Am I Really That Old????

I was slapped by a healthy dose of real life this morning, that I want to share. I got out of bed at 6:00am on this beautiful winter morning to wake up my oldest daughter. You see, today she is taking her high school entrance exam. Yes, she is in 8th grade and beginning to prepare herself for high school. Those exciting but scary first steps into adulthood. I can't believe how fast the time is flying. It's seems like yesterday I was lounging on the sofa with my newborn baby girl sleeping on my chest.

Anyway, we stopped at a Starbuck's so she can get one of those fancy, schmancy caffeinated drinks (they like to call it coffee, but it's not). We went in and she ordered her mocha, latte, whateveryoucallit and then we moved to the next station where we waited for her order. Then I hear the barista ('cause now they have to have a special tile), yell out "Grande Soy Chai"!! I looked at my teenager and said "What the hell is a Soy Chai". She shrugged her shoulders and I launched into a grumpy-old-man style tirade about kids today. I pointed out that her 'coffee' cost $6 bucks and there wasn't even a newspaper or coffee pot in the whole place. I couldn't help but notice that I was the oldest person in there and everyone had their heads buried in a their laptops or their iPhones. Thoroughly embarrased, my daughter pulled her hood over her head, grabbed her drink and headed for the door.

I just got back from dropping her off and realized that I am the father of a modern teenager and a girl, no less. How's that for a double whammy? I guess my point here is, that I really feel old. I always thought that I was the cool dad and in the loop. I guess not. But finally, I just want my daughter to know that I'm so very proud of her and all that she's achieved and I believe that she will, without a doubt take the world by storm.

A New Outlook...

I have recently been faced with some very serious struggles and while they are ongoing, I have chosen for myself and for the sake of my family to not let them get the best of me. I have chosen to, as my dad says, to keep my chin up. I believe, now more than ever that I can handle whatever life can throw at me. I know this because the only other solution would to be to lie down and call it quits. I'm not going to do that. So now, I will view each day as a gift and a chance to get it right.

So that said, I'm going to put more of an effort into a great many things. My job, my home, my family and friends and of course my hobbies. I've let a lot of things drag over the last year or two. Call it depression over losing my job a year ago or whatever, but I'm past that now and it's time to battle back with a new, energetic outlook. Going forward, I pledge to post more material on Warhammer, 4ok, literature, movies, RPGs, life in general - whatever comes to mind, but gone are the days of ignoring life. So here's to the first day of the rest of my life.