OT Gentlemen (and any ladies)...

I lied - I had French Vanilla ice cream.

=)~~

You need to do what is right for your kids first
I don't know your healthcare situation but I strongly suggest " marriage " consulting.
Even if it doesn't get you back together it will help with how to deal with the kids. Having a third party takes the emotion and maybe the stupidity down a notch.
Time is what you need. The more time that goes by without a screwup the better. You know you have npmade mistakes. You can say all sorts of stuff, but you will be judged by your actions
Make them count.

Puck, if you are interested my pastor does counseling. She does both marriage and personal. There is no charge at all. She get to the root of the issue (usually back to childhood issues) not just surface level. Hit me up if you are interested. I know you are in OC and we are in La Verne.

Congrats on the chip Pucky. I hope that my comment did not offend you. Because it was not ment in that way. If it did I apologize.
If you wish to make your relationship work, even if it seems that the door has been closed work on yourself first. And when you feel you have yourself right, you will be able to mend your relationships.
I know that you are a good person and that you and Mrs Puck will eventually get to the point to where you are both happy and are a part of each other's lives.

Quick update:

- Howdy, not upset at all. Was just giving my reasons, I know everyone is different.

- I'm employed again in commercial insurance, I made a complete change in careers and decided to go this route as a Producer. I will be selling commercial insurance to small to medium sized businesses. I don't start until Jan 1 because in commercial insurance, specifically Workers Comp (required in CA) people have made their decisions to renew with their current broker or make a switch so our agency owner wants me to come in with a clean slate, learn the business from a great mentor who I have been paired with and then let me loose, I am a proven professional pitbull in business.

I am being groomed to take over this man's book of business - one of only two Producers (19 total now including me) with a 7 figure book of business. He is 59 and plans on retiring in 6-7 years. By then I will have my own established book of business and will be managing his as well. If you aren't familiar with CA, it is a litigious state and insurance is big money. With 4 kids to put through college, this is a HUGE financial opportunity for myself and my family.

- am putting off law school until Fall 2018 instead of next year. Entering a new career, acclimating to being a single dad with a juggling act for a schedule with kids (although it has stabilized recently) and Mrs. Puck still 2 years away from completing her teaching program it's best for me to just focus on work and the kids in 2017. It's too much, not to mention I have always believed 2 parents should not be in school at the same time. When she is done I can go. My ass took 18 years to earn a 4 year degree, what's one more year for law school?

- Therapy and church have been great experiences for me. I won't be going on any men's retreats or any of that, that's not me, but for me it reminds me to stay grounded, be compassionate and nice to people and just try and do the right thing no matter the cost.

- Started taking Chantix 2 weeks ago to quit smoking. The effects have been slow so far but it's working, not smoking nearly as much. I have to pick a quit date soon though and be off it completely, I am thinking next week after 3 weeks of the medication is in my system. If you are not familiar with Chantix, do some research on it - it's a receptor inhibitor for nicotine, pretty fascinating stuff. If I could develop something like this for people who can't stop eating, I'm a gazillionaire.

- things have improved big time with Mrs. Puck. She hasn't come home yet but we have spent a lot of time together alone or with the kids. It's been great but still a lot of work to do. Enjoyed having sushi with her for lunch today.

- went to my home group AA meeting tonight and earned my gold chip (it was 60 days Friday 11/4 but I had the 4 kids this weekend and couldn't make a meeting).

- the Kings have back to back SOs and have outscored their opponents 12-0 the last 2 games. With game time at 4:30pm, I was able to finally see a game in its entirety and still make my meeting on time at 8pm.

None of the above is possible without me getting off the sauce and making that decision to put the alcohol down. Things are slowly turning around and I'm very grateful for that.

There is no pill to undo what has been done in your life. It takes work and understanding. I think ridding yourself of booze and cigs help. The booze for you and her, the cigs is good for your kids. While church and therapy will help you get back on track, it is up to you to stay there.
Congrats on the job. I know that was another wedge for you and especially her. Putting off law school is a wise move. It sucks up a lot of time and money. Get your ducks in a row before throwing that in the mix.

davnlaguna said:

There is no pill to undo what has been done in your life. It takes work and understanding. I think ridding yourself of booze and cigs help. The booze for you and her, the cigs is good for your kids. While church and therapy will help you get back on track, it is up to you to stay there.
Congrats on the job. I know that was another wedge for you and especially her. Putting off law school is a wise move. It sucks up a lot of time and money. Get your ducks in a row before throwing that in the mix.

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Dav, agree with all you said and I join you in being proud of Puck's courage and tenacity to stay the course toward health, but I could have done without the reference to "ducks in a row". Anything referring to that fowl is just foul!!

I don't see DL or Sutter being in any kind of trouble at all. It's pretty obvious the Kings aren't THE favorite, but they still have a shot this year (Just like the past few years, where, despite losing results, they were a contender). This also has more to do with the league looking a little weak right now (At least no clear-cut favorites except maybe Chicago still).

NHL if funny though, and most of the series are based on matchups. I feel like we don't match well with SJ right now (Pretty much since DeBoer has been the Sharks' coach), and we just aren't going to beat them consistently (You never really know. Healthy Quick comes back and plays like he is able to etc. We didn't have Martinez last year, which was huge, and the other d have another year under their belt). However, I truly feel like the LA style matches up brilliantly with say Pittsburgh, and I think LA would have had a stronger showing against the Pens last year in the final (That's just my opinion obviously). So you just never know.

Within the division, Ducks look weaker in my opinion, and I don't know if Gibson's confidence in goal can be consistent enough. Edmonton leading the way is obviously a little early to call legitimate. They've done the right things lately, so maybe they're for real, but we'll see. Vancouver and Arizona don't have it. I'm sort of surprised by Calgary being as bad as they are, but it's going on 2 years now, so maybe they aren't very good.

Kings should be in the Playoffs with Anaheim and SJ, with the way the division looks. The Central will put in 5 teams in all likelihood. Chicago, St. Louis locks. Still waiting on Nashville to do something, but my money would be on them getting in. Dallas should be in, but they're hurt and they will forever have goaltending issues ("When you got two goalies, you got none": Sort of like NFL when you have 2 QBs, you really don't trust either). Maybe Minnesota after that, competing with Winnipeg.

Who knows, East looks stronger to me this year than in a long long time.

Kings just need to be competitive until Quick and Gaborik etc. come back. Get healthy, make the Playoffs, and anything can happen

I've been waiting to post on this thread for a long time, it's been quite the 15 months.

Long story short, Mrs. Puck and I have worked things out, are going to counseling together as well as individuals, hashed out most of the problems and last weekend had a conversation about things and she is terminating her lease on her apartment in Anaheim Hills and moving back home.

It's a process but we have made tremendous strides as people and as a couple since August 2016. Very thankful for everyone's support, words and getting me through some tough times.

Got my shot, now Pucky just needs to behave.

=)~~

That's good news, relationships are hard work even if you love each other. Hope it works out.

Good for you, great for your kids.
Any relationship is a work in progress.
You have to earn and deserve her trust and respect every day
You have made some bad decisions in the past ( Giants fan) and must move on but not forget.
Holidays can be demanding, so pretend the Elf on the Shelf is watching and judging you.

Glad to hear the news. I wish you and Mrs. Puck the best.

PuckinUgly57 said:

I've been waiting to post on this thread for a long time, it's been quite the 15 months.

Long story short, Mrs. Puck and I have worked things out, are going to counseling together as well as individuals, hashed out most of the problems and last weekend had a conversation about things and she is terminating her lease on her apartment in Anaheim Hills and moving back home.

It's a process but we have made tremendous strides as people and as a couple since August 2016. Very thankful for everyone's support, words and getting me through some tough times.

Got my shot, now Pucky just needs to behave.

=)~~

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meh. I knew you'd land on your feet. You always do. Keep up the good work, Sparky.

You know you'll always have my support. There's a point in life where you grow up and act like a man, I've been there at the bottom.

Good for you

Thanks guys, been a nutty 15 months. Lots of self reflection, lots of changes within myself as well as habits and behaviors that have hung around since my youth. Had to cut ties with people who were part of the problem as well, which actually made life better. It has been a difficult, yet rewarding road and I'm sure it'll be more of that.

Congrats Puck. Glad the family will be back together where they belong.

Great job, Puck! Thanks for the update. I "echo, echo, echo" what's been "said, said, said"

Congratulations Pucky. Nice to hear things have worked out for you. I wish you all the best. Kinda funny but MS. Howdy and I have rejoined back in June of 2016. We’ve been working hard on ourselves and as a couple.

That's great to hear Howdy, glad you guys worked it out too. Let me know when you are here next, we need to go close down a hotel bar again.

=)~~