“… and the heavens opened and water poured forth like a reading from the Old Testament.”
– Excerpt from Tuesday afternoon.
It was one of those Florida afternoons where you could see the rain coming like an omnivorous grey beast. I was on my way to pick up Beth from Tae Kwon Do, with Adam in tow, when I realized there was no way I was going to herd two hyper kids into the…
The morning started off swell… I didn’t get up until 9:30. What else could you ask for? Perhaps 10:30? I digress. Since I woke I’ve been chasing down my son trying to discourage his most recent habit, cat burglary. He has taken to sneaking around the house with one of his miniature fold-up chairs, unfolding it in strategic positions to gain access to various forbidden zones…
Four and a half hours ago I was putting my son to bed. It is only with the spit polished lenses of hindsight that I now know it was for the rest of the night – both hours that were left of it. About five minutes before I put him to bed, as he calmed down with his head on my shoulder, his grip slowly loosening on his blanket and his breathing becoming relaxed – I strangely felt like I…
Adam was finishing up his dinner and rediscovered a cup of Pringles he had on the side. (It was one of those form fitting cups with a single serving of chips.) He went for a spoonful of chips when I helpfully suggested, “Adam, you can’t eat chips with a spoon.”
Adam took one look at me, grabbed hold of the business end of the spoon, ground up some chip dust, and took a spoonful…
This morning Cheryl admonished me for not pulling Adam’s pants up in front. She thought it was inappropriate for Adam to show diaper above the waistline. Part of our problem lies in diaper design. Our diaper brand of choice has many desirable characteristics, save one: a freakish amount of material above the fastening point. However, it goes beyond that… it involves something much more…
Monday marked yet another first day. This time it was Adam’s turn. Adam was at a day care center for the first time Monday morning. If you’re unfamiliar with having children and using day care centers… the first day is often one of the first times you feel like a failure as a parent.
He cried when Cheryl dropped him off, he was playing when she picked him up, and he seemed…
On second thought, I’m a tad tired for poetry. This will have to do.
This past week was a bit sad for a couple different reasons. Nothing cataclysmic mind you, just run-of-the-mill melancholy. The most obvious reason was Beth’s forthcoming return to school. Beth had a hard year last year and I hoped (not just for my sake) that this year would be better. But the end of summer vacation…
The line between promise and threat can be razor sharp. It’s best to treat it like anything else with a sharp edge: with care.
As his second birthday approaches, Adam has become familiar with the concept of “time out.” Thus far we have used it sparingly, such as when he drops prone to the floor in the throes of a full-bore tantrum. Thankfully those occasions have been somewhat…
This weekend my son reminded me of an ant. It wasn’t because he was a pest or that he was particularly insect like, but because he was often seen carrying around objects of significant size. One moment he was carrying around a dining room chair, the next a folding table, or one of those large Rubbermaid storage containers. There didn’t seem to be any particular reason for all this…