If you go back to the beginning of this blog (even I’m afraid to do that), you’ll meet a very different person than the writer in front of you. Today, I’m a working for a great telecommunications company, married to a wonderful wife, and raising a cute little Yoda.

It’s been fun being a husband and father, but also exhausting. Waking up in the middle of the night to take care of him. Playing with him at 5:30 in the morning when he’s ready to go. Trying to convince him that going to bed isn’t a big deal and he shouldn’t cry himself to sleep. These are some of the challenges that you read and hear about, but don’t really feel the gravity for until you’re dealing with it, everyday, even weekends. On the flip side, having a boy that laughs at the silly things you do cannot be replaced by a video game, movie, or novel. It’s something, again, that you have to experience. The pure enjoyment of a baby is so innocent, unabashed, and heartwarming.

At work, I’m managing some products that I’m very excited to work on. It’s taken longer than I planned to get up to speed, but now I’m hitting my stride with my products and I’m excited for the second half of this year. On top of that my team has gotten stronger and we are pushing our capabilities to the limits. I really think we’ll pull of some groundbreaking work.

My wife has been enjoying her summer. Being a teacher has it’s benefits. Plenty of time off during summer, winter and spring. The rest of the year, she’s wrangling 30+ kids and trying to teach them test material and raising the to be good kids. When I compare her responsibilities of watching over so many kids, I wish we could do more about the class sizes that teachers deal with and the amount of help they get. They’re really in a tough situation and could use some help.

My goals for the second half of the year include (in no particular order).

1. Writing more on my blog

2. Spending more time on Syte Gear

3. Teaching my son and supporting my wife

4. Be a strong component of my team at work

If I can pull this off, I’ll be very proud of myself =)