Archives For Fam Damily

Fifteen. Two Thousand and…

Ben —  January 20, 2015

Nunes Family (taken at Fall at the Farm, ’14)

It’s taken me all but half a year, hell even more than that, to publish my thoughts here once again. 2014 went by so quickly, and I wish I had held on to it as long as I could. I fear life is happening, and I am just standing here. Watching.

It doesn’t take much to discover my desire to create special moments with each of my loved ones. Looking deeper though you will also see a hint of regret from the days I allowed selfishness to consume and take over. The part which allowed me to say “no, not right now” when asked if I would let my daughter paint my nails, or when asked if I could play some football. Without hesitation, I would choose whatever I was doing at the moment instead. Great parenting huh.

Most parents will agree, within reason these moments are acceptable, and I would agree to a certain extent. However as I am approaching my 40’s I find wanting to spend any and all time I can trying to create memories. My children don’t always see the benefit, but usually when we are finishing the adventure of the day we can laugh about 1 or 2 events, and those types of memories are important.

It doesn’t always end up great though, and it sometimes it just… ends. No big lesson, no big memory, in fact sometimes it ends in tears because of a teaching moment where discipline is involved. Those are the worst, nobody likes ending in tears, but it still matters. Right?

Or maybe what matters most is the effort put forth by Kim and me. I’d like to think so, but I won’t know for sure until they’re all grown up and (hopefully) sitting around the same dinner table reminiscing about the time “Dad punished you for farting in public,” and laughing about it.

Who knows.

Love in an Elevator

Ben —  June 26, 2014

Having an elevator pitch ready when somebody asks ‘what do you do?’, is one of the first things you learn to have prepared when you enter the workforce. It is key in networking, when trying to impress potential clients as well as future employers. In fact, having a good elevator pitch even if you are unemployed is generally good to have.

None of this is new to you, I am aware of this.

Many moons ago when I was in the production world, somebody would ask any variation of the popular “what do you do?” Back then it was easy, you were either hauling a camera, gaff tape or you were a PA. When a PA, the answers transitioned more into “what do you WANT to be?” These types of questions would really test to see how well your elevator pitch is rehearsed. You could tell who would be a lifelong PA, as well as who knew his stuff and was probably going places. When somebody would ask me, I rarely gave off an impression of the latter as my pitch sounded more like a plea for employment beyond the 3 day shoot. Continue Reading…

The 10 Types of Soccer Parents

Ben —  June 19, 2014 — 34 Comments

2nd place for both of them, which is a first for both of them as well.

This weekend marked the first soccer tournament we, as well as many other parents will be hauling their children to on the weekends. For the Nunes fam, we had our Madi make it to her first final in a tournament, and we had our Kiss lose her first final in a tournament. Both, by the way, are very important learning opportunities in the competitive soccer world.

In setting up our chairs and getting all ready for the first game, it took me all but 2 minutes to remember some different “types” of parents who grace their presence on the sidelines while their son/daughter play 60 to 90 minutes of soccer. Many recreational soccer teams will have maybe 2-3 of these types of parents show up, but you will without a shadow of a doubt see at least 8, if not 10 of these parenting types show up to each game fielded by competitive club teams. These parents take sideline coaching to the HNL.

Please keep in mind, I can say that I have definitely had bits and pieces of each one of these parenting types (except #5, but I don’t judge) make an appearance once or twice in the past 5 years. I will also say that most of these parents described below show themselves on the other sideline. *ahem*

So, without further ado. Here are The 10 types of Soccer Parents: Continue Reading…

Kiss for Father’s Day

Ben —  June 15, 2014

Dearest Kiersten,

Our first born, and favorite newest 14 year old…

I love you.

My heart quivers, whenever I think about the day we found out you were going to come into this world, and I think about all of the conversations I have had with the many people in my life, who have helped me father you the best I can. As I think about it now, I sometimes feel that I will never be the type of father I need to be, so I search, ask, and fight for truth. Continue Reading…

Volunteering at Orange Conference

Ben —  March 20, 2014

OC14_home_light

This past December I joined the Orange staff as an XP3 Orange Specialist. Prior to joining Orange I was working for another company on their sales team, but I would still volunteer at The Orange Conference. Not out of need but out of the desire to grow, learn, network and for pure enjoyment. As a small group leader of students I found great value in spending quality time with many of the speakers, vendors and Orange staff. Even while working behind-the-scenes to make this exciting week happen, I found that they would make time to talk and laugh with me. After several years of volunteering, I love that I now get to be on staff and be a part of all of the behind-the-scenes activities, and I don’t have to take a week vacation to do so!

Why did I volunteer my time?

Continue Reading