I just want to acknowledge what a difficult few months it’s been, and I want to congratulate you on staying the course. I’ve been riding out stock market volatility for 27 years, and it doesn’t get easier. It’s unpleasant, and I understand. I’m right there with you. You should be proud of the patience and fortitude it takes to stick to your plan when others flee. The broad recovery the market has seen since April 8^th is the reward for investors who toughed it out. Some of you bought the dip, and my hat’s off to you. It doesn’t matter if your timing was perfect. Your resolve and foresight were perfect as you executed that difficult decision. You got in when others were getting out. That takes experience, guts, and prudence. I’d raise a glass to you, but I don’t drink.

I’m not a recovering alcoholic; I just don’t like the way alcohol makes me feel. I don’t think it contributes to health or longevity, and I’m trying to model healthy choices for my teenager. But being a non-drinker is rare in my line of work. I’ve never worked with anyone in this industry who doesn’t drink. Many drink quite heavily. The last few months are exactly why. I’m not condoning or making excuses; just sharing an observation to illustrate how hard this is. I don’t mean my job; I enjoy it. Just the stock market in general, but particularly these wild swings. They make you feel sick even when you’re not hungover.

If you’ve seen the show Big Bang Theory, then you’re familiar with the character Howard Wolowitz. If you’re not familiar, Howard is an astronaut, and there’s a scene where he’s describing the zero-gravity experience of space travel to his wife when she wants to try out a space flight simulator. With animated enthusiasm, he says, “You’re gonna go up and down, and up and down, and up and down, until you get so dizzy you throw up food you didn’t even eat! “

I’ve always found the line in that scene to serve as a perfect analogy for the stock market. The stock market will always go up and down, and up and down, and it can, at times, make you want to vomit – until eventually, you just get comfortable with it the way an astronaut gains comfort with triple G force and zero gravity. But even astronauts get a little sick.

This moment in time in your investing experience is important to remember for the next storm we face and the next one after that. Volatility is the only sure thing in investing. It’s not over. It’s never over. Whether this was your first or 100^th stressful event as an investor, if you’re still here, you’ve earned this current market rally and a pat on the back.