Category: Parenting

Suck in Your Tummy

Took a break from the shooting jets of a Waterpark to read my magazine and enjoy some shade. My kids and wife were off on their own wondering and I was happy for the moment of relative solitude. 
Then a group of three stepped in front of me and within earshot. The adult woman was about 30 in my estimate and she was accompanied by two girls. The oldest of the pair could not be older than 10. The mom/aunt/family friend was requesting they pose for a phone and the girls acquiesced in that way kids do when they know

Freaky Fractions

Fractions caused friction on our daily walk back from school. 
For some reason, I could NOT wrap my mind around how my youngest figured what went on the denominators place from the number of pie wedges on her little homework sheet. I lost her of course when I intimated that her teacher might be wrong. She curtly pointed out that her instructor went to college and taught for a living. I then called the kids’ mother-dearest for some parental back-up but the backstabber didn’t see it my way and sided with the children. 
Freakin’ fractions fried my brain and now I feel like the dumb kid in class again.

A Fairy Accounting

Some days just turn on a dime and this afternoon I had to mange a fairly detailed and emotional audit.

Seem that because of the hectic nature of the last few days there were a few but significant miss-entries in the ledger. It’s all sorted out now and our accounting is reconciled but to imagine that this whole thing started because someone lost a tooth yesterday, the tooth-fairy made a late night deposit and we’ve been trying to teach the kids the pragmatism of keeping a check-book.

Dad Stories – Death and Eggs

We had an unexpected talk about the meaning of death around the breakfast table this morning after listening to my kids telling silly scary stories that involved one another.
It’s challenging to hear your kids utter some words and as I heard them a twinge of pain fell over me. I stopped them and asked to talk.
We discussed the finality of death and what it means to loose someone close to our hearts. The dog we recently lost was brought up and that we would never see her again. This hit a nerve. A sad one.
I did not like to break up their imaginative silly talk with a serious conversation. But at that point my adventurers needed to know my feelings on the matter and how it was impacting me. 
It’s not easy this parenting gig and I can’t say I handled it perfectly but I think we all grew up a little over eggs and biscuits.

Morning Soundtrack

Many mornings I wake up to the sound of horses, squawking macaws, squirrels rustling in the bushes and the dog’s pitter patter about the house. But on very special moments I also get to include the sweet silly songs my kids make and perform when they know there’s no audience.

That’s the best soundtrack I’ve ever heard….

Spots of Tears

While at my sales meeting I looked down at my black shirt and noticed a couple of spots. I then remembered hugging my daughter at drop off earlier in the morning while she cried. I had to do some parenting and since I couldn’t have her leave with tears we shared an embrace. The two salty spots reminded me of that moment…the one she’s surely long forgotten about by now.