I remember around 2006-2007 when I was getting annoyed that some of my friends were leaving Michigan for cities like Chicago.  It really annoyed me.  I was a huge "pro" Detroit person then and I still am today.  I used to get annoyed even when I had friends going to Chicago for the weekend.  I would be like, "Detroit is better than Chicago".  Then, in 2009 I moved out of Michigan and became on of those people.  It broke my heart.  I went to grad school in Detroit, bartended in Detroit, and absolutely loved the grittiness, beauty and age of the city.  I was born in Detroit and almost killed in Detroit.  It's my hometown and my favorite city in the world.  I miss my hometown and home
state every day.  I miss driving down Woodward Avenue.  I miss Royal Oak.  I miss running into friends all the time all over the place.  I hate missing out on things like being there for the Lions making the playoffs, Tigers going to the World Series, Eminem and Jay-Z at Comerica Park.

Nobody understands what it's like to never be able to move back to your hometown.  Here in Hampton Roads, people don't understand what it is truly like to have a hometown.  Most the population here is transient.  I used to hate thinking about how I would never make it back to Detroit.  Some days I still do.  I miss having a beer with my best friend.  I miss Yates Cider Mill.

But the one thing I learned a few years back is if you have the right person in your life, those things disappear and new things take their place.  That person is Lori.  Anybody that knew me probably was blown away that I married Lori.  But she is the one.  She completes me.  She makes me want to be better everyday.  I wouldn't have two amazing kids without her.  I wouldn't have lost over 130 pounds if it wasn't for her.  I wouldn't be where I am today.  But I think about moments like this weekend when we biked to see the fireworks at the oceanfront or we binge watched the first season of True Detective and I remind myself how happy I am.  We don't always like the same things.  But we love all the same things at the same time.

Nobody ever tells you how hard having a kid really is.  I mean, we are constantly on the move.  I think we need to train parents on what it is like to have kids.  Because for me it was a shock and awe campaign.  But I love it.  I love the few minutes I get with Lori where we can breathe, even if it is just for a few seconds.

As life is speeding past us faster than we think, I am glad I got her beside me.  Because I wouldn't be able to admire moments like this weekend.