My Contractor/Family Man Standoff - Response to TV Show Viewers: Post 4

(Response to TV Show Viewers: Post 3 - January 28, 2026)

There are some who have seen me rehabbing on television before asking for advice that might help them share what they love for an audience. I have a tough time offering up words that I feel really land in a helpful way. What I have said more than once, is that a factor in what got me to that point was that I’ve messed up a lot. That’s a negative way of explaining it, perhaps not totally fair since I’ve admittedly done some things right. Hopefully though, someone or two, may read some of what I am sharing and sidestep pitfalls while they pick up a crumb that helps them keep pushing on.  

From the moment I closed on my first condemned house, until I got married, my life had been consumed with renovating and building, for both me and my clients, and then often as a volunteer. And in this season of my life, I'd steadily layered skills, growing professionally and learning how to be a better builder. Along the way I enjoyed my share of success, which slid me down the slippery road to Cockytown; I felt somewhat invincible buying and taking on houses other people considered unredeemable. This attitude could have been professionally fatal. It wasn't, but that possibility fizzled under my work boots a few times.

I failed to realize, to really fathom how my life would change so radically after I got married and became a stepfather. And although I was tuned in to the many challenges facing my wife and stepchild, a boy with a list of special needs and a schedule of therapies and appointments, I was ill-equipped in so many ways. Causing me to feel more over my head was biological fatherhood that began nine months after our honeymoon.

I had deluded myself into thinking I’d just keep chugging along as a home renovator and contractor, only making minor adjustments, tweaking what I did and how I earned a living along the way. For the first couple years, I held this optimism of me simply tinkering my way back to a new normal that would have me being as effective and productive as I’d been.

However, I was very wrong.

(Response to TV Show Viewers: Post 5 - February 2, 2026)