Tonight is Xmas Eve, and I just finished my last Zoom meeting before taking off, while there were 9 kids in the room behind me yelling…

… and I could not be more grateful.

For those of you who don’t know, I work from home.

I have worked from home for the last 19 years, way before it was cool. I do not own a suit, and most days I am in shorts and flip flops.

I love it, but it also means that my family is part of my work.

My 5 year old son has been in more Zoom meetings than most seasoned executives. His insights like “why is that man so fat?” or “why does she have funny glasses?” have steered companies and careers.

This last call was no different.

Except this time, he had backup.

You see, at some point in the last 2 years, largely thanks to my amazing wife, our house has become the “cool” house. It is where the kids come for activities, art classes, lego days, large play dates, and today to build gingerbread houses.

During the whole meeting, there was a white noise of kids yelling and laughing in the background as we did our best to make sure everything was in place for our teachers and team during Xmas break.

When I walked out, one of the mothers in the room came up to me and said:

“Sorry for all the noise.”

Internally, I was surprised. I think she thought I was mad.

My reply was simple.

“Laura and I worked 7 years to have 9 kids yelling in the kitchen while I was in a meeting. This is pure bliss for me.”

I was not lying.

You see, about 7 years ago my wife and I were told we probably would not have children. No medical reason they could find. But after 6 rounds of failed IVF and a failed attempt to adopt, we gave up. We were devastated, but decided to move forward with our lives.

Less than 12 months later, our son was born.

This moment. This racket in our kitchen, where kids were covered in frosting from gingerbread and going crazy due to diabetes-inducing levels of sugar, is our dream come true.

We are grateful every day. Today as much as any.

So if you are with family in this holiday season, look around and appreciate it. Because despite the noise, the fights, the exhausting… you are living somebody’s dream.

Merry Christmas.