Wasps in a Row -- Ep. 004

This past Saturday, my wife Heather and I were hanging out in the living room playing with Penny, our daughter. With spring in the air, we had our balcony door open with our magnet screen curtain closed. Rain was on the way making it a gray hazy lazy Saturday. After a long week, my wife and I were cooked and thus lounging was more necessity than want at this point. Sore, stiff — close to 40, Saturday ain’t for the boys anymore but more so for the joints. My wife had seen a yellow jacket fly off onto the balcony which immediately caught my guard. Every American father has an eternal war raging with wasps and hornets — it’s just one of those unspoken agreements within the animal kingdom. Wasps MUST make nests in extremely inconvenient places while posing a major risk to all warm-blooded creatures and Human Men are forced to annihilate them to demonstrate their virtue and protect their flock. It is what it is. I quickly move to the magnet screen, my eyes darting back and forth — scanning for the threat. I first hear the audible buzz as the hairs on the back of my neck perk up. Then, I spot him. This joker is flying right for me. I feel like Sammy Sosa waiting on a juicy change-up to cork bat it 5000 yards out of the park — whack! I nail him square but I wait because I know this bugger ain’t through. Wasps aren’t typically smart but they are certainly resilient and fearless — like Marines, respect is forming in real-time. I see him come around again. This time, I go UFC on his ass and straight Anderson Silva this guy as he flies into the concrete. Still alive, he walks in circles for a bit trying to gain his marbles. Part of me wants to go finish the job but this other, louder part of me, is even more impressed with how bad ass this little dude is. He gets back up and flies at me again, a third time, but not aggressively. Being a man of faith and belief in the interconnectedness of all things, I try my best to not kill if I don’t have to. I’ve also experienced signs being sent from GOD through the animal kingdom before and This entire situation seemed different then you’re typical dad vs. wasp American Summer battle. As the wasp is flying towards me again, I let him land on the magnet curtain in front of me and I ask out loud, “are you a messenger?” Immediately I got a “yes” in my mind’s eye and the Wasp flies off on his own volition. My wife and I, taken aback, immediately look up “Wasp Spirit Animal” on google which talks about being more focused at home on nurturing the family. Obviously confused, I prayed to GOD for clarity. How could I not be focused at home — I’m literally here, all-the-time. After falling asleep for a couple hours in-between feedings for Penny — I woke up with that clarity. Although I now have my priorities — I don’t have them straight and this is causing me resistance and suffering. Fatherhood comes first now but what does that even mean? Let’s dive in. Follow our social media pages: Facebook: ⁠https://www.facebook.com/share/1FWsPpcm3H/?mibextid=wwXIfr⁠ YouTube: ⁠https://www.youtube.com/@VeteranDadPodcast⁠ LinkedIn: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/groups/13261037/⁠ Instagram: ⁠https://www.instagram.com/veteran_dad_podcast?igsh=a3M4OWY4ajN3bHg%3D&utm_source=qr⁠ X/Twitter: ⁠https://x.com/VetDadPodcast⁠ Shoot us an email with any questions or requests at: [email protected]