This is a personal post so feel free to skip if you’re looking only for business insights.

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“We are so lucky.”

My husband and I say this frequently,

and I felt it in a profound way

throughout these last 10 days

as we took a trip into the past,

visiting D-Day sites in Normandy.

Looking out across that sacred sand

at Omaha and Utah beaches,

and at the thousands of white crosses

in the cemetery on the bluffs,

it’s hard to fathom the

collective bravery of so many.

It’s humbling…beyond words.

We went on to Paris, where my father

was born and raised until 1938

when he and his family fled just

months before Nazis occupied the city.

We traveled on to Brussels, then Antwerp,

where my husband’s parents had lived,

a place from which they fled in the 40s.

The history is palpable and while

it constitutes our collective past,

it also constitutes our present.

When I think of any of this

(and of other countries in the world

where fighting is severe today),

so much snaps into perspective,

and I’m reminded of one of

my parents’ favorite Italian expressions:

“Beati Noi.”

Blessed are we.

Risk Forward & Live On,

P.S. You can watch a 41-second highlight reel of our trip above. As we steeped ourselves in stories from the war, we also celebrated our freedom. I didn’t include any pix of D-Day sites as it’s just too profound (and doing so felt wrong), but seared into my heart is the knowledge of the sacrifices these men and women made, so that millions could experience the lives they have.