7 years ago today, I got married. It was one of the best decisions of my life. I'm sharing this on StevieSnacks because what you see on this site is made possible by a wife who put up with years of ego-driven musical pursuits before I reached a point where I was comfortable sharing what I could do with others, rather than feeling like I needed to be on stage in front of people.
I regret the amount of time I spent working on music to no avail during the first few years of my marriage. There was too too much time spent chasing a career I didn't even know I didn't want, and I spent our money on equipment and other musical stuff that is now collecting dust.
This is the cost of not knowing yourself. When you're blind to your own motivations, you burn through time and money like it's expendable. You chase things you think will make you happy, ignoring things that would have.
Even though my efforts with music were mostly self-centered, I am still thankful that my wife supported me. When a man has music in his blood, and he's not supported by his wife, there's a part of his life that goes unfulfilled. A spouse who doesn't embrace their partner's musical ambitions is missing an opportunity to make their marriage more fulfilling.
That support, when absent, creates a void. When that support is there, it's important not to take it for granted, and abuse it. Unfortunately, when you don't know yourself, and your motivations, you probably will do just that.
StevieSnacks, and the wonderful people that support it, have changed my life. I had reached a point where I was completely fine being a musical nobody for the rest of my life. When I sat down to record my first lesson in Oct. of 2007, I had no idea what would happen over the next two years.
In January of 2009, we had our first child, and the StevieSnacks community responded with lots of encouragement and support. Today, that child, Austin Mitchell Stauffer, is like a tornado of smiles and energy. He's happy, healthy, and he's happy to have a dad who works at home. I don't take that for granted, and that's all because of your support.
I don't really have a point to this blog post other than to say thanks for all the support over these two years, my wife and son are grateful for the changes in my life that you've made possible.