Baby’s on the way, I’ll see ya soon

As we’ve all ushered in the New Year, my family and I have ushered in our newest addition — a baby boy to add to our now-family of four. We’re excited for this chapter as we all wish the best for everyone here in the New Year.

Before I go further, however, I’ve got some things to say.

2020 had its major ups and downs. No family didn’t absorb blow after blow, no individual didn’t have their trials and tribulations in 2020. Yet, we’ve all persevered into the new year and we’re set to put that disaster of a year in the rearview quickly.

Yet, 2020 wasn’t all bad. Sure, bad things happened (even I and my family got COVID-19 early in the year). But like we always do as a community, we saw growth and have all come through it.

We even saw Coach Tara VanDerveer set the record for most all-time wins, so 2020 is certainly one for the books for many reasons.

And personally, I’ve seen my family grow (literally) by one. As of penning this, my son hadn’t been born, and even as of publishing, my wife is just in labor. But before I leave, I wanted to take the time to thank you all for coming back to Rule of Tree.

I know that we had a difficult time to navigate in 2020 even prior to the pandemic but you all stuck with me and I thank you. Thanks for coming back day after day and thanks for commenting on the posts, it was necessary at times. I thoroughly enjoy what I do here at Rule of Tree and across SB Nation with Vox Media.

And thanks to Vox, of course, as I’ll now be on parental leave, a generous one at that, for the next eight weeks (and taking another eight weeks over the summer). I’ll be around, but I won’t be on, if that makes any sense. You can expect the big news to be covered in the meantime, however, so get ready to potentially see some new voices, keep checking in. Keep coming back and you’ll see me again in March, just in time for the Pac-12 Tournament and March Madness, because we all know those Cardinal Women are going to get that top overall seed, right? The men might even be a much-more competitive team as we get to that point as they’re catching their stride.

So, here we go, as I leave for the hospital to welcome my little man (he’s already got a great big sister and he doesn’t even know it), I truly wanted to express my gratitude. Thank you all so much — and I will see you all soon.

Take care, enjoy the spring change and I’ll see you in March!

Many happy returns — and GO CARD!