Engineer / Father / Writer
These are the roles I've held—first sequentially, now simultaneously.
Once, I was an engineer. I developed software for startups and banks. I rode the subway and had a view of the Empire State Building. I took walks with my wife and decided on the fly if it might be a nice evening for a show.
Two children later, we had less time for walks and less money for shows. Still, fatherhood was bliss, and two children, we could handle. We learned how to navigate subway platforms with a double stroller. We learned which stations had working elevators. Two children, we could handle. But three?
Three and a half years after moving to the midwest, my first story was published. I'd spent the time at home with my youngest, writing while he napped, studying the craft as best I could, and writing more after all three were in bed. I packed school lunches and I wrote some terrible stories, but I wrote a few passable ones, too.
I am now all these things: engineer, father, and writer. It's a balancing act, as everything is, but it's my act, and I'm just getting started.
Enjoy the show.
