Daily writing prompt

Tell us about your first day at something — school, work, as a parent, etc.

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First day at school was 10000 years ago, so that’s too long to remember anything useful. 

First day at work… the last first day at work was July 12, 2004. I spent the whole day in new hire training with about 20 other people. Months later I learned that others in the new hire group referred to me as “the old guy.” Nice.

First day as a parent… I can give you a couple along that line, but I am not actually anyone’s parent. I’m Bellana and Harry’s step parent, so that will have to do. I’ll give you a snippet from the first time I met them and the first official day as their legal step father.

The first day I met them was September 2007. Jen and I had been dating for about six months and that made me eligible to meet the kids (according to the rules agreed upon by Jen and her ex husband). Jen prepped me by saying that Bellana (age six) would be outgoing and social, while Harry (age four) would be shy and probably wouldn’t want to have anything to do with me. We met at a Chuck-E-Cheese’s near my office in Framingham (pour one out for our Framingham building which the company sold a few years ago). 

Outside of the building, Harry came running up to me to show me a paper he worked on at pre-school that day. He was very outgoing and wanted to share everything with me. The exact opposite of what we expected. Bellana hid behind her mother and barely said a word. Again, the exact opposite of what we expected. By the end of the night I realized that these two kids were more important to me than just about anything on Earth. 16 years later that is still 100% the case. That was a really good night.

The first day as their official, legal step father was, of course, our wedding day. Harry (now age six) was a Junior Usher. He hung out with me all day before the ceremony. He wore a tuxedo and he looked like a million bucks. He was very nervous about the whole thing, but he did help give Jen away during the ceremony and it was pretty much the most adorable thing ever. Bellana (now age eight) was a Junior Bridesmaid. She spent the pre-ceremony time with Jen so I didn’t see her, but she wore a bridesmaid dress and she was absolutely adorable too.

At the reception, they had fun like the rest of us. They danced, they ran around, they were pretty much the stars of the show. Bellana twisted her ankle near the end of the evening so that was the only negative. Everyone circled around her to try and make her feel better. After the reception was over and Jen and I were about to leave for the honeymoon, Harry had a tough time. He didn’t want his mom to leave. He was very upset. Eventually he came around and he handled the separation well enough. It was tough leaving him behind though. It was tough leaving both of them behind. 

There you have it. A few first from my recent past. Well… the first day at work was over 19 years ago, and the first day with the kids was 16 years ago, and the wedding was 14 years ago… so not that recent, I guess.

Daily writing prompt

Have you ever performed on stage or given a speech?

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Have I ever performed on stage? You can bet your sweet ass that hells yes I have.

The first time was when I was in elementary school playing with the elementary school band. That would have been 5th grade so… 1981 or so. Every year from then on saw me do at least a xmas and a spring concert with some school band. That ran all the way through my first trip through college when I was a music major. Besides that, I have lost track of how many times a band of my own played in front of an audience. The last time was February 1, 2020, just before the pandemic hit.

I am a shy introvert who doesn’t feel comfortable dealing with people, but for some unknowable reason, I absolutely love being on stage, playing with a band. As long as I have a guitar or a saxophone to hide behind. I fucking love it. I Love It. Also, I can’t wait to do it again.