Episode 49... so close to 50 and it's a mini-episode. Father's Day is always a perfect opportunity for me to sit and get a little personal. Father's Day and Thanksgiving always bring that out of me on the podcast and it should allow those of you with shorter timeframes to listen to an episode a great chance to get an actual full episode in a single sitting!

This is my 3rd Annual Father's Day episode. And I'm getting closer to the mark of 30 years of Father's Days without my Dad around to celebrate them with. And this is officially my 10th Father's Day with "Dad" as part of my title or job description or lifestyle. I'm thrilled about that!

For those of you who may have missed my previous Father's Day episodes, let me bring you up to speed -- though, you really should go back and listen to those, too -- My Dad's last Father's Day was during my Senior year in High School. The doctors had very recently diagnosed him with brain cancer. I was 17 and that was the last time I would be able to praise him according to the holiday for being the fantastic Father that he had been to me and my 7 siblings.

In this episode, I spent a little less time focusing on that part of the holiday. Due to current events in the world that are weighing on me as a Father, this episode took a bit of a different turn. Don't get frightened by that; again, I avoided getting political. But, I couldn't avoid bringing in the recent death of Anthony Bourdain. As a fellow Dad, his suicide really affected me. All the more because of my own suicide attempt when I was 21 years old. Yes. You read that right. Have I not told you how imperfect I am?

As the survivor of a suicide attempt, having lived through being in a coma for 3 plus days, I am now fully aware of how precious life is. I completely get that every breath I have had on this planet for the past 24 years or so is a complete gift to me that I am pretty much undeserving of. I do firmly believe that this podcast is one of my life's efforts to deserve this bonus time I am living on.

So, it should go without saying how I feel that much more blessed to have my little family. My wife, my daughter, my son... it is all a miracle. A true miracle. I should not be alive right now. Not only because I tried to make that happen so long ago, but even the Doctors at that time said they were amazed I came out of my coma, that my body fought through it all.

I am a firm believer in speaking openly about these events... even if I can be a positive in one person's life: that is all absolutely worth it.

This episode contained my first shout-outs and inclusion of some of you out there! Listeners and followers on social media were asked a question and I read a few of the responses from Twitter and Facebook near the end of this episode.

I also went into a discussion about how we all should live our lives a little bit in that manner: wanting to make a difference for someone else. It can even be the most simple and minor thing. Affecting someone's day today could change lives down the road. It could have a snowball effect on how they treat others that same day and so on and so on.

I know that changing the world isn't that simple. It's not that easy. Those are not the answers to some of what plagues our planet or certain countries or societies. But it can be so simple to spread love, happiness, joy and -- something I talk about a fair amount on my podcast -- humankindness.

Let's all try to do that a little more... right? Many thanks to all of you listening. And tremendous thanks to the Dads who have been a part of my podcast and to those that are about to be a part of it, as well!

Daddy Unscripted can also be found at:

iTunes | Stitcher Radio | Google Play

Twitter: @DaddyUnscripted

Facebook: Daddy Unscripted

www.daddyunscripted.com

All music proudly provided with a partnership by Umphrey's McGee. You can find everything about them at www.umphreys.com

You can send questions and suggestions for future guests to our podcast/blog...

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.