My father was a pretty quiet guy. Friendly, but not talkative. Never talked about his feelings, and always left me wondering as a kid what he thought about things. He was often a hard guy to figure out. I got to know him better as I got older, but, especially now that he is gone, I find myself wondering what he was thinking about his life and the world around him as I was growing up.

In my adult life I’m (intentionally) basically the opposite. Sometimes I wonder if I should keep some things closer to the vest, but I like the fact that it’s not hard to know where I stand on just about anything. I’m an open book. Heart on my sleeve.

It may be a bit presumptuous to think my kids will be curious about me in the same way that I am about my dad, but I want to record some of my thoughts for them. I’d like them to know where my head was at when they were young.

I’m also interested to look back at what I write here years later. I’ve changed a lot in how I think and what I believe, and I usually cringe at the things I used to think. So in a way, I’m hoping this will keep me honest.

There’s a fire burning in the back forty
I’m still finding out who the hell I am