And... we're back! 🐻🐻🐻🐻🐶
After a 2 year hiatus, I'm dusting off my keyboard and bringing the insanity back on a (hopefully) weekly basis
Oh, what a long strange trip it’s been. I took some time off from this newsletter — a vehicle for my rambling thoughts as a father of 2 (now) toddlers, a husband, and an entrepreneur trying to figure it all out in NYC. I did so to focus my attention on Chptr (more on that shortly), and quickly learn how to be a father to two growing babies. Just when I thought I was ready, Scandoval took its grip on what little remaining free time I had each night and held tightly for the last few months.
Free from that particular set of Bravo-fueled drama, I’m here to try and process life through these words. Thank you for staying with me.
Here’s a quick-ish update:
In the last two years, I’ve spent exactly 7 months sleeping in my own bed. For the remaining 17, you could find me in my son’s twin toddler bed accented by a large bed frame shaped like a house. While incredibly cool looking, it was certainly not designed for a 6’, 200lb adult to sleep in (leave alone climb in and out of it). My son decided that his nightly slumber needed to be by my wife’s side in our enormous bed which, throughout the night, he would use as a make-shift dance floor, spinning around in his sleep kicking both of us like a scene from Roadhouse. Only in the last few days have I returned, with the adults in the room now outnumbering the babies (as Coco is still in her crib). We are on the cusp of victory.
Jess is doing great and is crushing it at work. That’s one of the greatest joys of my life — seeing her thrive in her own career, one that is so incredibly foreign to me that I can’t even fake being an expert in (something I can absolutely do in other aspects of my life 🤷🏾♂️). I’m her biggest fan and have been cheering on from the sidelines. For more on her life, follow her on Twitter at @jessicamooretv!
We’ve had our share of low points over the last couple of years too. We put one of our dogs (Winnie) down because of an enormous, immovable, and rapidly growing fat pocket on her chest. Albi is still with us and doing great. We had to find a new home for Charlie (dog #3) because he started getting too rough and we were worried about the kids' safety. My great-uncle (who was basically my grandfather) passed last year, and another friend of mine took his life around the same time. We all got COVID twice, strep twice, multiple ear infections (kids), and round after round of fevers. All a byproduct of Nico being in school and Coco following him everywhere.
Speaking of… babies are now 4 1/2 and 2 1/2 and are SO MUCH FUN to be around. I’ll always defend that the greatest thing I’ve ever been a part of is bringing these two babies into the world (though Jess did most of the work). This is still a fatherhood newsletter, so most of the storytelling going forward will feature them as the stars of the show.
Finally, Chptr… In early 2020, while in NYC’s first total shutdown and quarantine, I was inspired to dive into a new project… fixing the way the world grieves and remembers people who have died. 3 years later, and with an incredible team, we are live in the App Store and Google Play, and are working with thousands of people who are celebrating the lives of people they have lost. It’s been the most incredible rollercoaster I’ve ever been on, and we’re just getting started.
I’m going to cut this off early today since this is more of a warmup than anything. I’ll dive into some stories, learnings, and batshit insanity next week. Until then, thank you for sticking with me and for making it to the bottom of this page. As a gift, here are three songs you need to listen to:
Thank you and be good to each other,
Rehan