Allow Me To Reintroduce Myself

Quick Stats

Name: Ivan

Age: 41 (as of this post)

Children: 3 (17, 15, 5)

Status: Divorced and in an amazing relationship
Job: Digital/Creative Strategist

My Story

“Our lives are defined by our experiences.” I’m pretty sure someone important said that...or something like that. I constantly mess up sayings – it’s like a handicap.

I grew up the youngest of 2 – the baby in a tightly knit, extended family. Thinking back, I can describe it as the Cuban version of MyBig Fat Greek Wedding – I kid you not. Not only was I the baby, but I was also the only boy in the immediate family, surrounded by a sea of older girl cousins and, of course, my sister. I was told at an early age that I was a trip to Wildwood, NJ gone wrong. My sister and cousins laugh every time I bring it up – my mom never makes eye contact.

Our parents were hard-working Cuban immigrants who were devoted to the family. They instilled those values in us as we grew up. Their commitment to the family here in the US and back in Cuba was inspirational. They were caring but firm…as parents should be. My dad more so – my friends likened him to the dad in The Wonder Years.

I could never have imagined that my life would change as drastically as it did when I was 23. Leading up to that year, I had a semester-worth of credits left to graduate college, and was working a “grown-up” job as web programmer making good money for one of the top PR agencies in the world. Then life happened.

It was chaotic and beautiful. By the end of that year I was a married man and had a beautiful daughter. It was a new beginning, and my life would never be the same again.

The rollercoaster of life continued over the course of the next 2 decades. I experienced the highs and lows of being in a relationship, the birth of my boys, the excruciatingly painful loss of a child, home ownership (4 houses to be exact), 7 moves (2 of them across state lines), and then separation and divorce.

If 23 marked the beginning of a new chapter in my life, on my 40^th I started a new book. This blog will chronicle my new life as a 41 year old (as of this post) with 3 amazing children balancing fatherhood, family, work, health, and a new relationship. Although I’m fairly active on Instagram, I want to share my adventures here with the world, sharing my experiences as I navigate things like current fashion trends, raising teens, my hot girlfriend, and all the other things life throws my way - all while combatting #DadBod!

I'd love for this to be an open dialogue, so don’t forget to comment, post, and share your stories back!

Welcome to 40 is the New 23.