It’s September of 2024, and the kids are back to school. I’m ready to finish the year steady. This is a life update.
From now until the end of the year, these categories of life detail what I’m up to and what my days look like. I strive for balance and organization so that no part of my life is left to dust. It can’t be and isn’t always this balanced, but for this season, I’d like to work on the following categories. This is a life update, and you can use these categories to organize your life.
Health – When I talk about health, I am talking about physical health. Stuff like fitness and nutrition. There are other health aspects, including mental health, emotional health, and spiritual health. When discussing spiritual health, I’m talking capital G – God, or boldface G – gratitude. Those are my true G’s. However, since I talk about the mental, emotional, and spiritual parts of my life in the other categories, health is focused on physical health. Here’s the short: I seek to live to be 100 years old. Fitness is a genuine passion of mine. Something that I must have in my life. It serves me in so many ways. In terms of an actual goal, it’s along these lines: set aside an hour a day, no less than 30 minutes, five to six days a week to work out. I do many things, from walking to playing hoops to lifting weights and various high-intensity interval training and cardio approaches. Not to mention good sleep, more outside time than inside time, less sitting, good smartphone hygiene, and hydration. All good health habits to practice.
Family – I am a loving Father, a provider, and a protector, making a positive difference in my children’s lives. This looks like what you’d think it looks like. I’m the dad making pancakes, scrambled eggs, and sausage at 6 a.m. so that when I wake them at 6:20, they have a sustaining meal before I take them to school. I don’t miss sporting events. I’m present. I follow through. I ask questions. I engage with them. If you want to know my thoughts on my Fatherhood experience, read this: Lucan Turned 13 and I’m Close to 50 I took the kids to Colorado this summer. We white river rafted, zip-lined through the mountains, and hiked at 11,000 feet above sea level. I’m looking forward to our next trip to Philly for a wedding and a day or one-night trip to NYC in October 2025. All of my kids are happy, healthy, and well-adjusted. I’m proud of each one of them.
Money – I have a day job that pays my bills and allows me to have the flexibility to take and pick up my kids to and from school. I’ve been working my greenhouse job for a decade. I’m grateful for my day job. It’s the economic engine that moves us all forward. BUT… A second income is a great idea. Just having a job is no longer enough for our society. That’s why I started freelance writing a couple of years ago, which provided extra income, but now my goal is to pivot and create content around my way of being and monetize that. This isn’t entirely clear because I’m just starting, but I believe that as I approach 50, this is the smartest thing to do. My goal is to create content that only I can make consistently, and I will do this for 18 months and see what comes of it.
Work – Like I said, I work at a commercial greenhouse. We provide the big box stores with annual flowers, culminating in May on Mother’s Day. My job is to run day-to-day operations, shipping our nearly four and a half acres to box stores in about six weeks. So, my job is intense for about 45 days out of the year. From April 20 til June 1. It’s a challenging stretch and a risky business model but knock on wood. I think the owner and I have figured it out. We’re efficient. We’re lean. We employ good people. We have created a positive, family-like culture. Things are working. When it’s all said and done, and you look at the trajectory over a year, it’s a full-time salary for part-time hours. My goal is to maintain and rock steady with the day job. The real work is finding consistency across the following year with my other pursuits around the day job.
Personal – I want this: I like to think deeply, speak openly, and grow intellectually in public. I genuinely believe that committing to having a point of view and scheduling a time and place to say something will improve my thinking, attitude, and trajectory. You can take the “Personal” category and overlap it with the “Money” category, and the common thread there is “Grow in Public.” I need to follow through on this for myself. My goal is to set aside that time to say something and organize it so that it satiates me personally and provides enough value to others that there is a financial gain.
Relationship – The most important and meaningful relationships that I have are thriving. Let’s start with God. I have read the Bible every day this year. I am following a year-long Bible reading program called The Bible Recap. I’m getting to know God this way. I’m still in the Old Testament, and Jesus will arrive in about 500 years. I love my kids. I might be 50% custody, but I am 100% Dad. I don’t mi
ss events, and I’m present. I also keep them talking. That’s what I have going for me with my kids. I stay humble because the deck can always flip. My romantic relationship continues to be a blessing. I keep choosing her, and she keeps choosing me. My goal, especially as we approach the holidays, is to see more of and invest time into my parental and sibling relationships. They’re all fine, but life keeps us all moving to and fro, and I’d like to see everyone more. I can take the time to make phone calls. I love my uncles. They bring me so much joy and wisdom.
That’s a wrap. I’m committed to progress