Tara and Noah had a play date at the park after five months. Got me all moisty eyed looking at them bike together around the park. Stop at whim. Throw their bikes on the side, play hide and seek; and then come back and pick up their bikes and on their way back to the riding track.

It was Tara’s Pre K graduation on Friday. So we all made a big deal about it and pampered the pre-K grads with play dates and Rice Krispies. Unadulterated joy.

Did you notice the word – unadulterated. I mean is being an adult, being impure. Apparently the etymology of the word supports my hypothesis. Adulter is to make impure. Latin word adulteratus marks the origin of the English words – unadulterated, adulterated and adulter. Anyways I love going down these paths that lead to nowhere. Signs of being an adult I guess 😉

Today at breakfast, I summarized to Agam a few thoughts that were whipping in my head while making eggs. The concept of whole being greater than sum of parts. And how a dish is delicious because of the combination of so many ingredients. And I applied to the team I am leaving. And summarized this thought – “The difference between a group of people working together, and a team, is that in a team, the whole must be greater than the sum of its parts. And what makes the whole greater is the empathy and understanding each of the members have of each other’s strengths and weaknesses. With that understanding and a collective desire to create something bigger than the parts, one can build a successful team with a group of people.”

I like leading teams because it helps me understand people. Their motivations, their value systems, their frameworks, their drive to overcome limitations, their desire to grow. Of course there are judgements issued on how I lead. But I don’t want to go there right now. In my new role I have already interacted with exponentially more people than I ever did. It has been exhilarating learning each of their styles, incentives and how to influence them. Such are the joys I chase. To each their own. It’s my way of seeking unadulterated joy.

Being an adult is so overrated. Regardless, I created this today –

And Agam and I created this today –