Celebrating My Mom's 70th Birthday 🎉

Hey everyone! To say reaching this point has been a fun & wild journey would be a big understatement.  

Why start writing now? Did you lose a bet? But Carney, are you really that interesting that you should be writing a newsletter? Well, this journey started over this past weekend, where I had the chance to celebrate my mom’s 70th birthday in San Luis Obispo. It was a fun moment to get out of town (even it was just for a few days) and get a chance to celebrate my mom. We walked all over San Luis Obispo while also trying some amazing food, shop for different olive oils, and spend the day at the pool (shout out to Apple Farm Inn).

For folks that know my parents, they’ll tell you that I’m very much like my mom in that we’re both workaholics. Even a one-day vacation might as well feel like an eternity for the both of us and we often find ourselves gravitating back to talking about work. But this weekend felt a bit different. As my mom and I were enjoying a nice dinner at the Madonna Inn, we both started reflecting on how quickly time has passed and how moments like this feel that much more special.

I’m finding myself constantly on the go these days, and the opportunity to slow down just for a bit was incredible, but truth is I felt a bit of sadness. I was sad in that I’ve put so much of my life into work and often felt my personal value & worth being tied to my job. This working 24/7 and grind has taken its toll and for folks that also know me well, they’ll know that I’ve battled a fair amount of challenges with my weight for several years to the point that I’ve never weighed more than I’m currently at in my life. For the longest time I would tell myself: “Just give yourself six months and you’ll lose X amount of lbs and be to where you want to be…. You’ll finally find fulfillment like a scene at the end of movie, the credits will roll and you’ll find happiness” and for a while that worked for me. But over time that trick wore off and I would find myself gaining more weight than I lost. Folks that I knew would tell me this was yo-yo dieting and I always felt like I was at an endless cycle where I was constantly worried about the weight I would gain.

I still wrestle with my weight daily and most weeks continue to be a challenge where I’m constantly monitoring what I’m eating while beating myself up on what I ate throughout a busy day… BUT weekends like this past one really helped me not only slow down for just a brief moment, but also take the time to reflect on what I’m thankful for and even though I have a long way to go in my physical and overall journey, I’m starting this newsletter to start documenting my path.

I may not write daily, weekly, or even monthly, but I’m excited for this journey (both physical and mental) and what writing will unlock for me. As I’m writing this first note, I find myself starting to tear up because I realize I have so many more thoughts I want to put down (I only meant to write a few sentences), but for this first one, I’m excited to write this with my mom in mind and as a gift to her.

Happy birthday mom and I promise I’ll continue documenting this amazing path moving forward! My dog Koda approves of this message as well!