To My Family

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To My Family

We are barely holding on—if at all—because of everything this situation has put us through.

To My Brothers:

While I wish you could have been more patient with me and listened better, I owe you both an apology, especially to your wives.

To my nieces and nephews, I know I don’t always set the best example. I don’t know what it’s like to have children of my own, and that gap in understanding has shown. In my work, I often hire people close to your age, and I see behaviors that aren’t always becoming. Unfortunately, in my industry, some of those behaviors have been normalized. For this, I apologize—to you and to your parents.

To My Parents:

I can’t thank you enough for everything you’ve done for me, even as I’ve taken you down some crazy roads. Every one of those roads has ended positively, and I have no reason to believe this one won’t as well. Just know that this is almost over, one way or another.

Remember when this all began, and I told you, “Trust me, I know what I’m doing”? You trusted me for as long as you could. My whole family did, until it wore you down. I don’t blame you for hating who I’ve become because of this. I don’t blame you for hating me at times.

All I can hope for is that, in time, the first 40 years of our lives together will outweigh the pain of these last few.