OMG, this reminds me so much of a very pivotal point in my life. It was way back in 1987, and I had quit my very stable job with a telecom giant (Bell Labs) to go to work with a bunch of buddies on a start up company, we had developed a very cool new network management technology for IBM SNA networks (google it, in the way back times that was the shit).

Anyhow, I had been working my ass off, night and day, like you do on gigs like that. My wife of 5 years thought I was cheating on her. HA ! that would have been a lot more fun ugh.

Long story short (you can fill in the blanks, fights etc.).

So one day comes where, the dream comes true, IBM offers to buy us out, but I was in sort of a fog and worried about my marriage and moving to Bocca Raton was probably not going to fly. I get called into my bosses office and he goes through my options, all foggy as hell to me at the time and I sort of grunt and point at taking my profit sharing pay out rather than moving. So OK, in my mind I had just got fired.

I go home and on the dinning room table there is a bunch of papers, divorce papers, my wife comes in and tells me she wants a divorce. OK, so I lose my job and marriage on the same day within hours. So what do I do? Well heck what any sane person would do. I grab my wind surf board and throw it in my Scout (wish I still had it, wife said it was a piece of junk, ha, worth a lot if I had kept it). I grab the dog, she knows the drill, hops in the Scout, I make a quick pit stop for a 6 pack of Pacifico and we are off to my favorite beach.

I take Heidi, my dog, on a couple of baby spins on the board, she loves that. Do a little shredding. Then back on the beach she sits and stares at me, you know dogs know. Sipping on my beer. And it hits me, duh, wait a second, what the heck did my boss say again about profit sharing ? My mind starts to clear, starts racing. I finish that one beer and head back to the house. I check the papers, Fuck ! I am a millionaire, 3 months from now when the deal closes. Oh, let's check those divorce papers, huh, it can be done in 90 days.

So suddenly I am a super helpful husband with the divorce, I will sign everything and run it to the court house of course. Let's just get this silly thing over with, you are totally right.

Anyhow, funny how stuff hits you. Anyhow, never married again. Did one other start up after that. Been done since. Never happier. That was, for me, that moment, I will never forget. I went from the depths of hell to bliss in a moment of clarity.