Uploaded August 2020 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
Song by Violet Orlandi and Toogla
youtube.com/watch?v=l0Q9CjK21G4
My thoughts below
If you don't follow Violet do yourself a favor and subscribe now. You will not be disappointed.
youtube.com/channel/UCo3AxjxePfj6DHn03aiIhww
This time in quarantine, hunkered down hoping we don't catch a maybe deadly virus, has been both amazing and also rather tough.
On the amazing side all of our kids are flourishing. They have all learned to surf, some are flying drones, or playing drums, or guitar, or piano. One is dancing non-stop and she's good (Lord help me, too good...). My wife and I have found a good cruising altitude with little turbulence. From a personal perspective this has been a fantastic time for our family.
And then I look out from our bubble and see what feels like the US disintegrating under the weight of decades of political mismanagement and centuries of horrific race relations. While one thing I love grows yearningly towards the sun another thing I love may be breathing some semblance of its last breaths. The dichotomy of this moment is hard to express.
Throughout my life I have tended to vacillate between periods of depression or restlessness. The last few months have bee blessedly stable from a relative perspective, but yesterday I was fully seized with a terrible sense of restlessness. Towards the evening I was pacing around questioning all the directions of my life. Sometimes I can knock myself out of these episodes by creating. I sat down and wrote a song. And then I started fixing my drone (yet again...).
The kids were going to be at the beach at dawn. I wasn't going to go since I hate waking up early. But I realized that it would be a beautiful morning and I would be with my family. So I set about to repair what I could and make it as reliable as I could. Losing a quad in this ocean makes it about as lost as lost can be.
At 5 AM I woke up, made my coffee and had a bowl of cereal. The family was down by 5:15. We were out the door by 5:45 and at the beach by 6. As we were walking out to the beach my little girl (who's becoming not-so-little now) grabbed my arm and hugged it tight. She looked up at me and said, "This means so much to me, daddy."
Suddenly the moment was perfect. The restlessness was blown away by the sunshine from my little girls face. I took a deep breath, kicked my flip-flops off and strode out into the sand to get them ready.
I didn't do any real "test flights". I just sent it. By 30 seconds in on my first flight I was hundreds of yards out. It was thrilling, terrifying and majestic. By the 5th pack I found some dolphins and got about a half mile from myself.
I have a wonderful life. Despite all that is going on around us, it's good. I regret all of the pain and suffering that's happening to the folks in this country. But for now all that I can worry about is us. Live in the moment, as it were and help those that come across my path.
I will have this video to look back on to remember this day. But I don't think I'll ever forget my little girl's words. "This means so much to me, daddy."
Song by Violet Orlandi and Toogla
youtube.com/watch?v=l0Q9CjK21G4
My thoughts below
If you don't follow Violet do yourself a favor and subscribe now. You will not be disappointed.
youtube.com/channel/UCo3AxjxePfj6DHn03aiIhww
This time in quarantine, hunkered down hoping we don't catch a maybe deadly virus, has been both amazing and also rather tough.
On the amazing side all of our kids are flourishing. They have all learned to surf, some are flying drones, or playing drums, or guitar, or piano. One is dancing non-stop and she's good (Lord help me, too good...). My wife and I have found a good cruising altitude with little turbulence. From a personal perspective this has been a fantastic time for our family.
And then I look out from our bubble and see what feels like the US disintegrating under the weight of decades of political mismanagement and centuries of horrific race relations. While one thing I love grows yearningly towards the sun another thing I love may be breathing some semblance of its last breaths. The dichotomy of this moment is hard to express.
Throughout my life I have tended to vacillate between periods of depression or restlessness. The last few months have bee blessedly stable from a relative perspective, but yesterday I was fully seized with a terrible sense of restlessness. Towards the evening I was pacing around questioning all the directions of my life. Sometimes I can knock myself out of these episodes by creating. I sat down and wrote a song. And then I started fixing my drone (yet again...).
The kids were going to be at the beach at dawn. I wasn't going to go since I hate waking up early. But I realized that it would be a beautiful morning and I would be with my family. So I set about to repair what I could and make it as reliable as I could. Losing a quad in this ocean makes it about as lost as lost can be.
At 5 AM I woke up, made my coffee and had a bowl of cereal. The family was down by 5:15. We were out the door by 5:45 and at the beach by 6. As we were walking out to the beach my little girl (who's becoming not-so-little now) grabbed my arm and hugged it tight. She looked up at me and said, "This means so much to me, daddy."
Suddenly the moment was perfect. The restlessness was blown away by the sunshine from my little girls face. I took a deep breath, kicked my flip-flops off and strode out into the sand to get them ready.
I didn't do any real "test flights". I just sent it. By 30 seconds in on my first flight I was hundreds of yards out. It was thrilling, terrifying and majestic. By the 5th pack I found some dolphins and got about a half mile from myself.
I have a wonderful life. Despite all that is going on around us, it's good. I regret all of the pain and suffering that's happening to the folks in this country. But for now all that I can worry about is us. Live in the moment, as it were and help those that come across my path.
I will have this video to look back on to remember this day. But I don't think I'll ever forget my little girl's words. "This means so much to me, daddy."
