For half of your life, my vehicle has been my 2 door 2010 Jeep Wrangler. But as of this past weekend, the time was right (and probably overdue) for me to trade it in for a newer, 4 door 2022 version instead.
Obviously, our family is so excited and appreciative to move up and upgrade. But I will say, there’s definitely a solid bit of sadness in saying goodbye to the old Jeep.
I wish I wasn’t so emotional about it. But there’s no denying, so many memories are attached to it. So I know it’s normal to feel this way.
Here’s to the new Jeep and to new memories to be made as a family. I mean, seriously… this new Jeep is pretty awesome. There’s just no way around it!
I turn 45 years old next month… and I’m starting to wonder if my maturity level isn’t quite matching my age. Friday night, it was Guys’ Night Out. So naturally, we drove about an hour away to Woodville to see the wrestling event there at their high school.
The energy in that gymnasium was my version of warm and inviting. So… I couldn’t help but join in the action by taunting the wrestlers who deserved it.
Yes, I am in my mid 40s. I have a wife and two kids.
When word got out the next morning, my wife was not surprised at all to learn that I instinctly confronted all the bad guys from the stands… as well as one in particular, as he was crawling away from the ring. I gave him a stern warning:
“STAY DOWN! You’re not going anywhere. You’re going to sleep on the gym floor tonight.”
At that point, he lifted himself up from the gym floor in an attempt to slap me across the chest, as I immediately put up my dukes in response. Then, still exhausted from losing the main event of the night, he fell back on the floor and I walked away like Vin Diesel walking away from an explosion.
There’s no way around it. You had just as much fun as your sister and cousin this past Saturday, making slime from Dollar General shaving cream at Nonna and Papa’s house.
The slime has continued to have daily replay value back at our house every day after school.
I love it that playing with homemade slime is an activity both you and you sister can bond over. I wouldn’t have guessed it!
Exactly a week ago, the 7 show run of the “Jukebox Diner” came to an end; meaning I have now completed my adult debut as a “stage actor” at age 44. So I naturally ask myself, “What was my motivation? What inspired me to do that?”
The obvious motivation was knowing all the financial proceeds go to help fund the DeKalb County Children’s Advocacy Center; which is all the movitation needed.
But I think, from a psychological perspective, why was I personally driven to say “yes” without hesitation when being offered a role, then dedicate the next two months to memorizing my lines, going to rehearsals several times a week, and dedicating another two weeks to perform.
My answer: I am challenge-driven.
It makes me feel alive to be able to figure out how to adapt and overcome obstacles.
It makes me feel alive to be able to figure out how to entertain people; to make them laugh and to provide an environment where they can laugh, while seeing and connecting with other people they know in the audience.
It makes me feel alive to be able to figure out how to create a character and bring them to life, based on just lines in a script.
During each of the 7 performances, despite knowing my lines since the very first rehearsal, there was always the reality that I must be prepared to smoothly react if someone else forgot one of their lines- and likewise if I forgot a line myself.
There was also the fact that sometimes, in the moment, on the stage, I would suddenly come up with an idea potentially better way to deliver the line; whether it was my body language or simply by dramatically pausing before I spoke, to add tense in order to intensify the absurdity of the comedy.
And of course, there’s the fact that I was able to get to know an entire group of people in the process; who I wouldn’t have met otherwise.
What was my personal motivation in joining the cast of the DeKalb County Children’s Advocacy Center play this year?
I’m simply wired for it. Some might even say I am dramatic. I know my wife would.
To see my performances, check out the link below and look up the time stamps provided:
Family Friendly Daddy Blog 