Time for a change

This is my son Jackson Dunsmore and my father John Dunsmore.

I should be probably putting a picture of my wife Carrie on this post. But this photo tells my story and my departure from The Crawfish Boxes.

On Nov. 1, 2017, the Houston Astros were facing the Los Angeles Dodgers in game seven of the World Series. But back in Houston, my family was traveling to Northwest Houston to celebrate my dad’s 60th birthday.

It was a small event. My dad just wanted to go to his favorite barbecue and we would head back to his house to watch the end of the game. We were still sitting in our seat at the Harris County Smokehouse when George Springer rocked a Yu Darvish pitch into the cool night air in Dodger Stadium. The baseball that would put Houston up 5-0.

After about two-three innings at my dad’s house and the Astros in full control, I sat up and said: “It’s time to take Jackson home.” Which was partially true, it was after all Jackson’s bedtime. But in reality, I was leaving to make sure I had time to write a post for The Crawfish Boxes.

The same task I had done for the past four-plus years.

I sat and watched the end of the Houston Astros winning the 2017 World Series by myself in my living room with my computer in my hand.I wrote the final words of my gamer. Hit the button to submit the moment the celebration started. I had ignored calls from my family and friends to finish my post. It was my breaking point, I was more worried about “work” than enjoying the moment. It was that thought that washed over me for the weeks following the Astros win.

I left the man that had taken me to countless baseball games and cultivated my love for national pastime to write another game story.

It had been that thought that lingered for the remainder of 2017 and it became a weight that grew bigger and bigger with each day not writing. My motivation to put the blog before my family was zapped away in an instant.

SBNation will say their goal isn’t to make you pick between the two. For most people, they probably would be able to manage their time to be able to do so. But I’m not that person.

The final straw was my son Jackson. Jackson is a little over one-year-old. I really wanted to spend every second of my day with him and give all my energy to him. And my energy for TCB and SBNation, in general, has now gone to him.

I'm done going to give up my time with Jackson. I’m done giving up my special moments with dad. I’m done.

So it’s time for me to move on.

I want to thank all The Crawfish Boxes readers, podcast listeners, and just Astros fans.