Day One

My parents used to say, “Today is the first day of the rest of your life.”

My parents used to say, “today is the first day of the rest of your life.”

As a kid this sounded mysterious. It was an invitation my 8-year-old self was perplexed by.

Today was the first day in two+ years where I wasn’t feeling a sense of responsibility for my Mom’s life. Our family held her beach memorial service this past weekend, ended by placing her ashes in a beautiful niche facing a fountain and garden in Northern California.

In speaking with several investor friends today, I found myself describing today as “day one” of my new, caregiver-free life. My primary tasks of seeing my mom’s life through to the very end concluded. I can now begin what I’ve been describing as “regular grief”. Just the usual, occasional tug of sadness about a loved one who passed.

Sometimes in the world of venture and startups we talk about the benefits of a “beginner’s mindset”. This is a Zen Buddhist concept called Shoshin, “a way of approaching situations, even those you're familiar with, as if for the first time, without preconceptions. It encourages openness, eagerness, and a willingness to learn, even at an advanced level.”

Even though both of my parents are no longer physically present, I think from now on I will remind myself that today is the first day of the rest of my life.

I’m grateful for the outpouring of support I’ve received these past two years from the people I’ve met and grown close to through my career. There are so, so many good people in the world. Thank you.

To close, here are the lyrics to a song my husband performed at my mom’s beach memorial service. It was one of her all-time favorites, and therefore one of mine.

Someone told me long ago

There's a calm before the storm

I know, it's been comin' for some time

When it's over so they say

It'll rain a sunny day

I know, shinin' down like water

I wanna know

Have you ever seen the rain?

I wanna know

Have you ever seen the rain

Comin' down a sunny day?

Yesterday and days before

Sun is cold and rain is hard

I know, been that way for all my time

'Til forever, up on it goes

Through the circle, fast and slow

I know it can't stop, I wonder

I wanna know

Have you ever seen the rain?

I wanna know

Have you ever seen the rain

Comin' down a sunny day?

Yeah

I wanna know

Have you ever seen the rain?

I wanna know

Have you ever seen the rain

Comin' down a sunny day?

Written by John Fogerty. Lyrics courtesy of LyricFind.