Well here we are in 2022. It has been a minute since I have been able to write any, and I was missing it. I have written off and on throughout the last year but was not able to dedicate any time to it due to life events. As you all know I lost my job in October of 2020 It took me a solid 4.5 months to get another job. I went to work for Charter communications as a field tech working on Cable TV. It was not the most ideal situation but it was money coming in. All was well with them until my son came to me on a sunday morning before I left for work and asked if I would be home before he went to bed. I told him that my schedule for work was different now and that would not be home until about 10 pm but that would come in and check on him when I got home. He looked at me int he eyes and said “I will see you on Thursday, I love you Daddy” My heart broken into a million pieces. He did not understand why I could not be home at bedtime, but he accepted the fact that he was not going to see me until the end of the work week.
A Little backstory for you on my childhood growing up. My entire life My dad drove an 18 wheeler over the road and was gone from home most of the time. He was doing what he needed to do to support a family and give use the things we wanted and needed. I have never had a memory of my dad and mother living in the same house together. When I was about 3 they divorced and my older sister and myself lived with my mom. I would get to see my Dad every other weekend and that is just how life was. I did not realize until I was older the sacrifice that my dad made in order to try to give us a better life than he had. My dad drove a truck for 40 years and Pop (my dads dad) for 45 years before that. At the time I didn’t realize how much of an impact him being gone would be on my life. it put a strain on our relationship later in life. I rebelled as a teenager and did not understand why he seemed like he was not interested in me or the things I was doing. It made a lot of problems for our relationship as I got close to my 20’s.then for a long time my dad and I didn’t talk much, because of all the feelings I had built up about him not being involved in my childhood. I did not realize until I was older the sacrifice that my dad made in order to try to give us a better life than he had. I also realized that I did not want to be a truck driver, so I took up mechanics. I worked on dads trucks growing up and helped build my first truck a 66 f-100. It just came naturally to me. I had to know how things worked and I studied and read anything and everything could on the subject.
I digress, When my son told me he would see me on Thursday, at that moment I was done working that shift and those ridiculous hours. I would not be absent from his life for a job. I immediately went into job search mode. A really close friend of mine said the company he worked for was hiring for his replacement since he had taken another job in the company. I immediately sent them my resume. A few days later after a few interviews I was hired. The company is a automotive fastener and supply company. the hours are so much better and the pay is decent. After I was offered the new job, I called my supervisor at charter and informed him that I would be terminating my employment with them effective immediately. that i would drop off all of my company issued equipment the following day. I normally would have worked a two week notice and left on good terms, however when my son said that to me it made a huge impact on me. I could not work that schedule another day.
I am happy with my current job and the schedule permits me to spend more time with my son. In the years leading up to my dad passing away due to cancer, I was able to make amends and spend some good quality time with him. It is never enough time but I enjoyed it all the same. Now i just wish that I could have one more cup of coffee with him on the porch talking about all of life’s mysteries. We did not solve very many, but we had a great time trying to. I do regret not spending more time with him and getting to talk about those things you never get around to. I say all of this to say that if you have problems with someone in your family, or are working a job that takes you away from you kids and /or spouse make the effort to get things resolved and then spend as much quality time together as you possibly can, you only get one family and nothing should stand in the way of spending it with one another. I have have been blessed with friends in my life that I consider family and that at a moments notice I would drop everything for and them for me. They say you are lucky if you get one person in your life that is your true friend…… I am married to my best friend and have many of those people in my life.
I am going to try to write more this year and get back into telling my Hunting and Fishing stories, I plan to bring the people I mentioned above into those stories along with some I didn’t mention. Until next time check out the two new stories I published today