Bob and Debbie Conroy - Enjoying the Journey Together!

 A pleasant time was had by all.

It has been almost two years since I got very sick and was close to death. My immune system thought my colon was a foreign invader and mercilessly attacked it. It was a severe case of ulcerative colitis and it hit me quickly and completely. I had a colectomy in September of 2017. I experienced postoperative pancreatitis and had numerous collections of fluids in my abdomen causing inflammation in many organs. I was in a lot of pain, extreme pain, and lost almost 80 pounds, about 43% of my normal weight. After three months in a Des Moines hospital, I was transferred to the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN. What an incredible place! In a matter of weeks, a team of skilled medical professionals drained the fluids and set me on the path to recovery. It took about a year to recover my strength and to gain about half of my weight back. Today I have the constant reminder of the ordeal in the form of an ostomy pouch that collects the output from my small intestine. Yes, this has been a big ...

I am sure this banner at Jordan Creek Town Center is meant as a brag but a 10% failure rate is appalling to me. It must be appalling to the 10% that spent about $80,000 each just to graduate into unemployment.

Wow! Is it ever!  Who are these people who borrow money for toys and vacations? Do they not pay attention to a little thing called interest?  Interest on a loan is a great thing - when you're the one collecting it.

Bob's Goals: More time with grandkids in Kearney, NE. More contact and time with sibs. Finish the “Full Grassley”, i.e, visit all 99 counties in Iowa. Be more reflective and appreciative. Pass the general test to upgrade my amateur radio license. Continue to improve the agency and the Plan and make both independent of time and location. Gracefully exit groups and committees where I no longer have a great passion for their mission or I am doing too much of the work. Improve my work/life balance. Debbie's Goals: Work less Look for a vacation home Travel more with my hubby

Always lead with love. Self-actualized people can spot each other in a crowded room. Do you want my assessment of your unsolicited advice or shall I spare your feelings? If the other party in a discussion leads with their feelings leave the discussion with good-mannered expediency. Productivity equals self-esteem while a lack of productivity equals death of the human spirit. No government sponsored social program has ever created self-esteem. You are unique, just like everyone else. Expectations are critical: too low and your abilities are squandered; too high and your happiness is impossible. Apparently, every society has to try progressivism/socialism/communism at least once to see if it might work this time.

Our immediate gratification, consumption-driven culture never ceases to amaze me. Apparently, somebody has statistics to show that a good marriage is built on a solid foundation of debt. Oh, and they are in the loan business. " Big hat, no cattle " is a scenario for a doomed marriage .