Fortunate

Katie and I have been rewatching Parks and Rec. This is maybe our 4th or 5th time through the series. Judge me as you will. Actually, don’t. Judging people is bad.

You know what is good? Parks and Rec. Fantastic show. There’s something calming about rewatching a good situational comedy, especially as another academic year starts up. And I do think Parks and Rec is a good situational comedy.

I’ll admit something is happening as I am becoming reacquainted with Rob Lowe’s character in the series. Chris Traeger’s near mental breakdown at 44 hits a little harder for me this time. Don’t get me wrong, it’s still very funny. But listening to him talk about his fear of mortality or seeing his therapist Richard Nygaard five times a week is what the kids these days might call triggering.

I see you, Chris, I think to myself as we watch an episode or two before bed. I see you.

***

Samson turned eight this week. Eight! I can’t tell you how fortunate I feel to have him for a son. To have Solomon for a son. To have Katie for a wife.

What have I done to deserve such a beautiful human being as a partner? To have two brilliant, kind boys for children? I know I write about how loud they are. And they are. But they are beautiful too.

I’ve been kvetching a lot lately. Like Chris Traeger, I’m concerned that this body is 43. And my blogs about Iowa City probably paint a darker picture than I mean to. So much has changed for me in the last two years. This blog is an obsessive rumination on change, maybe. Things are always changing! And, of course, things are always more complicated than any act of writing could capture.

The boys started school last week. Their second year at Horace Mann elementary. They have friends now. The teachers know them now. This year has been a more pleasant return to school for them. Walking up to the building to drop them off on Wednesday morning felt familiar. Slowly but surely, life in Iowa City is becoming familiar.

I started school last week. I took a course release this fall, so my teaching responsibilities are lighter. But there’s still plenty for a humble program coordinator of an English Education program to do. Especially given the draconian legislation being passed about what can and can’t happen in classrooms. Romeo and Juliet is too sexual to teach in 9th grade English? Meanwhile, the kids are glued to their screen watching things that would make Mercutio blush. Strange days, friends. Still, walking through campus last week felt familiar. Being a professor at The University of Iowa is becoming familiar.

Despite all the trials and tribulations I sometimes (often) dramatize in this blogs, I feel so fortunate to be where I am. I love my children very much. My wife too. And I’m grateful to be here in Iowa City, trying to build a life with them.

***

We’re at the part in Parks and Rec where Chris is constantly telling people what his therapist, Dr. Richard Nygaard, says. I’m at the point in my life (and blogging) where I’m often telling people what my therapist says. The difference? Chris Traeger is in much better physical shape than me. Though I have been working out daily for a few months now.

I don’t know what is next for me. But I know, whether I’m having a midlife crises or not, I feel fortunate this morning. Happy to be where I am. Happy to be surrounded by the people that surround me.