Once Upon A Time...

Once there was a boy...


who met a girl...


on the internet...


in the most unlikely of places...


and they fell in love


Happy Anniversary, baby!


-chadley

Lost Observation - No Place Like Home, Pt. 1

Wow... just realized that Ben LITERALLY passed the baton to John before walking into the Orchid.

Mind. Blown. Again.

In Medias Res

IN MEDIAS RES (From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia):
"In medias res, also medias in res (Latin for "into the middle of things") is a literary and artistic technique where the narrative starts in the middle of the story instead of from its beginning (ab ovo or ab initio). The characters, setting, and conflict are often introduced through a series of flashbacks or through characters relating past events to each other."

So here we go. I've been meaning to do this for some time. Doing a blog. Writing down my half-baked, hare-brained thoughts for the world to see. And now here I am jumping in head first. And if you know me at all (and I assume you do if you're reading this), then you know me jumping into something head-first is not like me AT ALL. But here we go...

Sitting on the porch at Bongo Java this morning, I was thinking about life and how 364 days ago I was sitting on the same porch killing time until I went from being a "me" to an "us". Yep, it's been a year tomorrow since I got married. And kind of amazed. Not just that I found someone so perfect for me (although I am beyond grateful for that) but surprised at all the things I have been through in the past few years. How I've grown, changed and really started on the journey towards being a man. I've moved back to Nashville, gotten married, lost a lot of weight, started getting fit, became a self-employed member of the work force, and been debt-free (with the exception of the mortgage) for the first time since my age ended in "teen". And of course I've made a lot of new friends, the best of whom now shares my name, address and sleeping quarters.

The one thing I've learned that helped me through it all is to not be so scared of change. I was stuck in such a rut during my 20's that the scenery didn't change for almost a decade. Terrifying now that I look back on it. But I try not to look back too much anymore. And that's easy when you have a lot of stuff to look forward to. For starters, Jen and I are looking to start a family in the near future, That's exciting and scary all at the same time (and if the thought of being responsible for a baby doesn't give you some pause the first time you seriously consider it, I say you're delusional!). But it's mostly exciting because I've gotten to see how much my brother loves it.

But I'm getting off track.... what else? Jen and I are building a new place in order to have room for a bigger family. It'll be ready in January. We just sold our house, so we're moving into an apartment until the new house is ready. I'm also doing something I thought I'd never do: I'm trying to track down my birth-parents. Mostly because I want to get ahold of my medical records to make sure I'm not passing on some wacky genetic disorder, and to also know what to expect as I get older. It's a mind-bending thing to consider that I hope doesn't get messy or anything. Interesting, digging up the roots of the family tree to know what to expect before the tree grows again. Also, I'm starting my Master's Degree in counseling, which is one of the only things I've ever done simply because I believe God wants me to and I have no idea how he intends to use it in my life. And I feel like God is challenging me to push my career in a new direction (I'm not sure what that looks like, but I'll let you know as I know).

Mostly, I feel God calling me to focus on my spiritual, mental and emotional well-being. He wants to build a newer, better Chad. And I think my job is just to try to stay out of the way and let Him do what he needs to do.

So, this blog is going to be a recording of my thoughts as I start the next year of my life. I really want to be more of an open book this year and continue to learn to be more comfortable with who I am. But a warning... it's going to be pretty random. Filled with lots of navel-gazing... half-baked thoughts, silly comments and possibly inappropriate language. It'll be littered with some of the things I'm interested in too... Disney parks, Apple products, comic books, movies, music. After all, being self-indulgent is what blogs are for! So for those of you who have thought I'm way too stoic and have wondered what's behind the poker face... wonder no more!

So here we go, pushing that "publish post" button and diving into the next thing. No fear. Change is good.