The other day I was wanting to jot some thoughts down, but couldn’t determine what topic I wanted to chime in on. So, I did what any millennial does and asked you all what, if anything, you would like me to share. The following came straight from the responses on Instagram, and I appreciate everyone who took the time to respond. Don’t hesitate to let me know if there is an subject you’d like me to chime in on!

“How does someone maintain a positive attitude in today’s societal climate?”

As my college buddy Joey likes to reply with, WOOF. In the present moment, I can’t help but look to the incredible positivity surrounding the World Cup action (aside from the orange man meddling in things he has no business messing with, but that’s par for the course). Sometimes it really does take an outsider’s perspective to remind us how good we have it in comparison to others, and that perhaps some of the resolutions we long for aren’t too drastic of an ask if we can collaborate and reach across the aisle / border.

In addition, the intention I am seeing as of late from peers in their quest to be decent siblings, parents, and overall human beings… really gives me hope. I know our algorithms are showing us a bunch of absolute insanity right now, but you all really inspire me on a daily basis – please keep sharing your testimony, no matter how wacky or wild it may be. That being said… 2026 feels like one of those Mad Libs we used to fill out as kids: “Trump became President, there is a new lettuce diarrhea plague going around, and the movie theater is showing yet another sequel to Toy Story“

“Fatherhood / Parenting… how is it treating you right about now?”

Nearly every day has a combination of beautiful smiles, infectious laughter, irritating meltdowns, and trying to figure out where the smell of poop is coming from. I am grateful every day for my spouse who is the ultimate teammate in this tiring toddler phase, and we can’t help but smirk at each other when we see another milestone reached by any of our three blessings. The ability to focus on time with them while they’re this little is such a blessing, and I have to remind myself of that when we’re in the thick of the witching hour. My heart goes out to anyone who has to shoulder the majority (if not all) of the work when it comes to raising their kids, because it tends to feel like we barely get through some days without losing our minds. There are weeks where it feels like we have accomplished nothing outside of keeping everyone fed, cleaned up, and safe – but then again, that is a major feat in and of itself with 3 under the age of 5.

I continue to hear everyone complain about the schooling situation for their kiddos, and it really makes me want to keep them home for as long as possible if we could find a way to make it work. Granted, I was blessed that my parents were willing to give that a go when I was young, as it certainly asks a lot of you (albeit, in a very different way) when taking the educational component of your kids’ upbringing into your own hands. Time will only tell, our commute to the current half-day preschool situation isn’t the most ideal – but the community there is so loving and caring, we are going to soak it up while we can.

“How do you feel about our President (and corresponding agencies) at this point in the term?”

I still refuse to forgive the Democrats for not properly putting together a campaign worth a damn in 2024. For the majority of our country, which is proudly independent of the two circles of hell known as the main parties (though the media would never admit that) – we couldn’t believe that it was going to come down to those two men who have no business making decisions for our population. A quick swap of Harris for Biden didn’t help many feel better, because the media and major parties made sure that the third party alternatives didn’t get a voice on any main debate stage. How we are supposed to celebrate 250 years of our country, when so many legitimately capable voices continue to be silenced, is beyond me.

Congress has become the most expensive nursing home in the United States, and that needs to be remedied as soon as possible. McConnell and team are apparently pulling a weekend at Bernie’s, others are taking months off for their own mental health, yet all of them continue voting to deny the same care to their constituents.

That being said, I appreciated a lot of the sentiments being shared around the 4th of July – patriotism can absolutely be independent of political stances in these moments, because a lot of us wish things were different… but it doesn’t make us any less proud to be Americans, and for several it has motivated them to take action they may not have normally, such as running for local office. We currently have the pleasure of living in a time when misinformation can come across in our super cool tech as the cold hard truth, but this too shall pass, especially with the amount of people that have become fed up with the 1% having control in parts of government that they shouldn’t.

“The new job – like it so far? We miss you!”

It has been quite the shift in terms of my day-to-day, but the cigar guy in me has been so blessed with the chance to venture out a bit and see how other people have their humidors and lounges set up in the part of the country we call home. Hosting events, incentivizing sales, consulting those who wish to accomplish what we managed to do coming out of the pandemic… sharing the stories behind brands that I have enjoyed for quite some time… that part is pretty awesome. At first, I wondered if it would be a bit lonely in comparison to seeing so many of our beloved regulars at our concepts over the last 5 years… but ironically, similar to visiting Catholic churches around the world – these cigar shops tend to feel like home right away, even if it’s only my second visit and just getting to know their staff and regulars.

I definitely learned the hard way in Q2 about finding balance… I was determined to get in front of as many folks as I could with opportunities presented to do activations and celebrations all over. However, it became apparent in the middle of June that I had overbooked myself, and the challenge over the next couple months is balancing that out a little more (since that was the main intention behind making this kind of change). The plan is to utilize socials as efficiently as possible while keeping my screen time to a minimum (I’ve eliminated 2 hours a day from the total this year, which may be one of the biggest wins for me yet), letting you all know as best I can when something dope is happening near you so we can hang out for an afternoon!

That’s all for now, folks. Keep your heads up, chug that caffeine of choice, and take some small steps towards your goals today.