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I never thought I’d be young forever
As everyone gets older
The months just slip by
All that I knew has changed
People, information, and the places all evolved
My daughter asked me what a fax machine was today!
We had one back when she was little
She didn’t remember, but I showed her how it worked
As I faxed a copy of her shot record to her doctor
So that she could go to summer camp
She’s too old for camp now
I’ll teach her how to drive my car next month
I was just washing her bottles 15 years ago!
When I was 35
Now I’m 50
Back then, Obama was president
Now Trump is!
If I could speak with the 35 year old me now
I’m not sure what I’d even say!
Listen more, work less, enjoy the little moments?
Probably the same advice a 65 year old me would tell the 50 year old me!
When I was ten, it was 1986, and I was about to start the 5th grade (Edgar H. Evans, School 11) in Indianapolis, IN
I was parking cars in my parents front and back yard for people going to the Indiana State Fair
We charged $3 per car, and $5 per truck
There weren’t any SUVs back then
My brothers Johnny, Justin, and I made a lot of money that summer!
Twenty year old me was a rising Junior at Hampton University in 1996 (Virginia)
I was on a Navy midshipman cruise on a port visit to Reykjavik, Iceland
Everyone was very tall, there were hardly any trees, and there were wool sweaters for sale everywhere
There was a church at the top of a hill that you could see all the way from the ship out at anchor
At sea, I asked myself a few times, what in the hell did I sign up for, being out at sea and in the Navy for 4 years after I graduated from Hampton U?
I remember coming back to HU and shopping at Walmart to buy some stuff for my dorm room to start the school year.
I was a Residential Assistant, so I’d have my own room (no roommate)!
In 2006, I had been at DaimlerChrysler for about 6 months, getting ready to move to Roanoke, Virginia for my first Sales district (wholesaling cars and trucks to 25 dealers in Virginia and West Virginia)
Keisha graduated from grad school at the University of Maryland the summer before
And had been working as a Speech Therapist full time at a nursing home in Prince George’s County, Maryland
We sold our first townhome (Laurel, MD) for ~$100k more than we paid for it just two years earlier!
In 2016, I had just quit working for FiatChrysler after ~11 years, and took a month off, before starting a new career at Nissan
I spent 4 months living in hotels in Connecticut while learning a new job, and looking for a new house for me, Zoe, and Keisha.
I drove back to Rochester Hills, MI from Connecticut a few times, and visited my brother Justin at his place in Harlem, NY as often as I could.
We paid for the move from Michigan to Connecticut with our own money!
We broke even on the sale of our home in Michigan
Moving from the Midwest to the east coast was more ‘sticker shock’ than ‘culture shock’!
The taxes alone were (and still are) crazy!
We slept in a hotel for a few weeks until we closed on our new home just before Thanksgiving
Keisha and I sat up in our hotel bed dumbfounded, as Zoe slept
As we heard the news that Trump would be the next president!
Every time we move, life gets more challenging
15 moves (8 different states & Japan) in 28 years!
New schools, new bills, jobs, packing, unpacking
You never realize how much stuff you have until you move!
In 2026, we’re still living in Hartford county, Connecticut
Keisha has a deck garden growing cucumbers and hot peppers
And created a cool website called getawaygardens.com, sharing best practices for folks interested in starting and maintaining containers gardens
Zoe starts her sophomore year of high school in a few weeks
I spend a lot of time working
And to unwind, I write stories like this!
August 1, 2026
