So… About the Last Few Months (MS, Disney Cruise, and so much more.)

If you’ve been around The Average Joe for a while, you’ve probably noticed things have been pretty quiet here lately.

That wasn’t intentional. I would never forget about you guys.

It’s more like life just kept happening, and every time I thought I’d sit down and write an update, something else would come up. A week would pass, then another, and before I knew it, spring had turned into summer. At some point I realized I had a lot to catch you up on.

And honestly, a lot has happened. But I'm Back, Baby!

Some of it was really hard. Some of it was beautiful. Some of it was unexpected in both good and difficult ways. Looking back, it feels like one long stretch of life where everything shifted at once.

Saying Goodbye to Ghost

At the end of April, we had to make one of the hardest decisions any pet parent ever has to make.

We said goodbye to Ghost.

If you’ve followed this blog for any amount of time, you already know Ghost wasn’t just “our dog.” He was family. He had been dealing with health issues for a while, and even though we kept hoping for more time, there eventually comes a point where love means letting go.

That doesn’t make it easier.

Kristin said something that stuck with me. She called him my “soul dog.”

And she was right.

When he was gone, the house felt it immediately.

It’s the little things that get you. The sound of paws, the little "tappy-taps" that aren’t there anymore. His crazy wheezy breathing. The empty spot he always laid in. The routines you don’t even realize you built around him until they’re suddenly gone.

Grief is strange like that. It shows up in quiet moments when you’re not expecting it.

I still miss him every day.

An Adventure to Alaska On A Disney Cruise

Not long after that, Kristin and I left for an Alaskan Disney cruise with the rest of the family.

I was excited going into it, (even after American messed up our flight and we had to drive to Dallas) but I don’t think I really understood what Alaska was going to be like until we were actually there.

Pictures don’t do it justice.

It is without a doubt one of the most beautiful places that I have ever been to. It was one of those experiences where you just stand there and think, wow… this is real.

Disney, as always, absolutely nailed it. The service, the food, the entertainment, the whole experience ended up being one of the best vacations we’ve ever taken.

After everything that had happened, we didn’t realize how much we needed a break from just life. Alaska didn’t fix anything, but it gave us a chance to step back and exist for a while.

It reminded us that grief and joy can exist at the same time.

Meet Yuffie (Pronounced You-fee)

Yes, we named our new puppy after a Final Fantasy character.

When we got home from Alaska, the house was still quiet. Too quiet.

We didn’t rush into anything, but we also knew we couldn’t stay in that “empty” feeling forever. Eventually, we realized something important — we weren’t trying to replace Ghost.

That’s not possible. He’ll always have his place in our lives.

But the house still felt like it had room for love in it, and we truly had been mourning since we were told the prognosis over a year ago. It was time to move on.

Then we met Yuffie at a local adoption event.

She’s a Husky/German Shepherd mix, and she’s about fourteen weeks old right now. And honestly, she’s a lot. Too much sometimes...

She has three modes: sleeping, zoomies, and “stop chewing the furniture!"

She’s smart, fearless, endlessly curious, and somehow always one step away from chaos. She also has enough energy to power a small city.

She’s already turned our lives upside down in the best possible way. It’s exhausting, funny, frustrating, and heartwarming all at once.

And in a strange way, it’s exactly what we needed.

She’s not here to replace Ghost. She’s here to start something new.

I Turned 41

Somewhere in the middle of all of this, I also had a birthday.

I’m 41 now. (I know. Gross.)

Birthdays hit a little differently these days. Not in a bad way, just more reflective. You start thinking about where you thought you’d be by now versus where you actually are.

And honestly, it’s not even close to what I would’ve guessed when I was younger.

Living with multiple sclerosis wasn’t part of the plan.

Neither was becoming a writer, publishing a short story, writing a whole-ass book, traveling to Alaska and parts of Europe, or building a life that included a dog like Ghost. Not to mention... my beautiful wife that I sometimes don't deserve. I'd not be where I am today without her. 

Life doesn’t really follow the script you write for it when you’re younger.

Sometimes that’s frustrating. Sometimes it’s beautiful.

Most of the time, it’s both at once.

A New Direction for My MS

Living with multiple sclerosis means you get used to the fact that nothing stays the same for long, including treatment.

After talking it through with my neurologist, I made the decision to switch from Ocrevus to Mavenclad.

It wasn’t a small decision. Cladribine is a pretty serious medicine.

Ocrevus has been part of my life since the beginning of this journey, and changing treatments always comes with a lot of unknowns and a lot of questions.

But after going through everything together, we both felt like this was the right next step.

Mavenclad is 4 rounds (5 days each) of pills, over two years. Then, theoretically, you are done. Forever. It's not a cure, but it has the potential of stopping MS from progressing without additional therapies. I just finished the first round, 3 more to go. If I'm lucky, I'll never have to sit in an infusion chair again. 

For now, I’m just hopeful.

Asking for Help

There’s one more thing I did this year that I probably should’ve done a long time ago.

I started seeing a therapist.

Living with MS isn’t just physical. It’s everything else that comes with it too — the uncertainty, the frustration, the anxiety, the grief, and the mental weight of not always knowing what tomorrow looks like.

Add normal life on top of that, and it gets heavy.

For a long time, I told myself I was handling it fine.

Eventually, I realized I wasn’t really handling it so much as just getting through it. It was affecting those around me, and that was the last straw.

Asking for help doesn’t mean you’re weak. If anything, it’s the opposite. It takes a lot to admit you don’t have everything figured out.

Therapy has already helped me see things differently, and I’m really glad I finally made that decision.

One Unexpected Email (and a Small Win I Didn’t Expect)

Somewhere in the middle of all of that, something small but meaningful happened.

A long while back, I published my short story Recurring. Like most self-published authors, I didn’t expect much beyond being proud that I actually finished it and put it out into the world.

So when I got an email saying another royalty payment had come in, I honestly just sat there for a second.

Now, let’s be real — it wasn’t life-changing money. Not even close. (It was $1.50) I’m not retiring on it anytime soon.

But that’s not really what mattered.

What mattered was the reminder that someone, somewhere, had actually read something I wrote. Maybe more than one person. People I’ve never met, spending their time with a story that started as just an idea in my head.

Personally, I feel like Recurring is not nearly the level of work that my current work is. I've learned a lot in the last six to eight years of writing and my current writing projects are much better, but it still feels a little surreal.

As writers, it’s easy to get caught up in numbers, rankings, reviews, and all the noise that comes with putting your work out there. But every once in a while, something cuts through all of that and reminds you why you do it in the first place.

That was one of those moments for me.

Looking Ahead

When I look back at the last few months, it’s honestly hard to believe it all happened in the same stretch of time. We lost someone we loved deeply, we stood in front of glaciers in Alaska, we brought home a chaotic and wonderful puppy, I turned 41, and I made some big decisions about both my physical and mental health. And somehow, in the middle of all of that, life just kept moving forward.

Some seasons are loud. Some are quiet. This one managed to be both at the same time.

If there’s anything I’m taking from all of this, it’s that life doesn’t really wait for you to feel ready. It just keeps going. Sometimes it hurts, sometimes it surprises you, and sometimes it gives you exactly what you didn’t know you needed until you’re already in it.

Through all of it, I’m grateful.

Grateful for Kristin. Grateful for Ghost and everything he gave us. Grateful for Yuffie and the chaos she’s already brought into our home. Grateful for the trip to Alaska. Grateful for the help I’ve finally allowed myself to accept. And grateful that I finally sat down and wrote this.

Thanks for sticking around. I’ve missed this.

And somewhere in all of that, I also got an email saying Recurring had earned another royalty payment… which made me smile more than I expected.