What a crazy time to live...

I had to work today, but if I hadn't I would have noticed the massive amount of people protesting in the middle of Glenstone today. A man by the name of George Floyd was killed in MN by a policeman kneeling on his neck. Ever since this happened a few days ago, the world is literally in a state of unrest. Covid 19 has also caused utter chaos with months of social isolation and quarantining. It makes me wonder if this could escalate into something as frightening as Ferguson or worse. I'm worried about the world I'm leaving for my daughter. Watching people scream obscenities at one another over things like racism and mask wearing just scares the hell out of me. There is no question in my mind that I will always raise my child to believe black lives matter, especially as she grows up here in the midwest where racial injustice is more prevalent. As far as the mask thing goes, it is just too difficult to take a stance one way or another on that. If I were a healthcare worker, I'm sure that would be different. As of right now, i still don't wear a mask, but i wouldn't refuse if I was asked to put one on in a medical office or business.

This hatred that keeps rising to the top of social and political spheres just makes me ill. I have maintained my job throughout this mess, but there were a few days when I worked at the office where I felt afraid of contracting the virus. I'm very thankful to be home working. It has been tough, but i still keep up with my walking everyday. This was something I took up a few years ago to lose weight. At one point, i was down over 90 lbs and never felt better. Since Covid, I've gained a little over 20 lbs, but still keep up the walking. It isn't always easy to maintain the momentum, especially since I live in the armpit lf the midwest. Missouri doesn't have the best weather in the world, but I still make do.

My goal right now is to keep the weight off and challenge my little girl to do more activity with me. Andrea and I picked her up a new bike off of marketplace that she seems fairly comfortable with, but still wont let me let her go on two wheels without hanging onto my arms the whole time. Hopefully, she will get it eventually without too many scrapes. We will just keep plugging along til she is comfortable. Wish us luck!

Seven years later...

So, I just realized how long it has been since I have written on here. As I go back and re-read past entries, it is totally unfathomable how much things can change in that amount of time. Goals change, relationships change, and my outlook on life basically did a 180 in the matter of one year. There were ups, there were downs, and there were times I really just needed a hug.

Sarah left me June 15, 2019.

We were married for just under 12 years, and one day it was just time. I understood why. I really did, but that didn't make it any easier. 

During that time, I really needed to do some soul searching. I needed a friend in the worst way, and when it came time to turn 40, I literally did it alone. Sure, some people came, but not the usuals. Most people had other shit going on, and that's fine, but my god... the weather was perfect and I had the fire almost completely to myself. Reminded me of the time I was in Memphis at the Beale Street Music Festival alone one year when the moonlit sky was crisp and clear, and Ed Sheeran was playing and I literally had no one to share it with. I love concerts, but it is difficult experiencing moments like that alone. All I really ever wanted was for someone to feel that with me.

The women came and went. Some showed me some really neat things about the new me. One in particular really showed me a new way to express love for my daughter by allowing her to pin her drawings to my wall. That was a really cool idea that I still have up today. She helped us decorate my daughter's room with stickers and posters (something i was otherwise clueless about). I even pinned up a Soundgarden/Pearl Jam concert announcement in my living room to mark it as mine (something i probably never could have otherwise gotten away with). The biggest change for me was figuring out what i like, not what i was told i should like. That part was fun. 

Through all of the new post-marriage relationships I had, I kept thinking I would just continue on perpetually dating into infinite not ever thinking i would want to marry again.

Then, I met Andrea, and all that changed. 

Fast forward to today and I'm happy to say I have never been more in love in my whole life. I'm told that I'm glowing now. I love that expression because that's what it feels like. I love doing everything with Andrea. We think a lot alike. We have similar goals. We complete each other's sentences . She is an accountant and lives in Webb City. It's about a little over an hour from here, but ever since the COVID 19 virus, we have both been able to work from home, and let me tell you, that has just been an absolute blessing for us. She has literally picked up my pieces, brushed them off and put them right back together again. The things I once loved, I love again. The anticipation for the future is more exciting now than it was before. Sure, I'm still not a teacher like I initially set out to be, but it wasn't a failure. That is the first time I've ever been able to say that with conviction and meaning. I chose to walk away from that dream because I could not stand causing a hardship on my family one more second while I was doing my student teaching. I still work at Chase, but I'm at home now. I love working from home. I love having Andrea here working from my home, too. Breakfast is great. Companionship is so wonderful when that person glows back as bright as you do. Man, it feels so great to be in love. It feels so great to anticipate the future. It feels so great to be away from negativity. I have literally never been happier in my life. 

But now it is time for her to go back to office work in Webb. The honeymoon phase is kinda dimming a little since I have to go back to being alone most of the week, but for once I can say I'm strong. She helped get me here. With all of her generosity and help, I know I am stronger today than I was yesterday. I just can't wait to see what the future holds! For once in my life I can see brightness in the horizon, and that feels pretty damn good!

Changes to come...

So, I guess I am freaking out a little.  I am stressed out to the max and getting closer and closer to finally obtaining my teaching certificate.  This seems to take forever and a day to complete and it always makes me frustrated to read things from friends of mine in other states that were able to get their certificate so easily after they graduated.  I went back to school in 2010 and finally finished up my BS in Communication at Missouri State University.  I was excited to finally be done, but had no idea what I was going to do with the damn thing.  I knew deep down that my passion was for writing and most of the people I looked up to were teachers.  It always seemed logical for me to take up that profession, but I had no idea the amount of time and money I would need to spend in order to earn my certificate.  Honestly, financially, it is the dumbest decision I have ever made in my life because we are essentially living on credit right now.  I keep telling myself that it will be worth it in the end because I will love what I am doing FINALLY, but then the bills just keep burying us deeper and deeper into a crevasse of debt.  It is so difficult to maintain positive when I continue to work for free.  Yes, I have a job that pays me, but when it comes to teaching, I have practicums, evaluations, and student teaching to complete before any school can look at me.  Not to mention, I still have to pass my Praxis test.  I have been told that Missouri is one of the best teacher certification programs in the union, and that is great and all, but I am 34 years old and many of the courses that are required are geared towards someone who has never taught and never had a real job.  I feel like I have a lot of life experiences that will give me a one up on other future graduates that will be looking for a job at the same time I will be.  It is just frustrating to think that I have to pile on more debt to get there.  So, what is the most logical thing to do when you are worried about money.  Yeah, well...I did something I never thought I would do in a million years...I bought a motorcycle.

If you have never ridden before I suggest you give it a try.  I rode dirt bikes when I was a kid, but nothing feels like cruising at 65 mph down the highway in the cool, open air of autumn.  It is the greatest time to be outside in Missouri.  Some folks complain that it is too cool, but my thick skin really appreciates the breeze.  I am learning how to ride with my brother.  He is a few years younger than I am, but he has been riding for over ten years.  I think if he weren't riding as much as he was, I may never have had the courage to go through with owning a bike, but let me tell you, it definitely helps me with stress.  One of my practicums this semester is at Branson High School, and I keep saying I am going to ride it down there, but it has rained every single time I have set out to head down south.  Hopefully, I will be able to make at least one trip down there for school.  It kind of makes me think if I were to get a job down in Branson that riding a bike wouldn't be so bad.  There is so much beautiful foliage this time of year on the drive down.  I guess I decided to write today because once again, I am feeling stressed out about my decision to get certified to teach.  I am freaking out about the debt it is creating for myself and my family.  I know that purchasing a bike wasn't the most logical thing to do, and I am sure Dave Ramsey would have a heart attack if he saw my financial numbers, but for the first time in my life I am feeling like I am doing the right thing by not living in regret.  Even with the crazy decisions I have made recently, I still feel proud of myself for taking the reins and controlling my own destiny.  I understand what I am doing and I am not a kid anymore.  Sometimes, I think we do things like this to prove to ourselves that we can.  I know I have what it takes to teach, but just like everything else in life, I want to teach NOW.  I don't want to have to wait any longer.  I am tired of waiting and tired of bouncing from one meaningless job to the next.  Don't get me wrong, I love the people that I work with, but I have never done anything in my life that I thought I could do for the rest of my life.  I have never had a job, in other words, that I could live with until retirement age.  The only motivating factor of my employment has been money thus far in my life, and frankly, I am sick of that.  I want to give something back to the universe that will make me feel good about going to work everyday and I know teaching will do that for me.  I have gotten goosebumps in my methods class this semester when we were going over planning a certain type of lesson.  I have never gotten goosebumps in class EVER in college or work.  I think that is a sign that proves to me that I am in fact doing the right thing.  At this rate, I will have the Praxis test passed by Spring, and begin my student teaching next fall and I have ABSOLUTELY NO IDEA how I am going to afford it.  I may have to sell my car and down size a few other things, but one thing is for sure...my bike is staying in my garage.  I can't wait to be that quirky English teacher that wears Converse and rides a bike to school.  For the first time in my life, I think I have found my calling.  I am defining who I am in my own mind.  I am supposed to teach.  I am supposed to help kids.  I am destined to be a mentor.  I am.

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The Greatest Day of my Life

It has taken me a while to write on this blog but honestly, I just didn't feel like I had the words to explain what being a dad feels like. Now, it is barely past midnight on my very first Father's Day. Putting feelings into words has always been easy for me, but this one has me totally dumbfounded. On April 18, 2010, my life changed forever. I no longer live for myself. The first second I heard my daughter Hazel cry when she was born, the hair on my neck and arms stood so far up from my skin, it almost hurt. It's so crazy to say it like that but the emotion you achieve when you become a father is like none other. Your job on this planet as a father is to protect no matter what the cost. I picked her up and held her so close to my chest and told her I would never let go. She looked back with her brand new eyes, clean from the film that had glazed mine for so many years, it was clear that she saw me exactly for who I was and the innocence in her face was so over-whelming, I could just burst into joy. I was blessed with the most perfect being on Earth; an angel from somewhere better than this confused and misguided world. After all, this was the reason why I had waited for so long to have children. I didn't want to watch them fall into the same gaps I fell into in my life. Gaps that could swallow a man whole. But it seems that I reached an age where I figured out that I will never be perfect, and I will make mistakes in my life and if I wait until EVERYTHING is perfect to have children, then I will be waiting my entire life.

Truth is, you don't have to wait to have children. You don't have to wait for financial freedom, or when you have that one job that you can just set the auto-pilot and let it ride. You don't have to wait til you buy a house or have that special car you saved for years to own. You don't have to wait to be a college graduate. There is no good life, there's just life. It's amazing how fast it goes after 21. Years pass in blinks of an eye. My daughter is 2 months old as of 2 days ago and I am already petrified with fear of the day I have to send her off to college. So many things will happen before that, and it will most likely be a bumpy ride. Things are going to happen that I am not always going to be able to control and she is going to want to be free just as I did and still do to this day, but it is my goal to paint a beautiful mural for her to live in. It is possible that all of this that we call life is one grand illusion but it isn't my goal to research this for her, but my goal to make her mural as bright as it can be, as uplifting as it can be and as welcoming as it can be. A wise person has said that the universe comes from within and how you portray your life and your environment around you also controls the kinds of things that happen to you. I want my child's life to be filled with pastels and water colors from all over the spectrum. I want her to understand family life and relationships as being welcomed and embracing. I want her to understand God as her own calling for love and happiness, not someone else's interpretation of how she should see God. I want her to find this out in her own way, in her own time and on her own terms. I will never force her to believe in any certain way, but will show her there are many, many ways of looking at everything. I am so happy that we had her baptized today and I can't wait to see what kind of crazy adventures our new little family will encounter. I am 30 and my life has finally begun. I got your car seat ready, kiddo...Now hop in and let's go for a ride!

Mission Accomplished

So the second rocking chair went together so much easier. I am not sure if I was just tired or cranky or just didn't have good lighting in the garage or what but it was way easier than the first one. I guess that's how a lot of things are in life, you know? The second time, you are a pro and feel more confident and the next thing you know, you feel like you could put 5 more together in the time it took to assemble the first one. Life is like that a lot for me. I was never good at much of anything at first, but man, after I practiced for a bit, I was unbeatable. Video games seem to go that way for me. When I first buy one, it takes me a long time to get frustrated with it because it is all foreign territory. I guess I could apply this to life and say no one is good at anything right up front. People who are good at these things have been told that they were or have had to build more things in their life than others. I was always told I was good at some things and not good at other things. I have decided I don't want to do that to my child. I want her to find that stuff out for herself. I am not about to tell her she is only good at certain things versus others. She is free to be anything she wants to be and I can't wait to give her the tools to help her find her calling in life.

Bought new patio furniture tonight

I have been wanting to put new patio furniture outside on our back covered porch for quite some time. Actually, it has been since we moved in and we were going to get this set before but realized when we closed on the house that we better have some extra in the bank in case we end up needing it and let me tell you, it was a good thing we did because when you are signing your life away on those what seem like hundreds of documents when you buy a house, you never know what unexpected expense will pop up.
Well anyways, we finally decided on a couple of rocking chairs for outside and got them home and both of us worked on the assembly. Now, I am not the handiest tool in the shed and am not like most men in the fact that I cannot hammer a straight nail, more or less put a couple of rocking chairs together. Well, we continued this mess of what was eventually going to become a chair and I find myself getting really frustrated and I can't even see straight and it hits me... This is the silliest thing ever to get mad about and I am retrospectively looking at myself and thinking it is a stupid chair, why are you so mad at this? As I sit here and blog about this stupid little incident, I realize why. This is supposed to be a guy thing...I am supposed to be able to know how to put together model airplanes and work with nails and glue and engines and cars and knives and yet I realize that I don't work on any of those things. When we buy things like ceiling fans and thermostats, we always call her dad to come and help us install it. The man put my new lights on the front of my new house and crawled under the house and checked for moisture and did man stuff. What is my daughter going to call me about if she realizes that I am not handy. I want her to ask me about that kind of stuff when she is older. I want her to think her dad knows about that kind of stuff. I want her to come to me with man problems, not just the geeky computer stuff that I mainly mess with now and lately I am not even good at fixing those. Just ask my buddy, Mike.
So am I worried that I am not going to be a good Dad? Not necessarily. I am just worried that Mr. Fix-It is going to be Mr. Break-it and not know how to put it back together again if I am not careful. My wife says don't worry about it, not all men are good at that stuff. Well, maybe not but I want to learn so my daughter has a Mr. Fix-it in her life, even if he is as clumsy as Tim the Tool-man Taylor.