Author: jeremiahwgraham

Here we are rounding third and heading into home plate of January. A few months ago, I made a post after an extended absence from blogging. I shared some strong feelings I was dealing with, and I wish I could say those feelings had diminished, but it’s quite the opposite. I had a lot of interesting reactions to my post about DJT being re-elected as president.

I had a lot of supportive reactions, some great conversations from others who felt similarly and were also concerned for others. I also had some less than interesting and supportive responses. Growing up and living in the southeastern US, it’s not surprising I would encounter negative reactions. I had some really passive aggressive reactions that warranted me expressing my opinions further and turned into unpleasant discussions.

I would be more than happy to come on here and make a post saying, “you know what? All those ‘hurt feelings’ I had that caused me to ’speak out’ were unfounded.” If I were to be proven wrong, I would be the first to line up and say, “Turns out I was mistaken. None of those things I was concerned about actually came to fruition.”

But that’s not the case is it? We have all those original concerns, and a whole new set of issues and concerns that make the originals look mild. Let’s see…before the inauguration even happened, we have a president-elect who is expressing his intent to take back control of the Panama Canal, wanting to make Canada a state, and wanting the US to take control of Greenland. We have cabinet appointees who are wildly unqualified and will do nothing more than be yes-men and women to a wannabe tyrant.

Now with the him officially in office he has signed executive order after executive order, some of which go against the very Constitution a president and government is supposed to uphold. We have continued “jokes” from DJT referring to having more terms after this current one is done. AND NOT ONLY THAT! We have a representative from TN who is proposing the allowance of a third term after he is done with the second term. Again, as I expressed in my last post, this is the type of individual who idolizes dictators from other countries and with the near unlimited immunity (because of him) the Supreme Court has given a president, he is very likely to make things happen that will allow him to stay beyond his term.

Now with him officially in office, I am still and EVEN MORE concerned for my friends that are part of immigrant communities. I am MORE concerned for my friends who are in LGBTQ+ communities. Honestly, I am concerned for anyone that is NOT a white billionaire, because that is who will suffer from all that happens in the next 4 years (and beyond).

Two undeniable things that have happened since the inauguration are things that the MAGA cult have vehemently defended and shown their true colors and feelings. The first being Elon Musk standing on a stage to a packed audience and giving a very clear and definitive nazi salute. I have seen so many people say, “it’s a Roman salute!” Or that he was intending it to show his heart goes out to all (in attendance). That’s BS! There are a number of different ways to express that, some that he has done before, that are not resembling anything similar to something the third reich would do. I have seen people defending the gesture, referencing him having autism, and saying he was caught up in the moment and not realizing what he was doing. Mind you, these are a lot of the same people who bashed the son of Tim Walz, who is autistic, for being “overly emotional” during the campaign leading up to the election. Oh, and not only Musk doing this “unintended” gesture once, he did it twice. This seems to me to be a situation of “let’s see how far we can take this.” If you defend this gesture and are not concerned at what it means, you should reconsider how patriotic you are for the United States.

The second was DJT demanding a bishop apologize to him because she asked him to have mercy on some of the groups he has made it known he is actively setting out to impact. You know, the good Christian thing to do, show mercy on others. But, this was met with his usual derogatory rhetoric and name calling, saying “she isn’t very good at her job.” If you as a Christian defend him, a felon, demanding a leader of the church apologizing to him for asking him to show mercy towards others, you should reconsider how devoted you are to your religion.

Also, how about the price of eggs? Are those affordable yet? They aren’t??? And they are not going to be any time soon with the issue of the Bird Flu? Oh, you mean the one that he has halted federal health agencies from reporting any new information on? That all information has to go through him and be approved by him before being released? I thought he could make the prices go down immediately?

How about all the environmental acts that he is reversing or withdrawing from. Is that going to help prices? What about those tariffs? Is that really going to help our prices? Oh, and the new tariff he is imposing on Columbia out of spite? The one because they would not accept planes of people he is deporting? Do you drink coffee?

So, all this to say…I’m still extremely concerned about our future. Bitter and sad for my daughter’s future. Concerned for my wife’s well being and ability to freely do what she needs to do for her well being.

Let’s not make this one all negative. Speaking of my daughter. She is amazing. We are coming up on her 8th birthday. I can’t believe it has 8 years already. I love her so much, and all I do is for her. All I can do to spread joy, speak up for those who are marginalized and discriminated against, and all I can do to support those who need it. It’s all for her. I strive to show her an example of what a good person is, how to treat others, and when necessary take no crap from others.

My next post will be a more in-depth update about her. It’s long overdue.

I’ll still be checking on the price of those eggs frequently though.

but, expressing myself through this medium is a way to vent, and help direct the negativity out instead of bottling it up.

I woke up after only a couple hours of sleep Tuesday night. It was about 12:45. After going to bed disappointed in the results I was seeing, I held out hope to possibly waking up to something better in the morning. Waking up at 12:45 to see us barreling towards the outcome I didn’t want made the possibility of going back to sleep a difficult task. To be honest, while engaging in political discussions/situations in the past, I’ve never been as engaged as I have been this year. This time around things were much more intense for me to idly watch from an observer POV.

It should be abundantly clear by now in your reading that I did not vote for Trump. I do not agree with the blatant lies. I do not agree with the racism, the misogyny, the xenophobia, the homophobia. None of it. With the election now being done, It’s unnerving to see how many in this country are okay with all of the above. Unnerving to see that so many are okay with:

A man convicted of fraud running our country.

A man who was found liable of sexual assault being held in such high regard.

A man convicted of 34 felonies while others with a felony may not even be able to vote depending on where they live.

A former president who was impeached twice and incited an insurrection while trying to overthrow the electoral process.

A former president who took classified documents and mishandled them, posing a threat to our national security.

Someone that has praised dictators from around the world, wished his general’s treated him like Hitler’s did, and has spewed so much hatred and continuously lied every time he opens his mouth. 

I’ve seen family, friends, peers who have ignored the atrocious remarks, lies, and actions in support of this man. All while giving the common responses, “well that’s not what he meant.” Or people justifying his agenda by saying, “well 4 years ago you could afford eggs and gas.” Let me know when the cost of eggs and gas comes down enough to justify why my daughter will have less rights moving forward. Let me know when the things promised will justify my wife not having control over what she does with her body. Why my friends who are part of the LGBTQ community should be okay with continued and increased discrimination against their rights because Trump is going to “fix the economy.” 

I’ve seen countless people who ignore the Project 2025 plan that will strip away so much from our government, from us. This Project 2025 plan, which he has denied having anything to do with the entire time, but now that the election is over there are Republicans coming out and confirming it is indeed the plan.

When the Department of Education is shut down our schools and kids will suffer.

When NOAA is shut down, you will feel the effects when you no longer have warnings about tornadoes, hurricanes, and other severe weather.

When RFK Jr replaces entire departments of the FDA’s and many other aspects of the public’s health, we will see the government adopt his skepticism of vaccines and other pharmaceutical needs.

As already demonstrated throughout the campaign trail this year, there will be steps backwards in terms of clean energy and our country’s efforts to move towards a more sustainable future. Nope, we will move right back into the direction of polluting more and causing more harm to our planet. But please tell me more about 80 degrees in November being normal.

TO me, this has shown that many men do not care about their wives, their daughters, their mothers…all the women in their lives. This has shown a surprisingly large portion of women who are somehow blind (or maybe just don’t care) to not being respected and held at the same level as men in this country.

Parents who support this man and his actions are showing their children that bullying, lying, name calling, not being empathetic towards others, blaming others, and never taking responsibility is okay.

There is so much more at stake here than the price of groceries and other goods. Part of me hopes the whole tariffs on goods coming from China is just a sequel to Trump’s “we will build the wall and make Mexico pay for it.” This is another point I’ve seen thrown out so much. Hopefully it was just a hollow talking point and nothing will actually come of it because that is not how tariffs work. We the consumer will certainly feel the impact of that, and not in a beneficial way like many have been led to believe. Tariffs are paid by those who receive the imported goods. So, the company that is going to turn around and sell it. Which means the price has to increase to justify that additional cost to them.

Four more years of the same hatred and division that came with his first term. This time though the potential for so much more at stake. There is the likelihood that he will be able to appoint two new members to SCOTUS. This would give the MAGA Republican agenda two more members who would be around making these same decisions for MANY years. So again, I go back to my 7-year-old daughter. How does any of this justify the uphill battle she and the other females and minorities in our country will have to endure?

I had an interesting question posed to me earlier today by a peer who I greatly respect. She asked me if I ever think about the future where my daughter says, “Dad, tell me about going through this event, or that situation.” So, on down the road when your daughters, your nieces, granddaughters ask you about this point in time. You will be able to look at them and say…

“Don’t worry my wonderful child. You may not be able to say what you can do with your own body. You may not have the same rights, opportunities, or privileges as others. But at least we could afford to drive our car to the store and buy some damn eggs.”

Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while. You could miss it. – Ferris Bueller

Wow, I shouldn’t be surprised by this, but goodness gracious time flies by fast!! I have been neglectful to you blog, and I am sorry for that. It’s just that it is hard to find time to sit and think of what to say here.

Things have been good though. I hope you have been well since we last spoke as well. I started a new job this year; working for a really great company, and doing something I have really enjoyed thus far.

Evelyn has grown SO MUCH since our last update. Gosh, where to begin? She is an incredibly independent, incredibly bright, funny little lady. She loves to sing and dance. Super caring and helpful. Just an absolute, amazing person to be around.

She got her first haircut earlier during the summer. Got some cute little bangs. She is in love with mermaids and Belle from Beauty and the Beast.

She amazes me every day, and I can’t help but sit in awe and wonder of her. She makes me smile and laugh every day. There are so many things I want to show her. So many things to teach her. I want her to know first and foremost how great her mother is. And, how much her mother and I love her.

Life is hectic, but as long as it is hectic with you and your mom, it is all worth it. I hope to teach you all that I can and want to.

I have told her numerous times already, I know at this moment you world is small and finite. But, as you get older it will turn into a huge place and can sometimes seem cruel. The most important thing to remember is to be kind. You never know what someone else is going through, and if you can bring a smile to someone’s face, make their day a little brighter; then you have done a good deed.

I love you little girl. Let’s make some waves.

At this time last year, I was sitting in a hospital room with Jessica. I just watched the doctor break Jessica’s water and the countdown started. It was a rollercoaster of a day with waiting to see if Jessica was progressed far enough along to kick-start labor. Little did we know at this point in the morning that it would be a short (or long depending on the time of day) 12 hours later that Evelyn would be here!

Today is Evelyn’s birthday! We celebrate our first year as parents and having the most wonderful little girl we could ever imagine having. The past year has been a whirlwind and the most fantastic experience I have had in my life. Seeing this beautiful girl grow and develop over the last year has truly astounded me.

At the same time of celebrating Evelyn’s birthday, I want to congratulate and celebrate Jessica on her first year as a mommy. She has been amazing. Jessica has taught Evelyn so much and as her personality develops, she has become and continues to act more and more like her momma. She is every bit a mini version of Jessica that she could be.

Happy Momiversary Ladycakes!!!

My little lady, over the past year I have enjoyed seeing you smile, watching you learn your surroundings, and experiencing your wonderful personality develop. You are the happiest baby I have ever seen. Your little cries when I drop you off at daycare or get ready to leave for work break my heart and make me want to call out and spend the day with you. But the excitement you get when I come home or pick you up from daycare melts my heart and makes it all better.

I can’t wait to see where the next year takes us. No matter what happens, it’s me, you, and momma, and we wouldn’t have it any other way! Happy Birthday little lady. I love you!

The month of August is an important month, especially here at Father Blogs Best. August is Jessica’s birthday month. This year I wanted to do something a little different than past years. Just to give a little background into our personalities. Jessica is non-materialistic to my very materialistic personality. Our birthday wish lists are usually foils to each other. She usually tries to think of awesome experiences whereas I try to think up great gifts.

So, this year I decided I was going the experience route. I knew I wanted to give her the experience early, so as to throw her off and surprise her even more. For the past two weeks I have been struggling to not tell her, but I held out, and woke her up at 5:45 this morning. “Jessica, I need you to get up and get showered. We need to be on the road in an hour. You are getting your birthday present today!”

Jessica hopped up, hit the shower, we took care of getting the dogs and out and fed, packed plenty of bottles and necessities for Evelyn and were out the door. We were in the car pulling out of the driveway in precisely an hour.

Jess and Evelyn were finally able to wear their “MamaSaurus” and “Babysaurus” shirts. Jessica was ready and exited. Evelyn? Not so much.

Throughout the morning, I kept attempting to throw out false clues, as Jessica had no idea where we were heading. I told her we were taking a quick trip to Chicago. We were going hiking out to a waterfall. Also, that we were going to Kansas City for a BBQ festival. She didn’t really buy into any of my attempts.

We drove a couple of hours and pulled up at the Chattanooga Zoo, which excited Jessica, as she just last week said she wanted to go to the zoo. Little did she know, I had this planned and scheduled the week prior. So, thinking this was her gift, we went to buy our tickets and head into the zoo. Once we were in, I put a sticker on Jessica that designated her for a “Wild Encounter”. She asked where mine was and I told her I wasn’t getting around any animals today. She was still unaware of what she was getting into.

I told her she just needed to be careful as camels are known to spit. She laughed, not believing me. I asked her how she felt about bears or if she was afraid of tigers. She laughed at both. We made our way back to the Deserts and Forests exhibits at the zoo.

We met two employees who were waiting for us at the enclosure for Olive the Two-toed Sloth. The main lady told Jessica she would be joining them in Olive’s enclosure and would get to feed and touch her. Jessica was beyond excited. She spent the next 30 minutes feeding Olive tomato slices, petting her, learning all about Olive and her environment.

I believe she really enjoyed it and the overall experience of the day. We toured the rest of the zoo, and then left to get some lunch. Jessica and I went to our favorite BBQ place in Chattanooga, Sticky Fingers. Had a great lunch, then walked across the street to the Moon Pie General Store. Got some moon pies and decided to head back home to relax the rest of the day.

Lady, I hope you enjoyed your day; getting to hang out with Olive the Sloth, getting to take our little girl on her first trip to a zoo, and eating some great food. Happy (early) Birthday. I can’t wait to celebrate with family and friends next week and see what else you get (or get to do)!!

 

 

Man, where have you guys been? What’s it been, like two months?! I kid of course, it’s my fault, I’ve been neglecting you all. So, let’s catch up. Where did we leave off?

Last we connected was in May, discussing Mother’s Day and Evelyn being a 3-month old. Well, we have gone through; month #4, Father’s Day, month #5, and my birthday. Oh, and I was let go from my job and started a new one. So….yeah, lot’s of busyness.

First up, this little girl made it to her 4-month milestone. We took some incredibly adorable pictures of her.

After that, Evelyn and her momma made plans for Father’s Day. It was a fantastic day. They bought me a new grill and I love it! I’ve used it numerous times and it is great! This is the first charcoal grill I have ever had. In the past I have always sworn by gas grills. After using this and learning more on how to use charcoal, I’m converted!

It was my first Father’s Day and one that I will never forget!! We celebrated with the families that weekend, my family one day and Jessica’s the next. All-in-all a great day.

As June came to a close and July began, I was told that my job was going to have to let me go; they could no longer afford to keep me. Definitely, not news I hoped or planned to receive. So, the beginning of July was pretty stressful. Trying my best to not let that deter us, we moved on to the 4th of July. America’s birthday!!

Evelyn enjoyed the 4th. A LOT!! She got to see a lot of friends and family, eat some good food, play on a trampoline, and watch the fireworks with her daddy. I couldn’t have asked for a better 4th.

From there, we had a sweet little girl turn 5-months old. She is growing so fast. It amazes me to think about how small she was when she was born and how much she has grown. She is holding her own bottle and constantly moving and wiggling around. We are working on getting this movement to turn into crawling. She will get there.

After that, we had Pop-Pops birthday. Had a great dinner with Jessica’s family for his birthday. Then the next day, we celebrated MY birthday!

I woke up and was presented with several cards; one from Jessica, one from Evelyn, and one from Colonel and Penny. It was really sweet. Evelyn (her momma) got me a gift card to Red Robin and a gift card for a movie. So, sometime soon Jessica and I will get to have a dinner and a movie date. That night we went to my sister’s and all went swimming followed by a steak dinner. It was a great birthday! It makes me so happy that Evelyn seems to love the pool just as much as I do.

Just in time for my birthday, I also received a job offer. So, I had a week off work, getting to spend time with the family. This past week I started the new job and so far so good. I’m working with some friends from the G/O Digital days, which is really great.

Now, onward to 6-months for the little lady. Looking forward to celebrating for Jessica’s birthday in August!

 

 

Happy (1st) Mother’s Day to this incredible woman! This month’s post isn’t as much about Evelyn as it is her mother. We are celebrating Mother’s Day this weekend, and this year is extra special. This year Jessica is celebrating not just being the mother of two fur-babies, or being an amazing aunt. This year she gets to celebrate being a full-fledged mommy.

Seeing Jessica with Evelyn and the way Evie will look at her momma makes me smile ear to ear. Evelyn will hear her momma’s voice and begin looking around the room. Once she sets her eyes on Jessica, she will follow her around the room, never losing focus on her mommy.

She has the ability to comfort and soothe our little lady like no other. As Jessica has said many times, “sometimes she just needs her momma.” And she is absolutely correct. The grin Evelyn gives when she sees Jessica demonstrates how much she loves her momma.

So, on this very special of days, Father Blogs Best wants to say Happy Mother’s Day to all of the moms (especially mine), all the grandmothers, aunts, big sisters, cousins and all the other great women who help shape and mold a young person’s life. Most importantly I want to say Happy Mother’s Day to my ladycakes. Without you, I’d be lost. Thank you for all that you do!!

Also, as a side note. This little girl is 3 months old!!!

2 months old and counting

Well, we have made it past the 2 month mark. Evelyn is growing like crazy and amazing us day in and day out. There have been too many moments to count that consistently top my list of experiences each day. I am completely in love with this little girl.

One of my top moments thus far was coming home from work a few weeks ago. To give a little backstory first: Evelyn is very much like her momma; her default face is very serious, and she (at that point) was just very chill and content. Very much a, “I’m here now leave me alone,” type attitude. Her cousin Ryder, who was born 9 days prior, is a pretty happy go lucky kid and smiles constantly. Evely, however, didn’t smile too often, unless she was knocked out, dreaming about who knows what.

So, back to the moment I mentioned. I come home from work after missing my two ladies all day, I come in the door with my usual; “Hey! I’m home!!” Jessica is standing in the kitchen holding Evelyn and when I say “I’m home,” Evelyn turns her head towards me. Given her tiny baby eyes, she can’t see me because I’m too far away. As I come into the kitchen, and closer to this little lady, she locks eyes with me and gives the biggest grin! My little girl just smiled as big as she can when she saw me. It was a magical moment.

Grinning and vocal

Over the course of the last month, this beautiful little girl has become extremely vocal. She loves to lay on her activity mat in the floor kicking and swinging her arms at the toys dangling above her. She does this all while giving the sweetest “ooohhs” and “aaaahhs”. Every once in a while you will catch a little giggle.

Where a month ago, catching a smile was rare, now Evelyn smiles so much. Morning, afternoon, and night, she is one happy little girl. Her smiles are so beautiful and fill me with so much joy. She gives her momma big smiles whenever she catches sight of her.

Evelyn was selective in her smiles once she started doing it often. Jessica was one of the folks who she was holding out on. But, there are many things that are worth the wait, and this was no different. Just as soon as Jessica was getting a little perturbed that everyone else was getting sweet smiles, her and Evelyn were having a moment together, and she gave her momma the biggest smile. It was an adorable moment.

They are not all happy moments

So, with reaching two months means we had her two month doctor’s appointment, and two month shots. Discussing it ahead of time, Jessica asked that I hold Evelyn while she gets her shots. Jessica is concerned she will not handle it well, and I thought, “yeah, of course, I CAN handle it.” Well…I didn’t handle it well. The nurse asked that I lay Evelyn down on the examination table, and hold her arms. Keep in mind she loves kicking and swinging her arms around. So, I stand over her, holding her hands thinking I am going to keep her calm during this ordeal.

As I stand over her, trying to keep her distracted, she is looking away from me and the nurse gives her the first shot. As soon as she feels she needle, Evelyn snaps her head around to look at me. An absolute devasted look of betrayal is directed at me. I can tell it in her eyes she knew this was my fault and she hated me for it. My heart sank into my stomach and it hurt. As she got her three shots, the tears welled up in both our eyes. I wanted nothing more than to hold her close and tell her how sorry I was.

We finish the shots and turn around to see momma behind us, crying just as hard. I did my best to hold it together, but once the nurse finally left the room, I couldn’t hold it in any longer. I am man enough to admit, I cried. I cried hard. I told Jessica that at Evelyn’s 4-month appointment, it’s her turn to hold her. We left the doctor’s office and I went to work seeing Evelyn’s pained look haunting me all day.

That evening I got home and thought to myself, “okay, if she gives me the usual welcome home smile, we are all good.” I kid you not, I got home and walked over to her, and this little girl flipped me off!! Now, I know it was just a random action as she doesn’t have the best control over her limbs. BUT, it was a fitting reaction given the ordeal that morning.

2 months down, moving onward

As we breeze through each month, I wouldn’t trade any moment, good or bad with this little angel. Whether she gives me big smiles or looks at me with tears in her eyes, I am happy to be able to hold her, play with her and be her dad.  I look forward to the coming summer months and the things warm weather will bring. Going swimming, taking the boat out, and enjoying the nice weather. We are going to have a blast!