Husband, Father, Athlete, Runner, Marathoner, Mental Health Warrior

The season we all have loved since we were children is here!! Having a birthday in mid-October always meant something extra to me. I’d only have to wait 2 more weeks for Halloween, and a month and a half, it would be Thanksgiving, and ultimately, I would be rewarded in a couple of months by a visit from Santa!!! This will mark out first Thanksgiving and Christmas in Louisville (yes, I grew up here, but my wife is a native Floridian), and I find myself so excited for the girls. I am truly giddy at the prospect of the girls experiencing their first snowfall sometime this winter. I love that Damary and I can get the girls some pajamas with footies on them to wear Christmas Eve night, as they sip some hot cocoa with marshmallows (hot cider for me, I HATE chocolate lol). As a parent, this time of year seems to reenergize my soul. Now on the “other side” of the fence, I feel even more special about the holidays. Now I have a direct hand in making the holidays magical for my daughters. I can ...

So my wife isn’t perfect, but here’s a surprise, who walking this earth is? But every single coach in any sport I have had, and my Father, my personal hero, has reiterated one thing in my head in all of my 37 years. Showing up to the game is 90% of the battle. Think about it, most people fail not, in the middle of some hero is effort. They fail because they out THINK themselves out of even trying!! Not my wife. Damary will be the first to tell you that she isn’t the most optimistic person in the world. But when it comes to teaching the girls, she never blinks at encouraging them. She never discourages the girls from believing that they can do whatever they want to. If the girls (as kids so often do) get down and say they can’t do it, she encourages them to always try first. If I am the leader of the household, then she EASILY is the heart and soul of our household. If our family were a basketball team, I am the head coach, but Damary is the player that is the inspirational leader of th...

So our oldest lost her first tooth on Monday night. We discovered it was loose on the way back from my brother-in-laws on Sunday. Actually I discovered the permanent tooth starting to come in, and felt the other tooth really loose. The Tooth Fairy came to visit and left her a card and a whooping 5 bucks. The Tooth Fairy assured me this was the 1st time going rate. She was so excited to see her cad and box (to see if the tooth was gone). That has NOTHING to do with what I am writing about, just wanted to mention that about our oldest daughter and how she is becoming a big girl!! My point today is I need to do better as a Dad. While I don’t think I am a bad Papi, I just think I could and will do better. Damary and I just worked out a weekly time where there will be Papi-Daughters time. Yesterday I took the girls to McDonald’s play place (their favorite one) and we played and ate, and just talked. Mostly I listened. I have noticed that when you get some alone time with your children, t...