It's a long road ahead

As the years have gone by, there have been many times I have asked myself what qualifies me to be a parent. More to the point, AM I qualified to be a parent. I grew up with a hard working but mostly absent and emotionally distant mother. My parents split when I was 4 years old and (as the often heard sad story goes), saw my father sporadically. This creeps into my mind now and then when I question myself as a parent. To be honest, questioning myself happened quite a bit during the early years of my children's lives and now that they are 16 & 12 years old, it happens not as much. This past week I found myself ( and when I refer to myself in this blog when it comes to parenting, I mean with my wife as well ) having to be the stern and serious parent with my son. It is not something I do very often and I hate when I have to. I always come away from those conversations with an aching knot in my stomach. This blog was set up merely to talk about being a parent day in and day out, but I find myself wanting to write about my experiences growing up and how it affects me today. I know a lot of people question themselves when it comes to being a parent and that is good. As far as I know there is no guide book telling us what to do. The saying is true, You need to get a license to drive but not to be a parent. This is what keeps me up at night sometimes worrying about the decisions I make that are directly affecting the lives of 2 human beings. What gives me the right?...after all, the only thing I did to become a parent was buy the wine, buy the dinner, throw a few smooth lines her way ( right....) and ....well you know how the next 30 seconds go for a guy. This hardly qualifies me to be a parent. People tell us we are doing an incredible job of raising our kids and that makes me proud. I worry constantly about the future. It is something I try to dismiss as soon as it enters my cranium but it's not easy. It's a long road ahead.....I hope.

"Savor the day"

That "Monday" feeling.

I suppose everybody feels the "Monday blahs" to some extent but never sit and think why. I can only speak for me because I only speak for everyone when they give me permission. In our family, weekends are a celebratory time. Movie nights, swimming, daiquiris ( alcoholic and not ) , day trips and just an all around fun time. I actually go out of my way to be goofy, zany and immature during these times. It makes my family laugh. When they laugh, I am in my happy place. Monday always seems to be "the end" of those times. It's funny how the beginning of a week is really the end to something else. As I sit here typing this, my family is still asleep and not feeling the Monday blahs. The only saving thought is that the next weekend is only 5 days away.

"Savor the day"

Nights that should never end

Last night we all went up to our favorite place to take in the sunset. I cannot even begin to describe how therapeutic and soul calming these trips are to me. I guess growing up an only child and not really knowing any family I have learned to cherish these moments even more. Each and every time we go on one of our "little day trips" we have endless laughs, hugs and all around fun. Last night was no exception. We have been going up to Sunset Point for quite a few years now and watching the kids grow up in the pictures brings me joy and sadness at the same time. Joy for an obvious reason but sadness because I know one day it will end. This is the very thought that makes me cherish each and every second. For now, I am all smiles.

P.S.  "And that's why I drink heavily on the weekend."

A Parent's pride

So it's been almost forever since I have posted here. I think I will make an effort to post here regularly. I don't know what i expect from this blog or that anyone will be interested but we will see. I wish to share a proud moment for me as a parent. Recently my 16 year old son made a decision to stand up to racism, homophobia and a general bad moral situation. for a 16 year old athlete to stand up for something he believes in and walk away from this type of situation is huge. It's easy for an adult to say this is the right decision but at the age of 16 it is tough to see. At the moment my son made this decision, I felt an immense sense of pride.

The Start?

I would like to issue a welcome to anyone who happens to find their way here. I am starting this blog for no reason other than to put my daily ( and I use the word daily loosely ) feelings, fears, excitement, pride and general feelings that I have being a father and husband. This blog will include my feelings, fears and possibly questions related to my day to day happenings. I will also be including pictures as my hobby and passion is photography. Thank you all for reading and or joining in with my.

                                                                                                         Be Blessed. Chris.