Better this way

At one time in my life, I was lucky enough to have 5 living grandparents, including my great grandfather. Obviously I didn’t realize how lucky I was then, but now looking back I’m making up for when I didn’t appreciate that fact. Some people have never even met their grandparents. Going through old photos I found this one. I had more hair on my head than my face, and that was my grandpa Al.

He passed before I was diagnosed with cancer. He was an old school New York City, union carpenter. Very thick accent, and always a godfather cigar in his mouth. I remember hearing so many stories about how strong he was. My favorite story was how he was able to hammer a nail in with one short, compact, powerful swing. The other story I loved of him was when he was a few moments away from closing his eyes for the final time, he had a breathing tube that kept falling off his face. My dad kept putting it back on. The last time my dad tried, my grandfather grabbed his hand, and my dad wasn’t able to move his hand from my grandpa’s grip. Such a legend. 

I wasn’t able to properly say goodbye to him. My family allowed me to see him in his casket before we buried him. I was fortunate to have that closure. Much has happened since he passed, and I definitely miss him so much. To this exact moment, I was extremely grateful and relieved he wasn’t alive to see what I’ve been through. 

This is a shout out to anyone who still has grandparents alive or if you are a grandparent yourself, salud. Thank you for the infinite love. And the extra cash in our pockets.

#gratitude #mikecohen #familyfirst #inspiration

alone

from time to time, I get these memories that come out of nowhere. They bring me back to a time when something traumatic happens. Postively traumatic and negatively traumatic. I remember before my phone was also my notepad, I would drive to the beach by myself. Life was tough and I just needed to clear my head. I lived about 20 minutes away from Jones Beach. the beaches out there were just perfect when you needed to be by yourself.

I’d sit on the dock of an abandoned restaurant and just stare. I’d cry. I’d yell. I’d scream. Wasn’t really confident on my means of expression but I felt the ocean understood.

tonight, I am alone. It was only Lincoln and I, and that was perfect. No ex girlfriend, no friends, no family, just him and I. He literally made me belly laugh. He is a special creature and I am so lucky to have him. I like being alone.

Not exactly sure how to put words or a title to this but, I have this insatiable desire for more. More living. More experiences. More laughs. More smiles. Different scars. Different memories. Different locations. All new. All fresh. New stories. New living. that’s what I want.

alone.

About time

It’s all about time. Over the past couple months, all of my posts have defaulted to my social media pages. I figured I would update and simplify my website. Over the last few months, I have learned much about time. How it really is the most valuable thing we can obtain. Where sometimes we get lost in building a business, getting more followers, finding clients, etc. The end game is more money. That more money to each and every one of us is eventually going to equate to time. Time to travel. Time to camp. Time to mountain bike.  Time to enjoy what we really love to do. After my recent health scares, the time has been extremely therapeutic. It has taught me how important it is to slow life down and take a breath. Focus on the important parts. In my case, I had to recover from this heart attack and open heart surgery. The best and only way to recover is time. I am in no rush. I’m going to enjoy each and every second of this time. I will get stronger and healthier every single day. All in a matter of time. I am so excited to be back to blogging and sharing what I’ve learned along this way. Hope you enjoy.