Meet Christian Burton | Swim Instructor & Author

We had the good fortune of connecting with Christian Burton and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Christian, have there been any changes in how you think about work-life balance?
When you have young kids, parenting certainly takes up more time and energy. On the other hand, parenting young children is generally more fulfilling than being their personal Uber driver as they get older. Work wise, writing and my other creative pursuits started as an adult escape and transitioned to more of a business as the kids have gotten older. In terms of balance, I’ve always weighted the scales more heavily towards the parenting side. You don’t want parenting to be your side-hustle.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I’m old enough to remember when gas was less than $1 per gallon. When I was ten, yellow ribbons were tied around the elm trees outside my elementary school during the Iran hostage crisis, and scary pictures of the Ayatollah Khomeini were constantly on display during the evening news. Gas prices rose dramatically. It seemed clear who was at fault.

Although my parents were very conservative, conservation wasn’t a dirty word in our household. When gasoline prices spiked during the hostage crisis, my family made the switch to more fuel efficient cars. I don’t recall this being some kind of political statement on my parents part. It was just a change that needed to me made. We scoured the car lots looking at the MPG ratings of all the vehicles.

Perhaps, this is because they grew up during the Great Depression and World War II. They remembered victory gardens and scrap metal drives. Although my father was an attorney, we had a big garden, we went berry picking, we canned, and we raised chickens. We saved, reused, and conserved. My mother knows how to darn a sock.

My older brother and sister attended college at the Air Force Academy, and I eventually followed. I was at the Academy during Operation Desert Storm. It’s an odd feeling watching a war and wondering if you’ll soon be joining it. As it happened, the fighting was over well before I joined active duty. However, the Middle East was our primary Area of Responsibility at my first assignment.

I spent 90 days in Saudi Arabia in support of operation Provide Comfort II. I was stationed in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia prior to the Khobar Towers bombing, so I actually got to see a fair amount of the country. My time there was insignificant when compared to the number of deployments that our military forces have had to endure since in the 2nd Iraq War and in Afghanistan.

In hindsight, I never really appreciated the danger that I may have been in. The fact that we’d often have to wake up the Saudi guard when entering the USMTM compound seemed more like an annoyance than something of vital importance. There were two abandoned vehicles located in the compound parking lot the entire time I worked there. Our living quarters were a forty-five minute drive away at Eskan Village. It was common to see civilian vehicles parked just outside the perimeter fence of the village. Notionally, they were just trying to intercept the television signals that were transmitted across the compound. American movies, some R-rated, were often played.

I don’t want to give away too many of my observations about the country because they’re in the novel. Nonetheless, the gap between the haves and the have-not was very stark. In general, I was much more leery of the religious police than I was of the average Saudi Arabian citizen. I even bought Christmas ornaments from a local vendor while I was there. Almost twenty years later, I still hang the ornaments on our tree every year.

After serving in the Air Force for six years, I transitioned to civilian world and worked as a project manager for a major cell phone company. I caught the tail end of the dot-com bubble. It was a good time to be working for a technology driven company. However, I was downsized a few years later when the bubble burst.

Initially, I wasn’t too concerned. My wife had a good job, and I was preparing to become a stay-at-home dad anyway. Unfortunately, my wife lost her job as well soon after returning from FMLA leave. We were both out of work when the September 11th attacks occurred. Unemployed, with a six month old baby, I remember feeling numb as I walked out to check mail during the anthrax scare. Needless to say, it wasn’t the best time to be looking for employment. Luckily, my wife found a full-time job in October of that year, and I found part-time work as a swim instructor.

It’s strange to think that our nation has been at war practically throughout my eldest daughter’s entire life. Although, if you asked her about it, she probably wouldn’t even know it. While I may be romanticizing the past, the United States fought World War II as a nation. It was a team effort relying on substantial contributions from both the military and civilian sectors. Whereas today, our government tries to insulate the public from war. While politicians often cry for the public to rally behind our troops, true civilian sacrifices are not required, and subsequently, the national debt stands at over $30 trillion dollars.

Certainly, COVID has had a huge impact on our national debt and psyche. However, similar to energy policy, battling COVID has uncovered cracks in our nation’s willingness for shared sacrifice and working together towards a common goal. Now, Russia has invaded Ukraine and poses a threat to our European allies. Is the average American willing to make personal sacrifices in order to support someone that lives half way across the world?

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
Getting some Beau Jo’s pizza would be high on our list. While the original Beau Jo’s is located in Idaho Springs, they now have several locations sprinkled across Colorado. Their pizza is one of a kind and never disappoints.

Surprisingly close to the Denver metro area, ​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​Castlewood Canyon State Park is a wonderful place to hike and provides some lovely views. Less than an hour from downtown Denver, Castlewood Canyon allows you to escape the city without having to drive for hours to do it. While you initially feel like you driving out into the plains, the canyon’s distinctive rock formations suddenly spring out of the ground.

St. Mary’s Glacier is another lovely Colorado hike within an hour drive of Denver. While it used to be more of a hidden, local spot, they’ve added a parking area to make it more accessible. From the parking lot, it’s about 1/2 mile to St. Mary’s lake and another 1/4 mile to the top of the glacier.

Casa Bonita was always place that we took visitors and has been a favorite of ours since college. While the restaurant is currently closed, it is under new management, and we are hoping that it reopens soon.

Immortalized as an iconic concert destination by U2 during the early 80s, Red Rocks Parks and Amphitheater in Morrison, Colorado is another must visit. In addition to the amphitheater, there are hiking trails encircling the area and gorgeous views of spectacular rock formations.

If our visitors were interested in art, the Clyfford Still Museum in downtown Denver would be a place to check out. Clyfford Still was a ground breaking Abstract Expressionist painter who arose to preeminence in the years following Work War II. The museum’s collection contains a broad range of Still’s works spanning from 1920 to 1979.

If we were to venture out further outside the Denver metro area, one of our favorite vacation destinations in Colorado are the hot springs in Glenwood Springs. Officially, the Glenwood Hot Springs Resort has been around in one form or another since 1888. While it’s more of a family destination now, it’s interesting that this small Colorado town was a travel destination for U.S.Presidents Teddy Roosevelt and William Howard Taft during the early 1900s.

Another scenic natural locale to visit would be the Great Sand Dunes National Park & Preserve. Located four hours southwest of Denver, the preserve provides the visitor with a variety of ecosystems that together helped create the dunes themselves. Hike the dunes or the surrounding foothills. Then, soak your tired feet in Medano Creek.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
Certainly, my wife’s support was invaluable. Cheryl completed the initial editing or first review of my novel. Plus, she provided encouragement throughout out the writing process. Thanks also go out to Laurence MacNaughton for his in depth critique of my initial manuscript which was substantially longer. Ana Grigoriu of Kingwood Creations helped bring the cover to life. Finally, Heidi Jason acted as my editor extraordinaire prior to publishing.

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