Leaving family behind and looking ahead.
Both of my daughters were crying last night.
Penn State reporter Frank Bodani was picking me up at 3:30 am this morning for a 7am flight to Dallas and I thought it best to sleep on the couch downstairs so I wouldn’t wake anyone up while getting ready. We were heading to Texas for the Jan. 2 TicketCity Bowl where the Nittany Lions were playing Houston.
That didn’t make going to sleep any easier. My 10-year-old and 4-year-old came downstairs with my wife and told me they didn’t want me to leave. Then the tears flowed.
It’s one of the very few things I don’t like about what I do. I’ve missed the last 4 out of five New Year’s Eve with my family. During blizzards, floods and other disasters, I’ve often left my wife to take care of the girls while I perform my duties with my other family at the YDR. I’m fortunate to be married to strong, independent person who supports me in what I do.
The girls and my wife are what I live for, but my life as a photojournalist for the York Daily Record makes me feel alive.
It’s not often that I leave them for a few days, and it’s never easy for me.
But again, I love what I do.
This week, I’m trying to expand my social media horizons and make sure there are multiple posts in various forms. So if you are so inclined, you can follow Frank and me on not only this blog but www.ydr.com/psu, the PSU twitter account, Facebook, and the new photo staff blog LOOK that you can find at www.yorkblog.com/look.
As for my girls, I’ve hooked up with FaceTime so that we can all video chat and I can see their faces at least once a day and we can take in the New Year together.
Hopefully, they are not crying.