Hi Again, I’m Tom

It’s been a while (2 months) since I’ve updated my blog on here. So much is going on in our crazy world and frankly, I just thought you had more to worry about in your life than to hear of our journey. In the past week, 4 friends have asked me why I stopped. That really encouraged me to keep going and maybe, just maybe people are interested. I started this blog to help me process life, especially the past 4 years with. To give you the cliff notes, we (my wife Michelle and I) have 4 kids. Our youngest was born in 2016 with a major heart defect and happens to have Down Syndrome. Read all about it in other posts.

I feel that there is so much more to write on our journey that has got us to this point. I will continue that journey. But right now I want to jump to the now and ramble a bit.

Like so many people right now I don’t know how to feel. I’m scared that people are getting sick, I’m pissed that I can’t go to my favorite restaurants, I’m frustrated with “E-learning”. I’m really excited our state (Wisconsin) Supreme Court said we don’t have to be stuck indoors anymore, but then I’m scared people may get sick. But I kinda feel like it’s all crazy and whatever I say, some crazy person will go nuts. At the end of the day, I feel lucky as hell I have an amazing wife, awesome kids and a great business partner.

In the fall of 2016 I co-founded a Facebook Group for doing “breaks” of sports cards called Real Breaks. Actually it was called Keep it Real Breaks, but that’s a drama filled story that really doesn’t matter. I co-founded with a guy that I never met in person, we never even spoke on the phone. His name is Ryan Holland. Over the past 4 years we have become great friends. We are blunt, honest, etc with each other. This morning in fact I yelled at him, told him to get lost, etc. Then we moved on to talk about the ridiculous market of baseball cards. I was really in the wrong for yelling and getting upset, but hey, he’ll get over it 🙂

This little fun business adventure got a little crazy over the years. At first I would spend a couple hours a week on it. Put kids to bed and then do cards at 9 pm. yadda, yadda, yadda, it blew up. I quit my really awesome job with the School District of Fort Atkinson, we moved to a village of 500 people of Brownsville, Wisconsin and now I sell sports cards out of my basement. I do not know for a fact, but I am pretty confident I sell more baseball cards than any other company in my state. I am confident that Ryan and I are one of the top 5 companies in the country that sell sports cards direct to collectors.

In our adventures, I have learned something that my mother told me is so very true. She once told me that I am the most passionate person that doesn’t care she ever met. This made zero sense to me until recently. I am passionate about many things, but on some of those very things, I could care less what others think of me because of my passion. It’s screwed up, I know. Basically, having self confidence is a great thing, but I hope it never comes off as being arrogant.

Speaking of my mother. April 25, 2020 marked the 1 year of her death. Losing her hurts, flat out hurts. I would love to hear her try to be positive about our world right now. I’m blessed to have Michelle, my father, my sister and my big brother.

Getting back to the past few weeks. I’ve worked nonstop. Really. Selling baseball cards is crazy during this time. Here is a fun little story the local NBC did on me: https://www.nbc26.com/news/coronavirus/wisconsin-based-sports-card-company-sees-uptick-in-business-as-fans-look-for-their-sports-fix?fbclid=IwAR3y694JLHk8O1Wo00Dc5vuq8vsq47K63CtzTUQ6RfFCHJ9UwYrsZJQT_E0

Here is another story Sports Illustrated did on the industry. My picture made the video, Ryan (and some other really awesome Breakers) are interviewed: https://www.si.com/mlb/2020/05/04/breaking-the-fall-sports-cards-and-the-pandemic?fbclid=IwAR0PSGzl53oqP_bmmOMbv0_3dgK2sdT_G101aDykBdl9NI0diwjSIW6x_hY

Where am I going with all of this? It’s a great world. I feel this blog helps me relax and keep rocking. Speaking of Rockin’. There is a facebook groups for Parents of children with Down Syndrome. I’m in the Rockin’ Dads, and today joined a Blog group. Turns out it’s a Rockin Moms Blog group. I’ve yet to find a father that blogs, so I’m it!

So what’s next? I am going to work on keeping this blog updated. But I can guarantee the next few years are going to be awesome for the Kulczewski Family. Our kids are doing awesome. Malix (our 3 year old that happens to have Down Syndrome) is smart as can be. To be very honest, him having DS really does not come to my mind. I could care less if he has DS. He’s really smart, fun and independent as hell. My mom would be proud!

In one of my first blogs, I wrote encouraging you to contact me and we would have you over for dinner. That offer still stands and I have 2 dinners to schedule. In this time, reach out. Let’s be friends, virtually at a safe social distance.

Last year I had the honor of speaking at my mother’s funeral. The day before, this came to me. “Meaning to do, is meaning less, without action.” My mother was a woman of action. I like to think I am making her proud.

Thank you for reading, it’s an honor to me if you made it this far. I promise I’ll pick back up with our adventures in 2017 in the next post.