privilege to introduce my kids to the world. It’s incredibly warming to have their eyes light up at something I take for granted.
- Friends I’ve had for ten, twenty, and thirty years.
- The opportunity to make new friends every day.
- A good night sleep.
- An awesome trail run on a cold, crisp morning.
- My mom’s blueberry cobbler.
- My dad’s fish and chips.
- Keeping a whimsical perspective on life (“my number one goal is to stay alive” and “non-stop fun all the time”) which helps me roll with the punches.
- How much I’ve been able to travel, and how those experiences have shaped who I am.
- PHP is better than JavaScript.
- Living on a cul-de-sac where my kids can run around for hours.
- Celebrating my birthday for an entire week (the “birthday week” tradition). This past week: McKenzie River trail run, sushi, homemade pizza, Chettinad with friends, weekend in Sunriver with my family.
- Everything I’m forgetting to mention.
- Being grateful.