April 2026: Joy
Altered by AI, Photo of the Fam. HBD Jace, 2026
Even though I couldn’t earn it, You give it.
How does the passing of time affect you? Do you hardly notice it, or are you often stunned by how much of it has passed and how quickly it all happened? I’m in the second group. When the end of April comes around like Billy Joe Armstrong in 1994, I take a step back and take stock of what I’ve done in the first third of the year. I guess I’m goal-oriented and reward-driven, so when I get things done, I reward myself by doing nothing. That’s one of my top three things to do: nothing.
RISEN
The Easter holiday hit differently this year. For the first time in my life, it meant something to me. Jesus’ sacrifice and resurrection resonated. A wise man once said, “the long and winding road that leads to your door will never disappear.” I would have never guessed that my road trip would take me back to damn near where I began. I felt connected to God as a kid. Jesus visited me in a dream once. We hung out in my grandma’s backyard. I was seven years old. When I was ten, I was in a bad car accident with my family, and I believed then as I still do now that God intervened. However, in my teens and twenties, I actively turned away from Christianity for a variety of reasons. Scandals within the Catholic Church were the easy scapegoat when the actual reason was that I didn’t have an adult relationship with JC. I didn’t have an understanding of what that looked like, but I was searching for it in all the wrong places. On top of that, I was full of pride and sure that I could do it all by myself.
Last summer, wheels that had been set in motion a while ago finally gained significant traction, and I was pulled back into Christian faith. I say pulled because that’s what it felt like. I was being called to steer my life in a different direction, and I could feel that I wanted to surrender to the call. So, I did. That’s why Easter hit different for me this year, and I anticipate that it will mean as much to me in years to come.
Jace
That’s my son’s name. That’s him in the AI rendered image based of a picture that was taken of us celebrating his 9th birthday, which landed on Easter. As if I didn’t need anymore reminders about how time flies. This year, for the first time, Jace celebrated his birthday with one of his friends from school. Jace’s teacher and his aides had told me and his mom that Jace made a new friend this year and that they played together everyday during recess. That’s a big milestone for Jace. He’s autistic, and social play with his peers is something that we (parents, ABA therapists, and his teachers) have been working on with him. That he’s actually hanging out with a buddy at school and now at his birthday party is akin to the Artemis II mission. History has been made.
Cinema
Speaking of space, I got around to seeing Project Hail Mary, and it was great. Maybe ten minutes too long, but that’s a small criticism for an otherwise grand adventure through space to save humanity and make a new best friend along the way. If we can get along with a living rock, why can’t we all just get along.
My wife and I took the kiddos to see Super Mario Galaxy. This was Jace’s first movie, and he liked it. His sister did too, but the adults were not impressed. The movie looked great, but it wasn’t an engaging story. I liked the first movie. Mario and Luigi had something to prove. Their rep was on the line. The bait and switch of calling this a Super Mario movie and somewhat sidelining Mario and Luigi so that Princesses Peach and Rosalina can have their moment didn’t help the narrative, but the movie made a bunch of money and introduced some new characters, so expect another sequel and a spinoff.
The summer movie season is cranking up. Michael was released this month, and I want to see that. May has a Mortal Kombat 2 and The Mandalorian and Grogu, which means I have a couple of daddy/daughter dates in my future. Seems silly to celebrate doing something like this, a kind of luxury in life, right? Going to see a movie and stuff my face with snacks while parts of the world burn.
Saturday Night Special
We broke into the 90s this month. The 100th episode is right around the corner. Thank you to my loyal viewer!
SNS 90
