Hi! I'm The Eccentric Father and this is my family, the Eccentrics. You can call me Ken. I'm the big hairy one with glasses. On my left is the most beautiful woman I've ever had the honor of knowing, Emmy. To her left is Gregory, 14, the oldest of our 5 combined children. Right in front of me with the red curls is Julia, 7, the only girl. Right in front is Jack, 5, the attack. Wearing the green Jets sweatshirt is Jeremy, the caretaker of the group. And right in the middle is Patrick Casey. The youngest and the ours portion of the Hers, Mine and Ours family that is the Eccentrics.

I thought that since you were reading, you might want to know who you were reading about. As we go along, you'll hear all kinds of things. I'll talk about what it's like to be a dad, step-dad, divorced dad, dad to a toddler, dad to a daughter, dad to sons, dad to teenagers, dad to grade schoolers and any other dad hat I may not have mentioned that I am currently wearing, have worn or may wear in the future. I'll also talk about what my life with Emmy, as a Freemason, as somebody with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, as a technical support and training specialist for a small software company, a semi-pro photographer, son, brother, uncle and any of the multitude of other roles I may find myself in at one time or another in my life.

I'm a Christian, a very liberal Democrat who loves to talk politics, A Red Sox fan, a nerd/geek/dork, a life long student, a pet lover, big eater, sci-fi fan and all around goof ball. The Eccentrics include a straight A student who loves politics, a smart alec redheaded girly girl, an extremely empathetic young man who helps greatly with his younger sibs, a very energetic and loving kindergartner and a tow headed 1 year old in the process of becoming an energetic-empathic-smart alec-political li'l booger. And last, but not least, my partner in the eccentricity is a very loving, caring, supportive mother and partner. She is the rock that our family is built upon. I consider myself one of the most fortunate people in the world to have such a large, diverse, loving family. I could not ask for anything else.

It's funny that when I sat down I wasn't sure what I was going to write. Then I started to list the different roles that I fill. I'm not exceptional. I don't belong to a lot of organizations. I don't have many friends. I work and I enjoy my family. Yet I look at all the things I've listed and realize I am many things to many people. It just makes me realize that we all are really connected. No matter how small or insignificant we may think we are. We all mean something to somebody and probably a lot of somethings to a lot of somebodies.

So, I guess the moral here is, don't take yourself forgranted. Think about what it is you do and what it means to those that you love. And think about those that you love and the things that they do that effect you. Life, love, familes, friends, co-workers, all of us form a web. Everything we do effects somebody in our web. Think about it. Live. Love. Share.