Oh Shannon...

If you'd like to watch the full speech, you can do so here: youtube.com/watch?v=xyC82wBO…

As parents, we are sacrificing ourselves for our children because that's how we show that we love them. But you're allowed to be absolutely selfish. You get to weaponize children too in this society...use them as pawns to hurt someone else. It's motivated by hatred, not love.

Last night, I spoke at my church about how family separation impacts children and how Western culture rewards parental selfishness. I recorded it. I'll publish it online soon.

This weekend, I met my father for the first time in Dallas, Texas, and it truly marked a new chapter of unification with someone I should have known from the beginning. Everyone has asked me how it felt to meet him and there is only one answer: Whole. Since discovering that the man who I thought was my father wasn't, after an Ancestry test, I've been through a range of emotions in a very short amount of time. I remember staring at my phone for probably 20 minutes trying to make sense of what I was seeing, only to finally accept that my father is someone else. For a few days after this, I went from being shocked to confused about my identity. The man who I thought was my father was a Trinidadian immigrant and even though he wasn't active in my life, I thought I was half Trinidadian. I spent years finally accepting who I was and my circumstance, all for it to be untangled in a matter of minutes. I was an abandoned child but I wasn't even sure who abandoned me. Who in fact was responsible for my creation? I want to emphasize that my outcome is, by the grace of God, the best possible outcome that could have happened. You hear the stories about families wanting nothing to do with the child who is looking for answers and a connection. I approached it with the lowest possible expectation and received the opposite. I was accepted immediately by my family. My cousins weren't just cousins by blood but by action. My uncle quickly turned into a mentoring male figure who is always available. And then of course my father has done everything that I wanted as a father in the short time of knowing him. He calls and texts me at least once a day. He's answered all of my questions with honesty and has shown me nothing but love. As a 42-year-old man, I require a different type of father than what I would have needed as a child. And if I'm honest, I'm still figuring out what it means to be an adult son with a caring father. This entire experience has made me realize that I grew up tolerating a half-state of existence instead of a whole one. In terms of family, I only knew my mother's side and I just got used to this reality. Now having a large family embrace me on my father's side, I realized that I lived my entire life not being made whole. I always talked about the impact of not having my father active in my life but I didn't realize what I was missing by not having my father's family too. However, I'm not angry at anyone or resentful. I was able to withstand this experience and stand strong enough to talk about something that most people run away from. God has given me the strength to overcome my circumstance and not turn into a negative statistic. Instead, I've used my story to help and critique culture in hopes of preventing another childhood circumstance like mine. I am thankful that I learned of his existence while he's still alive to embrace me. He's 76 and I have no idea when it will be his final day on this earth. If I'm honest, I feel like I have so little time to make up for the 42 years I've lost. I'm going at a comfortable pace and I am grateful for the opportunity to have him in my life. It sounds weird to say after all of these years of being neglected by a father figure: I have a father who actually cares about me. I wouldn't change anything about my past and there is no point in crying about this. But there is a future I can forge with him, as I am planning to see him again before the end of the year. No regrets or animosity. I am whole now. All Glory to God.

Today, I met my father for the first time. God is good.

We are in a propaganda war and the Generals of it are deceitful morons leading an army of gullible partisan idiots.

Maybe this is an unpopular opinion: Universally, people acknowledge that the quality of houses are worse today than decades ago. Part of that is a shift to cheaper materials etc. But people never talk about the lack of craftsmanship. In terms of labor you get what you pay for.

Today, my wife and I are celebrating our fifth wedding anniversary, which coincides with us being together seven years. If I were to describe my wife, I would label her as one of the best people in the world. She has this quality that makes everyone who meets her fall in love with her. When I think back to the beginning of our relationship, I saw this about her at a function we went to at a friend’s art studio. My friend had this smart piece of artwork she drew of a cat that Michele commented on, saying how much she liked it. I made up an excuse to step away and plotted with my friend to buy the artwork from her, but not to say anything to Michele as a surprise. Mind you, at this function, she didn’t know anyone there yet. When I peeked across the room to check on her (and to make sure she didn’t see me buying the artwork), I could see her beautiful smile as she laughed in the company of strangers. It’s one of those cliché movie moments where it feels like everyone is moving in slow motion. It was a moment I realized that I could take her anywhere and she would find a way to have a good time. It was the first time in my life I ever thought about how my partner represents me and how I represent her. These weren’t concepts I consciously thought about until her. Without even asking, people would come up to me and tell me how much they love her. She radiated something unique that literally every single person who meets her is attracted to. I’ve been writing for years and even I struggle to put the proper words to it. The only way I can describe it is that she has an excitement for life and a genuine curiosity about the world that makes other people feel comfortable. I joke with her and say she likes everything, but it’s more like she’s open to what and who God places in her pathway. I’ve lost count of how many of my friends have said they like me but they love Michele. It’s a statement that I completely understand and I take as no insult. That day was the first day I saw her as my potential wife. Honestly, every day after that was me assessing her for marriage and making sure that I was being logical in my relationship decisions and not just caught up in my emotions. We became official in September 2019, and before the end of the year, I knew I was going to ask her to marry me. I’d been in many relationships prior, but she was the first woman I foresaw that my life would be tremendously worse without her in it. She’s my best friend and I trust her with my life. Every year we travel for our anniversary to reconnect and brace ourselves for new experiences. There have been so many circumstances where we had to step up for each other in a difficult situation, even in medical situations, and we always came through because we have each other’s backs. Nothing brings me more pleasure than seeing her smile just like that day in 2019. She is truly loved by many internationally. I know she’ll read this: Happy Anniversary, Michele. You are the blessing I never thought I deserved. Side Note: We still have the art work