I’m typically a positive sort of individual and recently I’ve had even more reason than normal to have a smile on my face. Is it the fact that the next Bladerunner movie is coming out soon? As good as that will be (fingers crossed) it’s not that. So what’s got me so upbeat?

For a start, after working on it for over 2 years, ParkLogic is migrating the last of our clients across to the new Next platform this week. It’s been a heck of a journey where we rebuilt our entire platform from the ground up……and yes, it’s a million times better! It also means that we will shortly be focusing on a single system rather than two (the old one and the new one) which will free up so much time for the team to continue to add value for clients.

I’ve also been working on a platform for developing websites on the fly. It evaluates, tracks and scores everything a user does on the page (leaves Analytics for dead!) and will be the basis for our next generation of ParkLogic products aimed at both the sales and development market segments. So far we have several million pieces of traffic a day moving through the system and it performs brilliantly…..so all is good and my smile is expanding!

Yesterday, I crossed the line of no return. I sometimes wonder what it would be like if I could somehow undo what happened but then, with a smile on my face I really don't want to. You see, yesterday was the day when our youngest daughter turned eighteen and in Australia, became an adult.

I remember like it was only yesterday when I held her in my arms for the very first time. The wonder in her eyes as she looked around the hospital delivery room and then she finally fixed on my own.

We both soaked in each others features, I her father and she my daughter. So yesterday I looked at not a little baby but a beautiful grown women, full of life and excitement for the years ahead. An almost mystical spark of love sprang between us.

When I look at her today, she seems to continue to look innocently around at the world in wonder....and then our eyes meet. Like eighteen years earlier, the bond of love between us is as strong as ever. I'm her father and she's my daughter.

But I’ve crossed a line. I no longer have children who are children but children who are now adults. Somehow, though all of our life’s ups and downs my wife and I have watched as three babies transformed into adulthood…..and now our last is no longer a child.

I'm so proud of each of my children, for the adventures they're going on, devouring life with a ferocious appetite. If life is a theme park, each of them are definitely riding the rollercoaster rather than playing it safe on the merry-go-round. You only get one shot at life, so you may as well enjoy it.

So when I looked at Elise yesterday, I found I had conflicting emotions. Happy for her but sad that those childhood years are now behind us. So rather dwell overly long in the past I begin to think of the future and the possibilities it will bring. Grandchildren! It was then that a smile spread across my face…..the cycle of life continues…..so maybe there was no line after all.

Have a great weekend!

PS. I should mention, that my wife Roselyn and our two daughters will be at NamesCon in January…..we look forward to see you all then!

I’ve been married for 28 years to Roselyn, she’s the most wonderful lady in the world. In fact, she plans to be at NamesCon this January to meet many of my domaining friends so be on the lookout for her! I’m blessed with three children, Tim and Sarah are in their early twenties and Elise just turned seventeen.

I was up really late last night finishing an analysis on the publically traded registrar/registry company, Rightside, for a future blog post. It seemed only moments later that I had to get up early to go and see Elise play in her netball final.

Sadly, Elise lost her final but in my eyes she won the whole game. Despite being really sick this past couple of weeks and just coming through her final exams she put her heart and soul into the game and did the best she possibly could. I was a really proud father….regardless of the score.

Sarah is coming to the end of her course in specialist make-up (for movies and television) while maintaining a pretty full-on part-time job selling streetwear clothing. She’s killing her sales targets and is now one of the key members of the sales team.

Tim has just secured a position teaching English to Italian students through drama. This means that he’ll being heading to Italy first thing next year for five months of traveling to different schools around that country….what an experience! In the meantime, he’s just about finished writing his first book.

So why am I sharing a brief snapshot into my family? It’s so easy to take our loved ones for granted and assume that they will always be there…..and meanwhile time goes by. Sure, we have our difficult times, who doesn’t, but the reason why family is important is because…..well…..we’re family!

Over the years, finding out what really makes each other happy is crucial to happy family life. For instance, Sarah loves hearing that she’s doing well and getting little presents. Elise loves a cuddle on the couch, Tim likes any good conversation that also involves food and Roselyn loves it most when we spend time together.

If you’re struggling with your own family life or with a family member then my suggestion is to think about what really presses their buttons in a positive manner. We’re coming up to Christmas and it’s all about giving so why not think about your different family members in a new way. Instead of a gift voucher from Amazon, you may take your daughter out for dinner, spend some time getting some advice from your son about an investment or arrange for a day spa treatment for both your partner and you.

What I’ve found is that my family is just so important and provides the motivation to many things in my own life. Whenever I invest in my family I always seem to reap an incredible return….the challenge is to continue to invest for one day you may get surprised.

For example, a couple of hours ago Tim came home and presented Roselyn with a bunch of flowers and a box of chocolates for us both to share. He did this to just say thank you for dropping him off and taking him to the airport to visit his girlfriend in Sydney. It was a huge surprise for us both and a few tears of happiness were shed.

It made both Rosleyn and I so proud of our son and that some of those ratty teenage years were well behind him. As they say, “Ask a teenager while they still know everything” and spoken by a young man in his twenties, “it’s amazing how much smarter my parents are the older I become.” The person that coined these phrases really understood the torment that teenagers can sometimes bring a family.

If you’re going through this time, don’t worry, someday in the future your children will return to you and all the effort of bringing them up will be worth it.

Have a great weekend!

Michael

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Michael Gilmour has been in business for over 32 years and has both a BSC in Electronics and Computer Science and an MBA. He was the former vice-chairman of the Internet Industry Association in Australia and is in demand as a speaker at Internet conferences the world over. He has also recently published his first science fiction book, Battleframe.

Michael is passionate about working with online entrepreneurs to help them navigate their new ventures around the many pitfalls that all businesses face. Due to demands on his time, Michael may be contacted by clicking here for limited consulting assignments.