Ok, so I cry. I cry a lot more now than I ever have in my entire life.
Not because I am sad, but because I am emotionally sensitive to a level I have never known or hardly remember. My best analogy is that up until the last couple of years I have had an emotional ‘plaque’ build-up around me. And just like after a visit to the dentist, life events have rendered my ethos more exposed and as each emotion visits my daily path I am overwhelmed with my heightened sensitivity. It could be a simple tear or an awkward face spasm. I can not control it.
It doesn’t have to be anything big.
I recently visited Wynnton Arts Academy with Leadership Columbus and found that there are some amazing things going on in our public school system. I am proud of area leaders, school teachers and parents for pushing to integrate innovative learning techniques to provide our schools with a fundamental knowledge and making it fun. I think I cried 10 times that day. Just tears. Not gushing or flowing floods but a swelling of joy inside my chest. I can keep it well hidden. From seeing young students that remind me of myself and my son Gus to hearing voices of happy kids doing great things.
Also, a movie trailer with dramatic music can invoke this involuntary response. I’m a sucker for kids now so I can no longer make it through any PSA about children in other countries. I fall deeply under the spell of any TV show or movie that portrays a triumph or ‘moment’. I recently watched ‘Courageous’ and I almost didn’t make it through.
I am aware that my family life has attributed to this new self. I am so proud of my wife and son as we exist each day with a vigorous push to squeeze every second out of each minute we have together. I’ve done well to heed the warning that family is first and the obstacles I have had from being a new father and starting a tech company have brought me more emotions than I can ever remember.
For that I am thankful.
It is as if I have come across a bridge and I have no want or desire to go back. Each day I experience something again for the first time and I am soaking it all in. It’s kinda like driving around a new city on vacation. I am noticing every sign, the smell in the air and every little thing I wouldn’t notice if I had been there for many years.
2012 has already begun with more triumphs than expected. As an entrepreneur, I am in the planning of a second company and creating several exciting platforms. As a team manager, Stand And Stretch has continued to exceed our projections yet again. As a father, I have been able to regain my evening time and making the most of it. As a husband, I am a catalyst for my wife’s career launch. As we approach happiness, I am reminded that my family is the core at which I find my energy and new-found emotional state.
I am actually tearing up right now…
