The World Cup started this past week. I was feeling guilty about watching the matches instead of working on my website. This gave me pause. Let’s dig into this for a couple of minutes.

I am retired

March 2026 marked two years since I went on disability. In 2024, I continued to stay active in the data community by presenting at events and creating Fabric 5 videos.  I feel like I officially retired from data work in May 2026 when I chose not to pursue my data platform Microsoft MVP award. Regardless, I now only work for me.

I enjoy watching the World Cup

This year is the World Cup. Ever since my first experience watching the World Cup with a bunch of South Americans while in college, I was hooked. I love the international flair. I really enjoy watching the game. I look forward to watching most of games. It is kind of like March Madness on an international scale. I plan to watch it without guilt.

I have work to do on the website

At the end of 2026, I created this website to share my thoughts about whatever and resources we have used during my journey with ALS. The project has grown to include newsletters and a store. People are reading, learning and using what we have shared.

Along the way, I started building a task list. To keep my growing list of manageable, I moved to a project management solution. I have much to do as you see here.

Even with all this to do, I have to remember that it is my backlog. Only I can put pressure on me. It is difficult to keep too high of a pace with ALS. So, breaks are required.

Living life with balance, purpose, and joy

What does this all mean? Well, I plan to not stress about the backlog and enjoy my summer. I will watch a lot of the World Cup. I will celebrate my birthday. We have a weekend in Branson, Missouri, planned with family. Of course, I plan to celebrate the 250^th year of the US. I will also be outside more. I have a lot of fun and leisure planned this summer.

I have decided not to feel guilty or stressed over my backlog of projects and tasks.

Status of website progress

Don’t worry, I’ll still be working on the website, writing newsletters, and contributing to social media. The pace will slow down and I may miss some internal deadlines, but I will keep moving forward. And I will enjoy life!