Hey you with the pretty face, welcome to the human race is fitting for July 24th.
Twelve years ago today, the world got a little louder, a little brighter, and a whole lot more interesting. I remember it well, probably because I haven't had a solid night's sleep since.
The ELO song has been my alarm clock for years now. “Mr. Blue Sky” kicks off at 3:33 AM, though most mornings I’m already up, coffee brewing, brain spinning. Today it hit me a little differently. This line stuck out because it was that first peekaboo with that little redhead welcoming her into the world, the human race. It reminded me that storms come and go, but the light, if you’re lucky, usually stays.
Life is funny like that. One day you are a rookie dad trying to swaddle a newborn without losing your cool and the next you are staring down at adolescence like it’s a thunderhead rolling in off the lake. The sun is out, then boom... lightning, wind, sideways rain and just as quickly, back to blue skies.
I don’t need to spell it out for you Chalkheads. Let’s just say fatherhood isn’t a job you clock in and out of.
It’s a lighthouse gig.
You shine steadily, even when the fog rolls in and the boat drifts further from the shore.
Twelve years. A blink and a lifetime all wrapped up in one. A thousand “I love you's,” a few slammed doors, lately a couple "I hate you's" and more pride than I ever knew I could carry.
La dolce vita...
Yeah, even when it's stormy, the blue skies are somewhere.
