Dad, I told you this already, but for your first ever blog post this is pretty amazing work. It sparks a LOT of questions and inspiration for where I can take letter #3, and you brought up some things that make me sit back and say to myself "Family drama isn't always that serious. It takes care of itself eventually if you give it enough time and have the empathy to realize that everyone is flawed at the end of the day. That's something I've come to terms with and accepted in our family. We are all flawed. I will save the rest of my response for letter#3. There's so many directions I plan to take it.
I can't tell you how many stories I hear like yours. Sometimes I feel like families being truly happy for a new couple are the minority. Well done for beating all the obstacles my friend!!
So nice to hear from you Will!! Tom and I have always been big fans of yours. We welcome you back to the family and we’re proud to be a part of yours. I know we never stopped being family. We just got busy with life. Let’s keep this going!!
“When you’re committed like we were, you just tackle the obstacles as they come. There were a lot of them, but in our case we both wanted to move forward and always improve.”
This seems to be the core lesson about anything you do long term. Thanks for the reminder, Bill. 🙏
Wow, what an awesome back and forth between you two and a peak into your thoughts. This is great to read as well, what a format for a blog.
Tom, I related to your post in a lot of ways, one because I'm getting married in Feb. and the same thoughts of "am I truly ready" pop into my head too, and because I also feel like I've prioritized my career for the past 10 years instead of personal relationships and there's a bit of regret there as well. Jordan Peterson's words meant something a few years ago, but the older I get the more weight they carry. The search for increasing personal responsibility and meaning continues on lol!
Mr. Kuegler, I related to your response very deeply, so much so I had a few tears by the end of it but was left with nothing but hope and a touch of catharsis. I have a few unhealthy co-dependencies in my family that I honestly never realized until a few years ago, and it wasn't until I started to work on the pain I had been repressing after seeing how negatively that can impact relationships, that my life started improving. In my head I heard your voice reading the words, but in some ways I felt like it was a letter I could be writing to my own child 30+ years into the future after a life well lived.
Thank you both for sharing this! I look forward to continuing along.
Just goes to show that some people at the age of 21 were much more mature and responsible than their families gave them credit for. I applaud you, Mr Kuegler, for sharing the story of your early marriage and its results. Far better than anyone expected, probably even you.
Great post Dad. I am a follower of Tom's and I was reminded of my own marriage. Both my family towards my wife and her family towards me were uncomfortable, perplexed, off-standing. Due to my military service we had to move to the middle of the country (Germany), equal distance for both families. Nobody ever visited us. Then we moved closer to my family in norther Germany. Still, pretty much nothing unless you could a few times in a total of 9 years. We felt it would be ok to get an assignment in USA, 6000 miles away - and it was. Still married to the same girl
Dad, I told you this already, but for your first ever blog post this is pretty amazing work. It sparks a LOT of questions and inspiration for where I can take letter #3, and you brought up some things that make me sit back and say to myself "Family drama isn't always that serious. It takes care of itself eventually if you give it enough time and have the empathy to realize that everyone is flawed at the end of the day. That's something I've come to terms with and accepted in our family. We are all flawed. I will save the rest of my response for letter#3. There's so many directions I plan to take it.
Thank you for your kind words, Carol. I think our story is a lot more common than we think.
Hello Dr. Meierhoefer
I can't tell you how many stories I hear like yours. Sometimes I feel like families being truly happy for a new couple are the minority. Well done for beating all the obstacles my friend!!
So nice to hear from you Will!! Tom and I have always been big fans of yours. We welcome you back to the family and we’re proud to be a part of yours. I know we never stopped being family. We just got busy with life. Let’s keep this going!!
Thank you Trisha!! But you have a story and your own journey that could also help me I’m sure!!
“When you’re committed like we were, you just tackle the obstacles as they come. There were a lot of them, but in our case we both wanted to move forward and always improve.”
This seems to be the core lesson about anything you do long term. Thanks for the reminder, Bill. 🙏
Wow, what an awesome back and forth between you two and a peak into your thoughts. This is great to read as well, what a format for a blog.
Tom, I related to your post in a lot of ways, one because I'm getting married in Feb. and the same thoughts of "am I truly ready" pop into my head too, and because I also feel like I've prioritized my career for the past 10 years instead of personal relationships and there's a bit of regret there as well. Jordan Peterson's words meant something a few years ago, but the older I get the more weight they carry. The search for increasing personal responsibility and meaning continues on lol!
Mr. Kuegler, I related to your response very deeply, so much so I had a few tears by the end of it but was left with nothing but hope and a touch of catharsis. I have a few unhealthy co-dependencies in my family that I honestly never realized until a few years ago, and it wasn't until I started to work on the pain I had been repressing after seeing how negatively that can impact relationships, that my life started improving. In my head I heard your voice reading the words, but in some ways I felt like it was a letter I could be writing to my own child 30+ years into the future after a life well lived.
Thank you both for sharing this! I look forward to continuing along.
And wow! We all need to hear our parents stories.
I can see where you get your writing skills, Tom. That was just beautiful. Love this idea ❤️
I like the open letter format. I use it as well.
Just goes to show that some people at the age of 21 were much more mature and responsible than their families gave them credit for. I applaud you, Mr Kuegler, for sharing the story of your early marriage and its results. Far better than anyone expected, probably even you.
Great post Dad. I am a follower of Tom's and I was reminded of my own marriage. Both my family towards my wife and her family towards me were uncomfortable, perplexed, off-standing. Due to my military service we had to move to the middle of the country (Germany), equal distance for both families. Nobody ever visited us. Then we moved closer to my family in norther Germany. Still, pretty much nothing unless you could a few times in a total of 9 years. We felt it would be ok to get an assignment in USA, 6000 miles away - and it was. Still married to the same girl