Eli and Adeline Kardell
Mar 31, 2022 #givethanks100
Today I'm giving thanks for Eli and Adeline Kardell. My first day of #givethanks100 was dedicated to my wife, Kate. It’s only fitting then, that I close up this series by talking about my kids.
I like to call the three of us the “Three Amigos”. One of my favorite things to do during the summer is for the three of us to go on bike rides together.
I see myself in Eli in many ways- he looks like me, he’s an introvert, and he loves to code. Fortunately for him, I can already tell he will be much taller than me.
Adeline and I share a birthday and a personality type. She’s adventurous and creative and more likely to ask for forgiveness than permission… all traits that I admire.
My family is my first priority and I would do anything for them. It is also true that I have never found myself capable of completely checking out of work. My kids are very gracious and understanding on this.
Perhaps the biggest test of my “work-life integration” philosophy came a year ago. On March 25th 2021, I signed a letter of intent to sell HomeSpotter to Lone Wolf. Two days later, I hopped in an RV with the family for a two week trek to some amazing national parks in Utah, Arizona, and New Mexico. Given that the LOI to close process took only 46 days, that means that 32% of that process happened while I was traversing the country in an RV with my family.
I didn’t want to jeopardize the deal or convey that I was any less committed to a timely close, so I never really mentioned I was in an RV to my new colleagues at Lone Wolf. I took many due diligence meetings hunched over a laptop on the side of the road or in some other temporarily contrived office setup.
We managed to have the vacation of a lifetime and enjoyed every minute of it … and the deal closed on time too.
As I thought about the things I most wanted to do if the deal closed, the thing that kept floating to the top of my list was that I simply wanted to spend more time with my kids daily and to cherish each moment before they head off to make a life of their own.
I’ve since been very fortunate this past school year to be able to commit to doing a few school drop offs and pick ups each week. That twenty minute drive to/from school is often the highlight of my day.
I’ve also had the chance to take tennis lessons with Eli and to watch my daughter excel at gymnastics.
Eli and Adeline- I love you both to the moon and back. I am so lucky you are my kids and I am so proud of who you are both becoming. Thank you for supporting and understanding your entrepreneurial father. The best is yet to come.
Originally posted on LinkedIn – head over to give it a like or a share.
I’m giving thanks for 100+ days to individuals that positively impacted me or HomeSpotter’s trajectory.