My Name is Andrew

I'm not great at introductions. I've always wanted to start a blog, so I suppose an introduction is in order.

My name is Andrew. I'm a veteran, an Oklahoman, and most importantly a dad. I have two kids: a seven-year-old who already knows more about space than I ever will, and a four-year-old who is equal parts chaos and cuddles. They are the best and most exhausting thing that has ever happened to me, and I wouldn't trade a single loud, messy, beautiful day of it.

I served in the Air Force, and that time shaped me in ways I'm still figuring out. It taught me discipline, and it taught me how to be away. When you become a father, you realize that's a hard thing to unlearn. Coming home, really coming home, is its own kind of mission. One I take seriously every single day.

We live in Oklahoma. There's something about this place that gets into you if you let it. The wide open sky. The way a thunderstorm rolls in from the west and everything goes quiet right before it hits. Red dirt feels normal to me, but my wife freaked out the first time she saw it. It's home, and I'm proud of it.

This blog is just me putting life into words. The everyday stuff, the hard stuff, the moments that are so ordinary you almost miss how good they are. What it looks like to raise kids in the middle of the country with a veteran's past and a dad's heart.

I don't have it all figured out. But I'm here, and I have figured out a thing or two.

• Andrew