I hope things are going well in your life. Our family has had a rollercoaster year as usual, but that is the way life works for us.
Career wise my standup career made a big turn, as I wrote a new, very personal show about how much I’ve learned from having a child like Maddie–a child with special needs. It was kind of scary discussing some of the raw emotions involved, but challenging myself to do it has been very personally rewarding. I have never had so many people come up to me after the show and express their appreciation. I am working on a book based on this show and just recorded a DVD of it. I began my 10th year as part of the writing staff for the NFL on FOX pregame show, but was bumped off the payroll mid-season. I’m proud of a lot of sketches the show has done during my tenure and left on good terms.
Maddie is 9 and the tallest person in her class. She loves basketball and swimming. Her autism brings many unique challenges. Behaving like a 3 year-old when you look like a 12 year-old is difficult to deal with for people who don’t know her. We continue to try to be like chess masters, trying to anticipate a few moves ahead to keep her from being distressed.
Speaking of exhausting, Sam and Mallory are 4. They continue to be the Dallas Cowboys…Great individually, but stink as a team. Sam is starting to come into his own. He was 2nd leading goal scorer on his soccer team, but I think he could care less. It’s hard for me not to push him, growing up with a Dad like Bob Knight, but I’m trying (not always succeeding) at letting him follow his own path. Mallory is dramatic, aggressive, athletic. She’s the girl that wants to wear a princess dress while kicking your ass. I fear what a 15 year-old version of her will be like, but I can’t imagine she won’t be the best she can be.
Our private health insurance continued to rise to the point where it was over 500 dollars more per month…than our mortgage. We reached a financial crisis situation where we had to make a decision, so Susan boosted her hours to full-time at Propeller Marketing, so we cut our insurance premium in half. Our deductibles are going to skyrocket with it, but we had no choice. We are very fortunate that Susan has a great boss who she loves to work for. You will notice from our annual photo montage that Susan looks 10 years younger than her actual age. 25 years into our relationship and my respect for her continues to grow.
The family highlights were our trips to Disneyworld, Oklahoma City, and our annual vacation week in Door County. Our crew actually is at its best when on the road. Maybe they share my travelin’ man instincts. Well that is what I have time to share this year.
Happy Holidays.