Baseball was a way of life. Between my brother and I playing, Mom running the concession stand, and Dad coaching and umpiring, Winter Park Optimist was our second home. I can still hear the cheers from the sidelines, smell the freshly cut grass, and taste the sweat mixed with red clay. For the first eighteen years of my life, baseball was my identity. It was what I loved. You see, my dad was a great athlete growing up, but through a rare […]
As if Middle School isn’t Awkward Enough At eleven years old you’re faced with enough change in your life, the last thing you want is more. However, in addition to the internal challenges, I faced an ominous set of external challenges as I embarked into middle school. D.C. Virgo was a revamped inner city school and despite the fact that there were three other schools closer in proximity, I was bussed nearly eight miles away based on a Board of Education’s decision to […]
Yesterday, while we were attempting to wash the twins up after dinner, I found our three-year old, Matthew, dumping out the trash. This was eventful and enjoyable for our dog, Stella, but not for Daddy. What are you thinking?! I honestly can’t remember if I yelled it aloud or not. As my anger subsided, I knew that this was an opportunity to teach my son. As I composed my emotions, I told him why we don’t dump out the trash and […]
Trisha was a dreamer. She chose to look at all that life could be and celebrated the special moments. She met people and ideas with excitement. Even when she was diagnosed with cancer, she dreamed big. Outside of her husband, she wasn’t going to tell anyone and cancer certainly wasn’t going to stop her. In fact, her 38th visit to Disney World, the year she was diagnosed, held the same excitement as her first. It wasn’t until Christmas that year […]
Having three boys I knew the day would come, I was just hoping it would be delayed. This weekend, my three-year-old son, Matthew, who I will affectionately call MJ, fell from the couch and broke his left arm just above the elbow. The experience was traumatic as it was the first time I had really seen him hurt. We’d dealt with bumps, bruises, viruses, and the occasional tantrum of an emotional overload, but never this. His response was one of […]
Last week as I was getting ready for work, my wife said, “I could totally see you being a speaker someday.” Her words seemed to come out of nowhere. I paused and looked at her. “What did you say?” “I said I could totally see you being a speaker someday.” Little did she know, I had been wrestling that idea in my head for weeks. I was just too scared to tell anyone. Her encouragement was the catalyst I needed. It was […]
We get busy in life. Matt reminds us of why we dedicate ourselves to something other than ourselves.
- Robert Wagnon, CEO, Republic State Mortgage
