We adopted Ziggy not long after my dad died. My family was broken and so was he. Skinny, hips already gone, sitting in the small dog cages up front because he'd been there so long they were begging someone to notice him. He was broken like us. I think that's why he fit.
The shelter said Doberman/Rottweiler. The vet took one look at his double dewclaws and said Beauceron. I'd never heard of the breed. I read the temperament and it was just a description of him. Loyal, watchful, built to guard his people.
I got him for my mom, so a widow wouldn't be alone in her house. She was terrified of animals. She ended up loving him, and loving animals, because of him.
He got me through my twenties and taught me more about myself than anyone. Then Francesca came, gave him rules and toys and her whole heart, and he had one more family to belong to.
He was healthy to the day he went, and he went on a Friday night, the holiest night of my week. I don't believe that was an accident. I've never been closer to God than I was in the 11 years He loaned me this dog.
Ziggy. The best of us. 8.14.26
Tonight, before you sleep:
Forgive yourself for what you didn't do today.
Commit to what you will do tomorrow.
Release what you cannot control.
The reset that lets you wake up ready.
The gap between who you are and who you want to be is closed by what you do when no one's watching. Not the Instagram posts. Not the motivational tweets you like. The 5am workouts. The books you actually finish. The hard conversations you don't run from.
In 2026, being a good man is a revolutionary act.
Keep your word.
Control your emotions.
Protect those who can't protect themselves.
Build something bigger than yourself.
Simple. Not easy. That's the point.
The Stoics didn't preach emotionlessness. They practiced emotional intelligence before it had a name. Feel the anger. Feel the fear. Then choose the response. That's power.
The Stoic Morning Protocol for 2026:
Before you check your phone, check yourself.
1. What's in your control today?
2. What would your best self do?
3. What are you avoiding that you need to face?
Marcus Aurelius did this running an empire. You can do it before coffee.
Your grandfather didn't have a therapist. He had a code. Something to live by. Something to die for. We lost that somewhere between comfort and convenience. Time to build your own.
Being a man in 2026 means building your own definition. The old scripts don't fit. The new ones are written by people who want you weak. Write your own. Live your own.