A Husband and Father

I'll admit it, I cried when Challenger exploded in 1986, but in my defense I was in sixth grade at the time and convinced I was going to be an astronaut. Beyond that I like to think that the news doesn't get under my skin. But admittedly, the recent  news cycle has had me in a funk.

Russia in Ukraine, ISIS beheading children, genocide in Syria, Israel vs. Palestine, unarmed teenagers shot and killed in Missouri, Ebola in West Africa, children fleeing violence in Central America... and talk of  sending them back? Two friends diagnosed with cancer, one terminal, and finally suicide, depression and Robin Williams.

Ugh.

After two hours in commuter traffic listening to all that, I was in a dark mood.

I thumbed on my iPhone to check email before work and the background image of my daughter silhouetted against a California sunset grabbed me.

Suddenly I was filled with thoughts of a young lady on the cusp of the "tween" years. A young lady who dances shamelessly to Katy Perry music, bosses her brothers around and worries over whether she gets the third grade teacher she wants.

Then I thought of my son, who just lost his first tooth. He builds legos like a savant. He loves guessing the movies for the film scores I play and he still likes me to do the voices when I read to my kids at night.

Then I thought of my youngest. If you ask him his age he'll either reply "I'm 10" (he's two, by the way) or "I'm a big boy," and he would sell any member of the family for a single M&M.

Then of course there's my wife, who is so far above my station a week of talking would not come close to describing how lucky I am to have her. She is an Olympic-caliber mother, the rock-solid center of my universe and she still looks damn good in a bikini.

At times it may very well seem like the world is burning down all around us, especially when you're paying attention to what's going on. But my life? I'm lucky to say my life is big and beautiful and brilliant and happy because I am a father and a husband.

With a Perspective I'm Sam Christensen.

Sam Christensen is also a teacher, blogger and practicing dentist in Aptos.