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

Often people tell me how lucky I am to have Damary, or they tell Damary how lucky she is to have me. We both kind of laugh off those comments, because luck only played apart in our introduction (sometimes we think it was fate, but how we met is for another time lol). The rest, once we met, dated, courted, and married has been due to our hard work at making our marriage work. SAME VISION: I think the initial reason our marriage works over all (yes, like anyone, we have rough patches) is because we both want to be with each other. If only one person feels that way, it’s like being in a two person kayak and one person not paddling…you just go in a circle and never get anywhere. We both know, at the end of the day, the only place we belong is in our bed with each other. LAUGH, LAUGH AND KEEP LAUGHING: One of the coolest things about Damary and I, and any successful couple I know is the ability to laugh together, and sometimes at each other. There are times, when we lay down in bed to go to...

Hey Everyone, So today was my Sleep Study Follow Up, and funny thing was I thougt I would walk in and he say I was fine, or maybe at most I had some minor snoring problems. I am not really used to getting any answers. I've had migraines forever, I never had restful sleep, I had a minor heart attack a year and a half ago, I have high blood pressure, but no one knows why and above all I have never had answers....until today. The doctor told me that my body, basically wakes itself 10 times an hour, yeah so every 6 minutes. Plus, I have obstructed sleep apnea (I completely stop breathing) 13 times a night, and have severe constricted apnea (partial to mostly) 10 an additional 10 times a night. My O2 levels drop to 86%. Normally he would just advise a patient to lose weight, and set a plan, and then follow up in a year or two years, but he doesn't think I have that long (sobering moment that hit me hard...I thought of leaving Damary, or the Super Princesses, and my heart brok...

I was staring at pictures of my family (as I always do), and instead of smiling at the smiles of my Super Princesses, I was hypnotized at my wife’s face. I have always thought, and tell her every chance I get, how beautiful she is, and how sexy I find her. But something different came over me. I looked at her face in the many pictures. The closest word is appreciation, but that is like saying the sun is kind of bright. I look at my daughters, and looking past their infectious smiles, I see something else. I see well done hair styles, pretty dresses, wonderfully put together outfits, painted fingernails, toenails. I see the look they have when they are next to Damary. They love their Mami so much. And they should, she is wonderful. Yes, Damary loses her patience with the girls, but what Mom doesn’t?? The reason the girls look so put together on the outside, and are so full of love, silliness and hugs on the inside, is because of Damary’s Motherhood. I know plenty of moms who look at the...

Ok, so I have pretty well documented on here and my Facebook page, some of the physical problems I've had over the past couple of years. Well, my doctor thinks my "extraordinary" sleeping habits have finally caught up to me. I can't argue, I have always known I was borrowing sleep and health against a promissory note that would have to be collected on someday. It seems lately, fate has decided to give me the receipt. So tonight I am at a Sleep Clinic, and I have about an hour until I get hooked up to the machines. When I checked in, they asked me my normal weekend bed time, and my attendant's eyes got very big when I said, usually 2-4 AM. So she compromised and said they would hook me up at 10 and I should get some sleep. Which makes sense, so I don't have to come back, and they can get the proper readings. I am not the kind of husband or father who spends time away from my family. I think most of my anxiety is that I am not with them. Part of me feels some gu...

I heard a WONDERFUL story this morning, which I would like to share with you all. The fact of the matter is at some point we all go through rough times, and I hope this can bring you some inspiration for those “hot water” times. Enjoy, and let me know what you think! A young girl, who was in college, was home for her winter break. She had a very academically bad year, and had her heart broken by her boyfriend also. She felt like everything just kept going wrong. One morning, she woke up, and went to the kitchen, and her Mom was standing at the stove with three clear bowls on three burners. Then she saw three bowls on the counter, one with carrots, one with eggs, and the other with coffee beans. The Mother asked her to sit down and she said, “I know you are going through some tough times now, and you feel lost and defeated. I wanted to show you an example of something that hopefully will help you.” The daughter, being skeptical, simply said, “Fine, go ahead.” At this point, the water wa...

As you may have read on either my previous blogs or Facebook, or Twitter pages, parenting is tied with the most important definition of who I am (the other would be, Damary’s Husband). So I am always on the lookout on how to be a better parent. Reading any publications I can get my hands on, listening to other parents, etc. All the while, just taking bits and pieces for what I know would not only work on the girls, it would help our relationship, and them in the future. So I was listening to a morning radio show the other day, and they had someone on the phone (completely missed the name), and he was talking about one of the things all us parents tend to do. We, in the haste of the day, tend to pass along our anxieties and stresses to our children, simply in our actions. One of the things that was talked about is he said, if you have a child who never cleans their room, and you are on them about it everyday, all of the time, odds are they will NEVER clean their room. And no, it isn’t b...

So as I think I have finally found the “secret” (ok, not really a secret or short cut. Just something that works for me, finally) to getting back, and staying, in shape. This prompted my mind to wander this morning, somewhere between the 20th or 25th leg lift (or was it the 30th squat?? Oh well, I digress….can you tell today’s workout was legs?? LOL) about how does one stay motivated? Not only in beginning a new workout regimen, but as an active, positive parent, and as a spouse? I’ve often heard that any habit, good or bad, takes 30 days to develop and your body and mind to be used to it. If you exercise regularly, stop for a month and try and restart. Easier to get blood from a stone. On the flipside, if you are looking to begin a workout lifestyle, stick to your routine for at 30 days. Without even noticing, you will find it as much of your life as brushing your teeth or showering; something you simply do, but could not do without. But as parents, how do we stay motivated? I mean, l...