This post is a complete departure from our usual topics of running and walking at night, safety gear and other outdoor safety related issues. Please excuse my self-indulgence with the personal nature of this post, but it is what has completely consumed my time and thoughts the past few weeks and wanted to share. Knuckle Lights is so intertwined with my personal life, both overlap throughout the day and late into the evenings, it has just become the standard of working and living.

So here's how it started: my oldest son (Calvin) just graduated from High School and my youngest son (Wilson) suggested a few months ago that we write a song and make a slideshow for him to celebrate the big event. I’m still not even sure where Wilson came up with the idea, but I was touched that he had such a sweet suggestion for his big brother. So we sat down and came up with a song idea, which I spent the next few months crafting into a full song and recording.  This was a big project but worth the time it took, take a look:

The title "My Little Boy" was the first thing that came to me when I started on the song. I will always think of all three of my sons as little boys, regardless of how many birthdays they have. The first line of the song I wrote was "I see my little boy in the features of a man" which became the entire theme to the song--basically a stroll down memory lane over the past 18 years. Yet, every time I look at my son I still see that little boy in him, not the young adult he truly has become.

As my family enters an entirely new stage of life, it is both exciting and sad. The cancellation of the school year was a challenging way to end my son's school career and I am saddened that he missed out on important traditions during his Spring semester--no senior prom, or a last day of school--even yearbooks wont be available until mid-summer, no special messages from friends will be written on the inside cover.

Still, the future is bright. He will be starting college at the University of Oregon in Eugene this fall. And he is helping me this summer with Knuckle Lights. We are launching several new products in the next few months (stay tuned!) and he will be helping with the process, getting some great entrepreneurial experience.

Thanks for letting me indulge, I will be back next week talking about nighttime running safety or one of our related topics--unless you want to hear about my other son's birthday, it is coming up!

Stay safe, be seen, and Own The Night!