These essays live on Substack: honest stories about faith, struggle, healing, and the gooder life. Read here, subscribe for new notes, and when you are ready for one-on-one coaching, Chris is a free discovery call away.
October 13, 2026
The kid’s a square
“Wait - I think - Did I - I did… I actually hit the ball. Annnnd it’s flying into left field, like it’s an actual hit!” The real-world noise begins fading into full volume… back to reality… “RUN CHRIS!!!” I look at my…
October 12, 2026
Always Remember Never To Forget...
I grew up in Southern California. It was a great place to grow up back in the day. Picture the neighborhood from the Spielberg classic E.T. Hilly, often brown, lots of kids, both parents working; after-school hours…
September 25, 2026
Roots, not Froots
We call our home, The Huelatshire. Maybe a little cheesy, but we love the connection to the Shire of JRR Tolkien’s The Lord Of The Rings . Frodo, Sam, Merri, Pip. And, the Huelats, all want nothing more than to return…
August 9, 2026
The Art
They wheeled him off to the baby prison. I thought it was strange that I wasn’t allowed to go with him. I was fixated (appropriately so) as I watched the nurses juggle him and prod and poke him. Jeeeeeezzz ladies, try…
August 4, 2026
I'm Scared, but then YOU
Muffled words and medical jargon come through the now-closed O.R. doors. The 4-foot-0 charge nurse says to me from behind her masked face, “You can wait with your family in the waiting room, or…?” She shrugged . I sat…
April 27, 2026
I Could Never Forget... Part 1
She was having contractions for hours. Pushing seemed to be going on far too long. After, what seemed like, a shift change, the nurse told her to stop pushing. Yeah right. Stop pushing! Then they told us. The baby…
April 20, 2026
It's a Dog-Eat-Dog world, and I'm wearing Milk-Bone Underwear.
Remember COVID? Of course you do. How crazy was that? The human race collectively learned that we are all the same in matter of weeks. Then by the end of those weeks, we quickly forgot that lesson. But, that’s a…
January 3, 2026
slowness is a matter of perspective, isn't it?
In most areas of my life I have not been a big fan of “slow & steady wins the race.” I ain’t gots not time for the tortoise. I tend to dive into things and the resulting crash site analysis is when I learn the stuff I…
August 5, 2025
I'm Swoll.
Drug commercials. They’re pretty amazing. I’m sure you have noticed many of the same things as I have about the big productions for pharmaceuticals. First, it seems like the folks who are battling a serious and…
July 22, 2025
Oooohh Pick Me!
WARNING! OLD-FART ALERT! An infusion nurse approaches. She looks 13, maybe 15? “Hi, I’m Bella, I’ll be your nurse today. Lemme just take a long look at your veins and pick the best one for your blood transfusion. I…
July 13, 2025
Oh my
It was in Chemo School that I learned that my treatments will be “very manageable.” Oh, btw, I graduated from Chemo school near the top of my class (of one student). So, I arrived on time for my first treatment. Brave…
June 19, 2025
"Learn the ways of the Jedi..."
ME: How are you today? SUBJECT: Terrible She gruffly uttered with a steely yet markedly unhappy scowl. Suddenly aware that that is probably not the best question to lead with in an Infusion Center. Folks are not there…
June 16, 2025
"I have felt a disturbance..."
It felt a little like a vacation. Last week, I had only 1 appointment. And it wasn’t until Friday. It appeared that I would be getting another satisfying unit of blood at said appointment as well. Back to the quiet.…
June 10, 2025
I've got a baaaadd feeling about this
They’ve done gone in head-first with reckless abandon. Han, Chewbacca, Obi Wan, Luke, C3P0 & R2D2 are chasing down what they think is a rogue tie fighter. They quickly reason that they are too far out in deep space for…
June 8, 2025
“Yes, is this Chris?” They skip my last name because they aren’t sure how to pronounce it.
“Yes, is this Chris?” They skip my last name because they aren’t sure how to pronounce it. “Yes, this Chris Huelat.” “This is Kendra from Mercy Oncology. Dr Nanny would like us to have you in for a CAT scan tomorrow…
June 6, 2025
These are not the droids you are looking for.
So, Monday? What’s supposed to happen on Monday? Well, go to work. Get all the weekend stuff ironed out. Oh yeah, go to your shiny, new hematologist-oncologist Dr appointment. Wait, oncologist? Like cancer-ologist?…
June 6, 2025
"It's the deep breath before the plunge."
I had a regular “well-visit” with my doctor the other day. It was a Tuesday. I had been feeling cruddy for a while, and the timing of this appointment was good. Weight, BP, Pulse-O2… all great. Had even lost about…
June 4, 2025
Your Story Rocks!
On the regular, I get the opportunity to tell folks my story. Whether it’s a man who needs to find a safe space to work through the hard stuff, or coffee with a new friend who asked the loaded question, “ So, tell me…
April 28, 2025
Learning To Relax
I meet with 4 men every Sunday night. We gather at my house, and we engage one another on a transparent and vulnerable level. We have all walked through some very difficult seasons together. Marriage failures, sexual…
March 24, 2025
Fears Can Be Tamed
My friend Stephen and I were sitting on the couch. I was 4 years-old, and Stephen was 5. My older sister, Rusty (6), was “flitting” around in the living room. Even at 4, I was all about making people laugh. I yelled,…
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