hedge

Frankly, I don't understand the industry, but I do like knowing that in case something happens to me, there'll be a little something left for Nikki and Sage.

It's not being morbid, really. You reach a point in time when such things become simply a matter of when, rather than if. The thought of being insured was inconceivable when I was younger, when mortality was an absurd notion (unless it was glamorously self-inflicted). When you are young, you'd rather yawp than fear the future.

I paid up the premium for my policy for the next year (at least I don't have to worry about monthly payments). I feel like I just paid for last year's - time moves an unseen wind behind us.

I am still amused by some of terms or riders I have. X amount if I lose a limb, etc.

It really makes me think how fortunate I am at this time in my life. At the risk of sounding vainglorious, I have a wonderful wife and a clever daughter, a place I call home, a pair of businesses to pay the bills, writing to exercise my spirit, good family and friends, and generally good health.

While the wheel can turn at any time and fortunes reverse, I can pause at this precise moment and be thankful for all my blessings.

In all our relentless efforts to have a good life, in all our paranoid or practical hedging against misfortune, it's good to stop. Just stop and breathe and look around and close our eyes.

Just for a moment, before we jump back into the hurly burly.