A promise to my daughter

The following memory and short story inspired Episode 22 of the #7minutestories podcast. It’s called: The Nite-Nite Rules. After reading this make sure and give it a listen.

When I was 5 years old my parent’s marriage dissolved. It was then that I made a promise that I would never get divorced because I couldn’t imagine my own child experiencing that sort of pain. That’s why I was devastated when my wife and I separated just after my 31st birthday. I felt like a failure. But mostly, I felt like I was letting down our one year old daughter. A promise was made years ago with the best of intentions but it had been broken…

Although my former wife and I would go on to thrive as co-parents, the hardest nights were when I wasn’t physically there to say goodnight to my little girl. So, I took a stab at another commitment. This time, maybe one that was more attainable. I promised that on the nights my daughter and I were in separate houses, I would call her on the phone at 8pm to tell her goodnight. I want to make sure that she knows I’m always there. To have the comfort of hearing my voice every night before she falls asleep.

I haven’t missed a phone call in 5 years. 

My Brother and the Karaoke Radio

My brother and I had wild imaginations as children. I’m not sure if this photo was even taken around Halloween because we’d dress up and pretend to be characters all the time. It was around this time that I started to really love storytelling…

My brother and I even created our own radio show. “The Aaron and Alex Radio Show”  We would use a Fisher-Price microphone/karaoke toy and record our episodes on cassette tapes. In my mind I always felt like someone out there could hear it. I don’t think they did...Now in 2019, with my podcast #7minutestories I am still sharing stories. Only this time it’s not on a children’s microphone. It’s with you. Oh, and my brother Alex is telling stories too. He’s a senior copywriter at American Greetings.