I probably sound like Ward Cleaver when I remind my children how rough our lives were compared to theirs. It’s apparent that every generation has a horror story to tell their children to make them appreciate how good they have it. Ironically, we still make it a goal to want better for our kids than […]
Category: parenting
Categories
Gen X-Box
If the repeated complaints of my boys were to be believed — that they were the only kids in the world who didn’t own a game system — then it would be reasonable to assume that I was the only dad in the world who didn’t. Well, no more. With my excuses waning and their […]
My wife and I are blessed with two wonderfully spirited children and many days I ponder how their ‘challenging’ traits might positively benefit them later in life. Take for instance our youngest, who, not kidding, threw an all out tantrum that lasted almost two hours about having to eat a burrito made with a corn […]
The spring thaw has spawned yet another veritable paradise for boys… Mudville. Regardless of how many times we remind them to avoid the water and mud it seems to find them like iron filings to an electromagnet. Of course, I didn’t exactly make it easy for them not to get dirty. Last fall, just before […]
Categories
The Talk
I knew the day was coming, but the school curriculum pretty much sealed the date. My oldest son’s class will soon be covering HIV in science and with it will come some talk about ‘changes’ they are all going through. Rather than have a bunch of squirrelly school boys educating each other, I thought I’d […]
It never fails. Just when the weather starts improving the sore throats start scratching their way into our home. Our oldest started complaining that his stomach hurt and has been pretty hoarse the past few days. The kid’s ten years old but his cough sounds like croop. I’m starting to wonder if it isn’t the […]
Categories
Time
Just a few weeks ago my youngest son had a very interesting conversation with my wife. He started by commenting that “the day after yesterday was a great day.” To clarify, my wife corrected by asking, “Do you mean the day before yesterday?” “No.” “Do you mean today?” He responded flatly with, “No. I took […]
Categories
Dynamic Duel
We’ve been reading a new book series to our boys at night – The Extraordinary Adventures of Ordinary Boy. The story centers around superheroes battling supervillains in the city of Superopolis. The main character, ‘O Boy’, is joined by a menagerie of ridiculously named super hero buddies like Halogen Boy, Plasma Girl and Stench to […]
Categories
Walking Tall
Well, it finally happened. Sometime yesterday our oldest son grew up. After weeks of persistent begging, we granted him permission to walk home after school – by himself. Okay, not exactly all by himself (ultimately I think that’s what complicated the decision to allow it). He may be a responsible and mature fifth grader, but […]
It’s interesting how kids can be oblivious to the world around them. The things that you would think they would be embarrassed about doing in public don’t even phase them… like throwing a screaming tantrum in the middle of the mall. Other times the most ‘invisible’ thing will become the focus of their self-consciousness… like […]