It's a once in a lifetime experience.

Don't say this to me. Because it's not.

I don't do once in a lifetime experiences. My passion is in their pursuit.

Yes, I've done some amazing things:

• Take a ski trip my father and daughter.
• Spend 6 weeks navigating Alaska's inside passage on a 28 foot Bayliner.
• Spending a Saturday night on Beale Street with Uncle Irvin, who seemingly knows everyone in Memphis.
• Look down at the rooftops of Paris from the top of the Eiffel Tower with our children and my niece.
• Ride a gondola with my one and only in Venice.
• Go to a Michelin two star restaurant in France and eat only the cheese course. (That was good use of $350!)
• Stay at Bangkok's famed Oriental Hotel.
• Celebrate my birthday with my extended family in Zermatt.
• Watch our kids discover the joy of playing in the ocean and sand on Maui.

If I thought I'd only do things like this once, I'd fall into a deep state of depression. With the same conviction that a child believes in the Tooth Fairy, I believe that I will continue to have once in a lifetime experiences. That's just the kind of person I am.

Reading back through the list makes me seem spoiled, privileged. Everyone makes choices and my choice has been to work really hard to be able to do these things. I choose to place experiences over stuff, as is evidenced by our lack of living room furniture until 14 years into our marriage.