Welcome back. You belong here.

Lately I’ve been realizing how I affect our family, either positively or negatively. When I’m stressed, upset or quiet, my wife feels it, our children see it and they get quiet or hold in their own emotions. There’s no communication, no openness, no sharing of ideas or dreaming of the future. That’s my one side.

But then there’s the other side, when I’m being truly me, doing things not from a place of fear or panic, but from the heart. When I do that, I help my wife, I’m there for our children, I engage life, I listen to the voice inside.

The other day Rachelle was saying how she felt overwhelmed with clothes shopping for the children. As they get older, their tastes get more expensive and peculiar and it seems no one has their size. So today, during my day off, I went to 3-4 stores with our children, including the Del Amo swap meet (which is way the heck out there!), and got some nice stuff for some pretty good prices.

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Today we took the bus to Millikan High School so that our 14 year old Canela (picture) who’s going to be a freshman this year, can learn the basics of taking the bus. Where to wait for it, how much it costs, where to get on and off, safety, what to do with wheelchairs, loud kids, etc. It was fun.

I’m also trying to tell them the stories behind my songs (that’ll be another post soon), so that they know what is behind the songs I write. So today, we sat together in the living room, laughing, talking, asking questions, telling me how I always tell them the same stories over and over again. But in the end, I could tell the stories got through to their hearts and minds, we connected.

Today, I felt like I led my family well, I was myself. Sure, I got uptight a few times, after all, the goal is not to be a superhero. But for the most part, I was myself, present with my wife and present with our children and that always makes a difference in their lives and in the world.

Thanks for visiting.

Trig