The Life and Times of Dan Knapp Vol. 2

This is a blog about my life. I’ve gone through some things that are hard to explain; some are hard to imagine without going through them yourself. I thought this would be a good place to share some of my experiences, so hopefully you may learn from my past mistakes, and/or enjoy laughing at some of my failed experiences. 

There is a reason this Blog is titled The Life and Times Vol. 2. Vol. 1 of my life is filled with mistakes, some funny, some not so funny, some just plain idiotic. I can pretty much guarantee there will be at least one or two times you will think to yourself, “Seriously, how can anyone be this dumb?” But hopefully, there will be some other times where you will say to yourself, “I could never imagine what that would be like.” 

So, if you care to, (and you are still reading) sit back, and relax. This is a journey I hope we can enjoy together.  

Getting on the Roller Coaster

This picture really says it all. For those of you that don’t know, I was married, separated, and divorced in less then a year. This post (and all of Vol. 1) isn’t about bad mouthing my Ex, even though there are some things that I know are the truth and could put her in a bad light. She gave me my son, and for that I will ever be grateful. She has also given me heartache and grief.

I don’t want to say that marrying Nikki was a mistake, because in essence, it wasn’t a mistake. It was a speed bump, a learning experience, a roller coaster of emotions. But like I said before, I wouldn’t call it a mistake.

I want to make this very clear, because I don’t want any of you to misconstrue the meaning behind this. I, in no way, miss my ex-wife. I do not want to get back with her, or would I ever want that. This is just the beginning of my story, and I want you all to have some context/laughs at how stupid and ignorant I was back then.

Nikki and I had met in high school, and even back then, something had caught my eye about her. She was athletic, and I was naturally drawn to girls who were athletes, because I was an athlete myself. We were friends, and I became friends with her brothers and sisters. It wasn’t until college that our “relationship” changed.

I was dating someone else at the time Nikki came back into my life. I was told, “that I couldn’t be friends with her (Nikki) anymore, because that’s just not what guys in relationships do.” I was at college, Lock Haven University, not really studying anything, because all I really wanted to do was play baseball.

I was a good baseball player in high school, and thought “I don’t really want to do anything else other then play sports, so why not try my hand at playing in college.” It was a good and a bad decision for me. I went to college, not knowing what I wanted to do, or not really caring about anything I wanted to do, other then playing baseball. I had an okay freshman year. I had a decent sophomore year, but it wasn’t until junior year that I broke out a little bit.

After the baseball season was over, I didn’t really want to continue with school. It was also around this time, Nikki randomly text me, about how she missed me; how she was about to get married and all she could think about was me. After offering her, some honest, just friends advice, she broke off her engagement. Never in my wildest dreams did I see that happening. 

Little did I know then, that this was the first upward hill of this roller coaster ride called my life. Anyone who has ridden a roller coaster knows what happens after you go up the first hill; you go down, stomach in your throat, no turning back or jumping off until the ride is over, and the ride attendant says “keep all hands and feet inside the car until the ride comes to a complete stop.” How was I suppose to know that this roller coaster ride would be 2 years long?

A Little Background

Before I started, I wanted to give you all a Little Background on myself. My name is Dan Knapp, in case you didn’t know by the Blog title. I am 28 years old, and I have a gorgeous, loving, caring wife, Courtney, who is my family’s rock. Courtney and I met in high school. We lost touch after high school, but reconnected randomly. (There will be more on that history lesson in a later post) 

I am also the father to two amazing little humans, Brooklyn and Cooper. (And no, they aren’t twins, even though they are both 4) 

Aren’t they just precious?! They have given me a lot of laughs, and gray hairs, but that’s okay because I wouldn’t have it any other way. They are the reason I wake up in the morning, sometimes earlier then when I want to be awake. They are the reason I work as hard as I do, and why I will always push to give them the best life possible. 

It is hard to imagine what my life would be like if I wasn’t a parent. After 4 years, I feel like I have seen it all. But in those 4 years, there have been doubts and fears, worries, regrets, triumphs, heartaches and defeats. But through it all, Courtney and I have tried to remain as faithful as we can to God, which at times is harder then you can imagine. 

The Life and Times of Dan Knapp Vol. 1 is next, and may be broken up into multiple posts, since it will most likely be pretty long and extensive. Vol. 1 is a collection of stories and personal experiences in my life that happened before Courtney and I reconnected with each other. Stay tuned folks, more is to come. Love you all, and please follow me!
Dan