LIFE UPDATE
It's been a while since I've updated you all with my life. Truth be told, I have had a lot going on which has caused me to withdraw from social media a little bit. My work life has almost taken over me completely, and I just have had so much going on that social media has been the last thing on my mind. As you may already know from my instagram, we have moved. The idea came to me a little less than a year ago when one night while sitting in my former home, I looked around the living room and said to my wife, "we need to move." The city I was living in was not the ideal city to raise children in; Tujunga, for those of you who don't know, it is located north of North Hollywood. It use to be a Bikers only city in the 80's... (that should tell you something.) It is not a city in which you can ride around on your bike, wake up and say "HELLO NEIGHBOR" or even go to have dinner because there is not much around at all. Not to mention the homeless encampments all around the main boulevard before and after covid. However, it was definitely time for a very drastic change in our lives. To say that we outgrew our house is an understatement. After my son was born, it became very very small and crowded. We needed to move somewhere where we had a lot of room, a backyard and a safe neighborhood to walk around in with my family. A city where your trash bins don't have people going through them in the morning, somewhere where you actually see kids playing on the streets and no one says anything because it is so safe and clean. We came up with a plan and we put it into effect. My aunt/real estate agent went above and beyond to find what we were looking for and we settled on a beautiful home in Canyon Country where everything we wanted in a home and neighborhood manifested. Beautiful homes, very friendly neighbors and kids playing in the streets. It was as if we were transported back to the 50's. Once we got the keys, it was time to move. The whole process of moving anywhere is hard and exhausting enough, but moving with a 1 year old and a 2 year old was very very difficult. On top of everything, we had some light remodeling to do which was again, very difficult with kids. Luckily, our family was there to take care of them as we were settling. I cannot thank our families enough for helping us unpack, watching the kids and doing whatever was necessary to get it all done.
We were completely shocked as to how well the kids adjusted to the overnight change. We expected sleepless nights, waking up and crying in the middle of the night, no napping and all that stuff. Luckily, none of that happened. It was as if they've been here forever. Arianna was screaming "NEW HOUSE NEW HOUSE!!" all over the place when she saw it. Now, the most difficult adjustment for me is working in Torrance and living in Santa Clarita. Now, I am no stranger to long commutes since driving to torrance feels like driving from L.A to Egypt. However, the drive to Torrance from Santa Clarita is brutal. I know what you’re thinking, I should’ve known what I was getting into, right? Truth is that i did do my research and it was something I was more than willing to do anyway. But JESUS CHRIST IT REALLY SUCKS!!!! Yes, the traffic is horrible, but worth it all because we knew that this move was the best thing for my family. Seeing my kids playing in a backyard they never had, makes it all worth it.
Work life has been very consuming, to say the least. I have been putting 12-13 hour days the past few weeks to get things done and get certain things on the right path. Putting that kind of time and effort into work and driving 2 hours a day going home from Torrance has made me so tired that social media and my blog just seemed like something I put on the back burner due to exhaustion. After work, I still do my best to put some time into playing with my kids before they go to bed, even though some days are harder than others and all I want to do is shower and lay on my couch, my kids happiness comes first. The excitement on their faces when I walk in the house makes it very difficult to not be active with them. I have major guilt if I don't put at least an hour in and play with them before they go to bed. This is not me tooting my own horn at all, it's my explanation as to why I have been away.
The horrible drive aside, we have adjusted very well here. I never knew neighbors can be so nice! Everyone was super welcoming and went out of their way to introduce themselves to us and it was a nice change from what we had before, that's for damn sure. I recently found out a lot of my neighbors are LAPD and firefighters... Nice to know we have round the clock security all over. So now you know why I have been away for a while and not blogging once a week like before. However, now that everything in my life has simmered and much less crazy, I intend on posting a lot more content on here and reconnect with you all! Good things to come.