I don’t know how to use the Chalkboard this morning. I wanted to talk about America. I wanted to have a conversation about Patriotism and how our Politics might jade us, but we can’t let that stop us from loving our country.
That was the route I was going until I received a text message and telephone call from Hazel at 9:45 last night.
Another episode of yelling and screaming was so bad I got “Dad Dad Dad Dad Dad Dad Dad Dad I don’t feel safe!” in a text message.
So I called the police and I sent out a post for help to my Cletus friends. For me it was a trap… I was rocking out at Riverside last night and wasn’t in any shape to drive over and help.
The police where the Shepkids live are horrible. The laws in Illinois are horrible. Hazel was bawling saying she wanted to leave. I had Cletus friends at the scene ready to bring Hazel and Fritz home to me, but the police said their mother seemed fine and non family can’t get involved.
And I was just sitting on my couch helpless as my daughter was crying herself to sleep.
Then my phone rings and I look at the caller ID. It was an old friend from the trading floor that I ran into at the Riverside Third of July concert.
He was oblivious of what I was going through last night. He just wanted to call and catch up. Talk about life and tell me how positive and supportive my Morning Chalkboard is for him. It made me feel good when he said my Morning posts got him through a tough time.
Seeing me at the park earlier in the night was a sign that he wanted to call and shoot the shit. We talked for an hour and when I hung up I was grounded and felt calm after an evening of turmoil. His phone call was a sign from heaven to stay focused and keep being positive.
The Chalkboard blog is about a divorced dad living in Chicagoland trying to manage life. It’s been therapeutic for me and for many others.
Today’s Chalkboard should be about my love for America, but instead it’s a platform for me to show my dirty laundry.
What started as a great night turned into a shitshow. Hazel’s life just got darker. Fritz will continue to just hide in his room.
Today they’ll try and pick up the pieces of their young lives. Living with a parent with mental illness and depression.
It’s America’s 247th birthday and I’m not feeling it today. I just want to go to work tomorrow and keep trudging along.
I want to thank my friends that supported me last night. I want to thank my friend that called to talk about life last night. I should probably contact the police officer that I called a c**t last night and said, “I hope my Hazel isn’t the next Kelly Joy.”
I want to thank you Chalkheads for listening to me blow off steam this morning.
God Bless America……
