Time to head out

   This is the time I dread the most as a father. Leaving for work...
   It's bad enough that my days off go by so quickly, but it's worse when I have to separate myself from my family. I work so hard to support them but at the same time I sacrifice most of my time away from the people I love the most. 
   My 3 year old has a doctor's appointment this morning but I couldn't go with him because I have to go to work. Right now I can't get the image of him out of my head. Holding on to his little red fire engine lunch box with a big smile on his face saying "Bye-bye daddy". It will be stuck with me all day.
   Is it so wrong to want to be at home with my kids all the time? Just how long am I going to be able to endure this torture? If I keep going like this I  am going to be at that point when my kids are grown and I've missed out on most of their childhood. 
   There are so many of us out there in similar situations. We work, work, work not because we want to. But because we have to. I easily spend more than 12 hours of my day away from home when you factor in travel. I spend a solid 90 minutes in my car each day plus a 10+ hour shift. 
   The human mind can only handle so much stress before it turns to a quivering pile of jelly. And then what use will I be if I suffer a mental breakdown?
   Luckily my children are too young to understand but what happens when they are older? 
   "Daddy are you coming to my soccer game?" 
   "Sorry baby, Daddy has to work."
   I can picture the scenario all to easily in my mind. Hopefully by that time I'll be out of this business and will have more time to help my children grow before they start to hate me...
   

September Sun

   Yes it's almost the end of September. What did we do yesterday? We went to the beach. That's just what people do in South Florida. My pale Irish/Italian skin doesn't always agree with the evil rays of the mighty sun but there's nothing wrong with a healthy dose of Vitamin D. 
   My baby boy looked like a chubby little porcelain doll with all the sunscreen I lathered on his little tootsie roll arms. But at least he enjoyed eating all the tasty sand...
   I'm not a beach person. Never have been and never will be. I'd much rather go to a nice park and sit under a tree with my headphones on, buried in a book. But that's just me. My wife on the other hand loves the beach as well as my 3 year old. So for them I endure the hot sand and crashing surf. 
   
   Now that Sept. is coming to a close, we are rolling right into my favorite time of year. Halloween season baby! There is something about the colors, sights, sounds, and smells of Fall that energize me in a way that nothing can. Whenever I see a pumpkin, I immediately get taken to chilly nights with a whipping wind and the ethereal rustling of leaves. Of course in Florida, Fall has a much different climate so there will be none of that color changing foliage for me. 
   That makes me just a little sad inside.
   On the plus side I am only 2 hours away from Universal Studios and their Halloween Nights. This year has a Walking Dead theme that I am overly giddy about. 
   
   Not only am I a huge over of all things metal, it should come as no surprise to anyone that my favorite types of movies are horror. I've had to tone down my selections as of late. No longer can I sit back and watch Cannibal Holocaust, Battle Royale, or Suspiria. At least not during family hours. But I've tried to ease my children into the genre by watching movies like Monsters Inc., The Nightmare Before Christmas, and Megamind. My 3 year old however is more obsessed with Thomas the Train and Dora than Jack Skellington and Sully. 
   There is hope for my 10 month old though who smiles when I put on Pantera...

  
 

Morning still half asleep

   Finding the time to write when you have a full time job plus a 3 year old and a 10 month old isn't always the easiest thing to squeeze into an already packed day. I am in no means a professional writer but I have been doing it since as long as I can remember. It's my release from the world with the added bonus of being extremely therapeutic. 
   I know that I'm not alone. There are probably millions of writers out there all with their own unique voice and I am just one of the many trying to find my place in an overcrowded world. 
   If you are reading this then I say "Thank You". You are taking the time to step into my head and see the world through my eyes. You can read whatever you want and you have chosen me for the time being so the least I can do is try to entertain you.

   My 3 year old son is going through the "Me" phase right now. All you parents know that stage eventually. He is also in full on copycat mode so the wife and I have to be extra cautious about what we say around him. It's not uncommon for me to get the slap on the head out of nowhere because I unconsciously let the f-bombs fly throughout the day. Surprisingly enough my son has yet to pick up on the extremely bad words. Thankfully!
   But I know somewhere down the line, most likely in a public place...you know where this is headed. 

The first of many (hopefully)

   So it's been a while since I've stretched the writing muscles in public. 
   The point of this blog is to keep my brain in good working condition and hopefully share my experiences as a parent and metalhead. This first post will just be to test the waters and get used to this website. 
   There may be better blogging sites out there, but for now this will do. 
  
   I know that many of my friends are going through the same experiences that my wife and I are. Watching that little peanut grow from a black and white dot. Seeing their faces for the first time. Holding them for the first time. Hearing them giggle, burp, fart, sneeze, and breathe. 
   All those wonderful little every day things that we will look back on when they are in their teens and raising our blood pressure. 
   
   I'll keep this brief since I am off the next two days and want to spend as much time with my children as I can.

   All I want to say right now is...I'm glad I take a lot of pictures and video. Because they are getting big so fast....