life | Fatherhood Remixed

Graduation…

I have attended so many graduations, but I’ve only participated in two. It’s such an odd milestone. It caps what is usually a long journey and celebrates the beautiful unknown of the future. Up until this point there has been a schedule, a set goal, and challenges, seen or unseen. But the future, the next steps in front of each graduate may not be so clear. As I write this I think to high school graduation. That’s the ceremony most people will be a part of all. Not all, but most. Depending on your school, you’ll sit there for hours waiting for 15 seconds of glory. A fleeting moment where your name will be called out and hopefully pronounced correctly for your family and friends to scream in support. Then it’s over. The next name is called and the next group of supporters will cry out for the next kid. Then what?

This past June, my youngest daughter graduated from high school. As I was looking through past blogs, her graduation just seems so wild to me. She was just a baby not too long ago. Not only did it mark a new chapter in her life but it marked a new chapter in my life. Soon all of my kids would be out of the house and in college. I have four kids and to have all of them in college seems like I’ve won the lottery. I never pushed college on any of them. It was hard to do so since I had never finished college myself. So, as they have slowly transitioned into this new phase of life, it’s caused me to reflect on my own journey.

Go Fish.

Posted on April 9, 2018 by Workshop Joe

We go fishing every now and then. My father in law has a small boat and we’ve gone out on the ocean over the years and always had fun. We usually bring home dinner as well. I’m not an expert but I know what it feels like to reel in a big one. I’ve caught some pretty big fish and yes, I do have photos to prove it.

So it’s no surprise that I own a small tackle box and a few fishing poles although I’m not exactly sure where they all came from. I have to admit that I had never really used them. Well, I might have used the tackle box but I wasn’t even sure where it was when my wife asked me if I had one. Anyway, after a quick once over my father in law stated our gear was serviceable to catch fish so I thought. LET’S GO FISHING!

I told my son we could go out on the pier at night and see what we could find. He was so excited. We gathered our gear and loaded up the car. We were going to head out to Port San Luis and see what we could catch. It’s a cool place and I was stoked we get some alone time with him. He has three sisters so it’s important we get man time every now and then.

We stopped on the way for coffee and hot chocolate. While I was there I checked for bait but there was none to be found. No worries, I had some lures and they might work so on we went. As we got closer to the pier my son asked how we were going to get the fish home. I let him know I brought a small cooler but in my own head I was doubting we’d need it.

Take time to listen.

Posted on April 2, 2018 by Workshop Joe

My oldest daughter is almost 14. Just reading those words after typing them blows my mind. It seems like she was just a baby yesterday. I was always told that time flies and they’ll be grown up before you know it and sure enough, they were right. She’ll be a freshman next year and we are finishing up on a lot of life lessons. She’ll need to spread her wings soon and I want to do my best to make sure she is ready to soar.

A few weeks ago she and I had to go out of town for a soccer tournament. This was her first time playing at the club level and I was excited for her. I remember the first time I played on a club team. I remember the nerves and the worry and how the fast the game became. I wanted to go over all of that with her but I didn’t want to add any anxiety that she may already have. We had a 4 hour drive ahead of us and I decided it would be best to just ask questions and listen. So that’s what I did.

It’s all about fatherhood.

Posted on March 20, 2018 by Workshop Joe

Hello. We may have already met. Well, what I mean is that you may have already read one of my blogs. If you haven’t there’s no need to worry. This a a great time to get started. I’ve finally decided what I want to write about. This blog started out as a class project a few years back and I thought I would keep it around as a creative outlet. Over the years I’ve had a few sporadic posts usually prompted by my own musings but have never had any real direction. I believe to a certain extent that is why I have floundered so much.

So, without further ado, I’ve decided to write about fatherhood. It’s one of my greatest responsibilities and something that I dearly love. I also know that there are tons of other men out there that want to be the best dad’s they can and a useful tip every now and then can go a long way. Now, I’m not saying I’m the best dad ever but I had one of the greatest examples ever growing up as well as a great group of guys that I am constantly learning from. Above all else I have my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, as the ultimate example and I want to share my experiences and insights with you in hopes that you can also be the best dad you can be.

Scheduling is important

Posted on August 1, 2017 by Workshop Joe

I’ve never been real good at keeping a schedule. Now let me clarify for a moment. That doesn’t mean I’m not on time it just means that I don’t keep a schedule. When I think of a schedule I think of some sort of planner with every minute of my day mapped out. To me that suffocating. I keep track of the stuff I have to do like work, a doctor visit or a kids game. That’s easy. It’s important. It’s the other time that I don’t plan for. I sort of just let it happen.

What I’m finding is that time is either spent or lost. Well, maybe it’s just always spent. Sometimes on something worthwhile and other times on nothing. Time is my greatest asset right now. I have just as much as everyone else. That’s a crazy concept right? Bill Gates may have more money but you have the same 24 hours in the day. What you choose to spend those 24 hours is probably a bigger difference maker than the money you don’t have.

In fact I would go so far as to say that if you invest your time in something or someone you’ll have some sort of return. Actually, I guarantee it. If you pick any pursuit or idea and invest time in it you will see a return. I don’t know how big that return will be and I suppose that depends on how efficient you are with that investment.