Just sitting at my desk sipping a caramel latte...thank you Dr. Joe for the kind words!

One very special person who made a huge difference in my life was my first supervisor at Maxwell AFB, in Montgomery, AL. Her name was Dorothy King. As a transportation specialist serving in the US Air Force, I encountered a situation where I found myself solely responsible for the transportation claims aspect of my job. This was a position that entailed filing claims against commercial carriers for lost, pilfered, on damaged military freight while in their possession. We had a civilian employee who had retired, and Mrs. King didn't want to hire anyone into the position because she felt that I would do well as the claim's examiner. Mind you, I didn't get any training because the person who held the position left abruptly. As I started from scratch, Mrs. King would always encourage me and always let me know that I was doing a great job. One day, to both of our surprise, we received a letter from freight claims headquarters congratulating me for being one of the top performers in the Air Force having recovered in the course of 1 year more than $10,000 dollars from commercial carriers stating that if it were not for my detail and diligence simply would have been lost. And you know what, that was in 1984 and to this day I still have the original congratulatory letter!! It was her constant encouragement and belief in a young Airman's potential that laid the platform for me wanting to serve to the best of my ability!

Loved this morning's Latte! Man was it delicious! Regarding this morning's latte, I want to talk about taking time off. Since many of us do work, I feel that it is important to know that time off from work should be not only an important element in our lives, but it should be a "VERY IMPORTANT" element. I must admit that in the past, I for one have felt as if it was an uncomfortable endeavor for me to take a necessary break. Yeah, isn't that weird! But, if you're in that same boat, understand that planning ahead can be of a tremendous benefit. Here's a good one, unplug and disconnect! Give time off the same diligence that you give when preparing and showing up for your work. Commit to being "present" when you embark upon taking time off. Believe me, it will make a world of difference for you!

I remember when going through my masters' degree program and learning something about active listening that involved tuning into and understanding the speaker's body language. This notion helped to understand how the speaker was feeling as they presented their thoughts and ideas. It helped me to understand their passion through their gestures, as it relates to what they were trying to convey. And finally, it helped me to understand how much it meant to them that in my listening, I was giving them my undivided attention, through the idea of active listening by paying attention to their body language.

1. When thinking on the idea of asking yourself "will I", you realize that you have to come up with a plan and set goals. Ponder your ideas and thoughts. What is it that you are trying to accomplish. The biggest part this is your knowing that your goals are attainable. 2. Leaning into curiosity I would say is just basically continuing to learn. Gaining more knowledge is paramount as you reflect and act upon your curiosity. I guess we all have been in situations where the unknown has been challenging and even at times, a little scary.