In a lot of ways this picture I took yesterday of Tanner, in his oversized backpack walking down the hall on his first day of Kindergarten, mirrors my current stage in life.

In the last few months I’ve been wrestling with the footprint I’m leaving in this life. I talk a ton about ideals and character, yet I’m doing very little of it myself. Just last night I was watching a documentary on Toms Shoes and thinking to myself how people like Blake Mycoskie completely get what it means to live out their lives in service to others—and thinking how tremendously I fail in doing that myself. I am constantly trying to perfect my life, while in the process neglecting the needs of those around me. That’s all got to change.

Like Tanner I have been adequately prepared to enter this new world of endless possibilities, and like Tanner I plan on facing this brave new world head on, and soaking up every second. Now I’ve just got to get a cool backpack to hold all my gear!