Life can be so weird

This is kind of a spur of the moment post.

I really didn't have any plans of writing, and I certainly don't have a whole lot thought out as I start this, so there's no real way to tell how it's going to turn out.

A lot has happened in my life. There have been minor changes, big changes, and holy-shit I didn't see that coming types of changes. I've grown up a lot in the last 10 years and have learned to take on a new perspective on any number of things that can and probably will happen.

The thing about life is you can never really tell what's going to happen. Even the most stable of individuals will likely have to deal with some kind of adversity at some point. Many will handle it just fine, but some will completely crumble under the pressure, thus changing their lives forever.

As some may know, my 4 year relationship with Rachel ended recently. I'm not going to hash out a bunch of details because that wouldn't be fair to Rachel and frankly much of it is the business of no one. Was there frustration? Yes, on both sides. But in the end, we have a child together, and that child is still there even if the relationship isn't. Kylie doesn't disappear because we couldn't make it work.

I don't want it to be like how it is with her other ex, where he's a turd and makes things difficult. Truth is, she's not difficult to work with. We've already discussed a number of scenarios involving dealing with Kylie once we're living separately.

Simply put, it makes more sense for the parents to work together as opposed to against each other. But most struggle with doing that. 

But I'm not going to spend a ton of time talking about domestic relations and what could be in regards to my relationship with my ex. What you need to know is it needs to be civil and anyone who comes into my life is going to have to understand that.

Dating is going to be the more tricky thing when the time comes right. Whoever I date is going to not only accept that I have a child, but that my ex is still part of my life being the mother of my child. They aren't going to just be impressing me, but they'll have to impress Kylie.  Time is going to be limited and if the woman can't handle that, well, then it isn't going to work.

I'm not going parade one woman after another into Kylie's life. I'm not going to be making rush decisions in regards to dating. Everything will have to be meticulously planned out and the woman will have to realize that my child comes first, no exceptions.

The main thing I've come to realize now is that I'm very ho-hum when it comes to dealing with stuff like dating or anything else potentially stressful. If it's something out of my control, I'm not going to spend a lot of time fretting about it.  I will worry about what I can control and go from there.

I'm not going to fall over myself trying to impress a woman. It isn't about that. I'm not going to stress about if I'm going to be able to go out much. It's simply not that important. If someone likes what I'm doing or something about me, great. If they don't, well, keep on moving because I don't have time for that mess.

Seriously though, life can hit you hard and fast. One minute you're thinking about a child-to-be, contemplating how life is going to change, next you're contemplating what life as a single dad is going to be like.

How you handle those changes that come at you will ultimately determine how the situation turns out.

I know this isn't the longest post I've written, but an old friend said hi to me tonight and reminded me how much I used to enjoy writing. I can't promise this means I'll write more, but it was nice to be reminded that some people have really enjoyed my little blurbs from time to time.

I was specifically reminded of the Christmas Lists I used to do each year. I haven't done one since 2011.

It might be time to do a new one.

It might just be time to start anew overall.