It's still all the same....well not really

 I got an inbox the other day.

"Hey. I stumbled across your blog and saw you hadn't posted in a while. What happened?"

I really didn't have an answer. I honestly didn't. I enjoy writing and all that comes with the process. The creative spirit and sharing of my experiences has always been somewhat therapeutic to me. The keys clicking away, frantically dumping thoughts onto a blank canvas - my zone. A level of peace and a sense of purpose only added fuel to my fire. 

But the question still remained, "why did I stop doing something I enjoy so much?"

First let me catch everyone up. Cliff note version? I got into a relationship and eventually married. Single-Father of four marries Single-Mother of three. Yes, I know. That total number combines into a total family size of nine. It is at this point I should probably share, blending families is NOT for the faint of heart. My wife will tell you, the early years took precious time off of her potential lifespan. We laugh about it now, but it was brutal early on. 

A wife, three sons, and four daughters - keep me in your positive thoughts. But even with the hustle and bustle of blending a family, I changed jobs, moved, started a business, grew multiple social media platforms, worked out, traveled, and so much more. All things I love. But I also love writing. I can't blame my family.

My wife in this very moment: "You had a blog? How did I not know this?". Insert me offering her the Michael Jordan shrug. I think I am in trouble now.

I mentioned growing social media pages. The clicks, the likes, the comments, the shares, and the interaction were all part of the process. It takes time and dedication. Social media is constantly evolving. Although TikTok has been around for over a decade, I have yet to master it. All of the kids politely tell me that I am too old for TikTok. I tell them that "old" is a state-of-mind, but they beg to differ. 

If you work in any field that involves social media, be prepared to have your time sucked away from you in what seems like a blink of an eye. It feels like you have only scrolled one time, and now an hour has slipped away. It's the social media rabbit hole. You are now trapped in the matrix.

Social Media is a time vampire, but we are all in control of it. It may be hard, but we can pull ourselves out of the virtual quagmire. With that said, I can't really blame social media. My time is my time. Reminder: Don't let social media cost you your spouse. Next time you are in a restaurant, look around at the amount of couples who are on their devices, and not engaging each other. What have we become? Anyhow. Back to the topic at hand.

My youngest son called me prior to me beginning to type this. "You had a blog dad?!?!?!", he shouted. If my math is correct, he was 6 around that last time I posted. He will now be turning 16 this month. My how time flies. He would be the one to ask me the same question. I was brutally honest with him. Using this as a teaching moment for him and a massive reminder to myself. "Son, I used life as an excuse to stop doing something I love. Don't be like dad....in this sense son. Be better than me. Find your way back to your passions sooner than me. Better yet, don't ever let them go."

There are legitimate reasons and then there are excuses. Life is full of opportunities for excuses, but they don't amount to much. Excuses lull us into spaces of short term pleasure, causing us to delay what it is that we really should be doing. We rationalize our minds into accepting excuses as reasons. There is not one legitimate reason for me not to have written here.

So don't be like me and take a 10 year hiatus. Whatever it is that you know you need to do, do it. Don't make an excuse like me. My apologies, I'm sorry for the wait.

-MCAR