“Things which matter most must never be at the mercy of things which matter least.” ― Johann Wolfgang von Goethe It's astonishing how quickly the time goes right out the window (throw back for any who know the reference). One minute it's morning, your feet are hitting the floor. You blink through groggy eyelids at the …
Time’s Up
I hope many of you can relate to this and that I'm not alone. Scenario - you have to be somewhere in 30 minutes and you are at least 25 minutes away (that NEVER happens in suburbia, right?). As you hear the clock ticking in your head you notice your son is still playing in …
Hostage Negotiation
For those who don't know me, I'm an experienced hostage negotiator. This is a very high stress role where even the slightest mistake can be costly. You can train all you like, build up the rapport with your team, and run through scenarios until you are blue in the face, and none of that guarantees …
“I Don’t Feel Well…”
No parent likes hearing the words "I don't feel well" from their child. Sometimes you hear it when picking them up early from school, other times you hear it in the middle of the night. The words by themselves don't tell you as much as the rest of the context: how they are walking, what …
First Things First
One of the awesome things about kids is watching them grow up, become more and more independent, and ultimately, gain enough knowledge and skills to take care of you in your old age. This post is dedicated to a lot of the unique firsts you get as a parent. First time driving them homeFirst stepsFirst …
11 Things That Make Kids Awesome!
Over the past five years, here are some things I have discovered are AWESOME about having kids! The sense of wonder with which they experience the world.The look of surprise when you get an Amazon box in the mail.How they turn the empty Amazon box (that only had household goods in it) into a boat, …
10 Things I No Longer Think are Cool
Growing up was a lot of fun. When you are younger you could do so many cool things, run across the water (it seemed like I could at least), and you always swore you would never turn into your parents. Well, I'm here today to chronicle 10 things that I no longer think are "cool". …
Goodbyes
Why is it so hard to say good bye?
Childhood Justice
Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. Martin Luther King, Jr. The childhood sense of fairness is unparalleled in its ability to create conflict and strife. The height of the Cold War pales in comparison to the scorn felt by a child who has perceived wrong. And the offense doesn't need to be as …
Why Do Spiders Need to Die?
The Itsy Bitsy Spider climbed up the water spout;Down came the rain and washed the spider out;Out came the sun and dried up all the rain;And the Itsy Bitsy Spider climbed up the spout again;-The Itsy Bitsy Spider A year ago, a spider would have sent my kids running, despite my professions that they are …
Suburban Fatherhood 