Category Archives: Family Affairs

Generator

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We spent some time with friends this weekend, one of whom was nice enough to ask how my writing here has been going. I was ashamed to admit the truth, that it had been a long time (checking… checking… 6 months!) since I last put pen to paper. Or, in this case, chocolate-stained fingers to keyboard. Part of the problem is motivation. It’s not like I’m an air traffic controller, but my job is busy. And sometimes stressful. And I’m finding those two things take root like weeds in the garden of my creativity (I know, and I’m sorry) and choke off any attempt to grow a worthwhile crop, as it were. Add to that a 3 year old who is adorable, energetic, stubborn, curious, playful, and who has no desire to let dad have 30 minutes to himself at the computer. Most days by the time the kid is asleep I have barely enough energy to stumble over to the couch and surf reddit while a dvr’ed show is playing.

So, while I’m gettin’-it-done at work and while I’m enjoying my son’s toddlerhood, the blog posting schedule takes a hit. But, and here’s the extra fun part, sometimes I do have the motivation, and do have the free time, aaaaand…..  that’s usually when I slam right in to a solid stone wall of writer’s block. I want to write, I have time to write, I just can’t think of anything to write about.

Which is what happened today.

It’s happened before. If it’s been six months since I last posted, I’d bet there were at least a dozen times that I’d wanted to write something but couldn’t find anything to say. But today I came to the realization that I can’t be the first person to face such a challenge and there had to be an online blog topic generator out there. So, being the advanced degree holding, intuitive, resourceful, can-do type of guy I am, I googled “blog topic generator”. And, wouldn’t you know, there is one.

The site asks for three keywords and provides a list of five potential blog topics. I settled on three words that I’m the most familiar with these days, “father”, “son”, and “husband”. The resulting suggestions were…  interesting. I suspect I may not be the generator’s target audience.

So I won’t use each suggestion as its own separate blog post, but no reason I can’t list them here and see if the generator…err…generates any interesting content. My suggested blog topics are:

TOPIC #1: Why We Love Father (And You Should Too!) Right off the bat, this makes me think this topic generator is more geared toward a product, or an industry trend… of which I am neither. I don’t think. You should love me as a father because I try. I try so hard. And sometimes get it right. Not always though. Last week we were playing baseball out in the back yard, which mostly consists of Matthew hitting the ball off the t, running to the corner of the yard, diving to the ground, and telling me that the Packers just scored a home run. I decided two things: a.) that I wanted to play, and b.) that I was going to wow that little dude with my baseball prowess. Sorry, t-ball “prowess”. So, after a spirited 10 minute discussion, I convinced my three year old to give me a turn. Concerned for his safety, I made him stand well back from the t. Then I made him take a few steps to the right so he’d be well out of the way of my forthcoming homer. I dramatically pumped the bat a few times, swung away, and beaned my perfect, innocent, and guileless little man right in the arm. Left a for-real little welt and damaged our relationship for an eternity, until I remembered we had Swedish Fish in the kitchen. What was I talking about? Oh yeah, you should love me because, even when I fail spectacularly, I do so by swinging for the fences.

TOPIC #2: The History of Son Well, frankly, I don’t think that’s any of your business. Let’s just say that when a daddy loves a mommy very much, they quit their jobs and move to Vermont so the daddy can go to grad school for a few years. Then, when grad school is over and jobs have been found in the metro Chicago region, the mommy and daddy buy a house which, I think, comes with the baby? Isn’t that what the escrow is all about? (I admit I may not have a good handle on the definition.) Hoping the movie ‘Storks’ can set this all straight for me.

TOPIC #3: The Worst Advice We’ve Ever Heard About Husband Wow. This one was surprisingly hard to answer, even smart-assedly. I really haven’t gotten much in the way of husbandly advice, good or bad. One notable exception comes from my father in law, who could teach all y’all a thing or two about being a good dad and, I presume, a good partner. Soon after Emily and I got engaged (maybe the same weekend?) he told me the three sentences I needed to remember for a healthy relationship. They are: “You’re right, dear”,  “I’m sorry, dear”, and “I have no strong opinion about that”. And he was right! Those are three powerful additions to your arsenal. So bad advice, I guess, would be the opposite of that. I guess you would call that “Trumping” your way through a relationship.

TOPIC #4: 10 Myths About Son 

  1. Since he stayed up late/played so hard/is so tired, he’s going to sleep in.
  2. Since you made him eggs and sausage, he’s not going to also ask for cereal. And then a cookie.
  3. He’ll understand why he can’t have a cookie at 6:30am.
  4. He’ll eat everything on his plate.
  5. It will take him a while to learn how to use an iPad.
  6. He’s so young, I shouldn’t have to disable one-click purchasing just yet.
  7. He totally understands that I can’t read his mind.
  8. I’m a full grown man with reasonable control of my emotional faculties. A random “I love you” from him can’t reduce me to tears.
  9. He won’t turn me in to something of a Paw Patrol expert.
  10. My life would be just as complete without him.

TOPIC #5: What Will Son Be Like In 100 Years? Well, to start, he will be 103 and will probably like easy mac and baked beans exactly as much as he does today. He will have lived through World Wars 3 and 4, have made, lost, and remade at least one fortune, and may have even been on the front lines when humans rallied together to throw back the invasion of the lobster people from Zeta Reticuli IV. Regardless, I hope my 103 year old son has a long and happy life and remains surrounded by those that love him. That’s all we can ask as a parent, yes? If he can leave his part of the world a little better than he found it he’ll have done his part. I flatter myself in the hope that I’m not screwing him up so much that those things are beyond his grasp. I would encourage him to waste no opportunity, especially at 103, to tell his story to anyone and everyone who will listen. Tell them of his life, tell them of me and his mom. Tell them of his home and his loves and losses and challenges. Tell them of his successes. Who are we but our stories? My prayer is that my 103 year old little boy has one hell of a story to share when he’s done.

Well, that’s it. Good on ya, blog topic generator. I asked for, and you provided, a path through writer’s block. You have awkwardly yet adequately done the job that was assigned to you.

Just like a certain would-be writer I can think of.

Alpha Dog

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You know that saying, “Life is what happens while you’re busy making plans”? Well I’m refining a theory that parenting is what happens while you’re trying to keep your kid alive, well-fed, clean, out the door before you’re late for work, and asleep in bed before a major meltdown.

Not that my kid is anything other than an angel and a perfect little gentleman all the time, but lately I’ve been doing some introspection on what I externalize and how it gets reflected back on me. It may come as a shock that I can be easily frustrated, anxious, and indecisive. (Or, if you know me, know of me, or have ever just been in proximity to me, it probably doesn’t. At all.) I’m finding that when those are the emotions I show, it’s not that the kiddo acts the same as me, although sometimes he does. It’s that whatever parental credibility I have is greatly diminished, sometimes to the point of going right out the window.

Once, we had a dog with behavioral issues and I’ve found that there are some parallels between dog ownership and parenting. (Side note: Kids and dogs have similarities. To a point. Don’t be one of those people with no kids who thinks you’re down in the trenches with me because your dogs or cats are “your kids”. Not the same.) With the pup who was a little too, let’s call it “bite-y”, we worked with several different trainers and behaviorists. The key, they all seemed to agree, was to always broadcast to the dog that you are calm, capable, and in command. Which, honestly, is pretty good career advice too. That way, the dog looks to you for emotional direction and sees you as a calming influence when they are under stress.

My own experience, talks with my wife, and advice from the greatest child development experts I can afford (and by that, I mean a series of thorough Google searches) lead me to believe that the same can be said for the interactions between me and my son. He’s just north of two and a half and, frankly, nothing makes sense to him. The world is big and getting bigger, fast and getting faster, and he suddenly has so many choices to make. He looks to me and he looks to his mom to see how he should react and when he sees us as short-tempered, or anxious, or indecisive, or caving to his every whim, part of his brain goes, “Well, these bozos can’t help me, so I’m just going to be surly, or stubborn, or indecisive and see if that works.

So, me being me, I guess thus begins what will be among the greatest challenges of my young parental life. Exerting a sense of calm competency which, let me be clear, I rarely feel. Keeping it under wraps, being cool, calm, and collected. Employing every skill I’ve learned about being confident, measured, and decisive.

I hope I have it in me.

…..err, I mean…   I can do this.

Thanks, Fred.

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On the day that Emily and I were married, I woke to a clear, cold dawn. It was 5am. The sun wasn’t up yet but, over Lake Michigan, the eastern sky was turning a lighter shade of grey. For the first time in several days there was not a cloud in the sky.

He’d done it. I’d gotten my wish.

My Grandfather, my Mom’s dad, died just as my sister and I (and our cousins too) were entering the most awkward stage of life. He died right as my parents’ marriage was sputtering and staring to quit. He was sorely missed. He was a kind, generous, outgoing, brilliant, gregarious, bad-ass of a man and his passing left a great, gaping hole in our family. But we pushed on, as families do. Among the cousins, braces and acne gave way to majors and study-abroad, which gave way to careers and grad school. We still talked to Grandpa, but now it was in our prayers and in our dreams.

When my sister, and my cousin after her got married, they each were married on a gorgeous day sandwiched between other, crappier weather. They joked that it was Grandpa’s gift to them; the nice weather his way of saying he was proud and that he loved us still.

After Emily and I got engaged, I lay in bed one night awash in the practical concerns of planning a wedding. “Man”, I thought “I can deal with almost any wedding-day complication. But I want a clear day more than anything.” I didn’t want my guests dripping wet. I wanted everyone to be happy and comfortable. I wanted nice pictures taken outside.

And so, from time to time, I’d say a little something to Grandpa. I’d ask him for nice weather and let him know I missed him.

A week before the wedding we pulled in to the driveway in Milwaukee. It was 70 degrees and sunny. By Thursday it was in the 40’s and spitting rain and snow at us.

The weather toyed with me that week. It would start to clear, and then cloud over again. At the welcome-to-town barbeque on Thursday night, a great swirling knot of snow blew through the backyard.

And yet.

Saturday was cool, true. But it was crystal clear. Not a cloud that I could see. After the wedding, we stood on a bluff, Lake Michigan shining beautiful blue behind us and surrounded by our wedding party, our dear friends and family.

It was perfect. It was a gift from my Grandfather. It was his way of saying congratulations.

Thanks, Grandpa. You have no idea how much I appreciate it.

Or maybe, of course, you do.