31 Jan

Dad and Buried Posted in stress No comments

Stress Actor

Stress isn’t a competition. Newsflash: We’re all stressed out of our minds!

Adulthood is stressful. Work is stressful. Marriage is stressful. The state of the world is stressful. Life is stressful!

And, of course, parenting is stressful too, in more ways than one. But parenting stress is a little different, because being a parent is both stressful in and of itself and because the presence of children adds an extra layer of stress on top of everything else. It’s fun!

Parenting Isn’t A Job

Contrary to popular opinion, I don’t hate my kids.

In fact, some of the time, I downright love the little jerks! They’re fun in very specific, individual ways, which is delightful, and they’re annoying in mostly general, every-kid-is-like-that ways, which is forgivable.

But I do hate parenting, at least some of the time. It’s a tough gig. And referring to it as a “gig” is part of the problem. Because parenthood is not a job. And treating it like one – like a chore to begrudgingly complete – is bad for everyone.

Read more about Parenting Isn’t A Job …

20 Dec

Dad and Buried Posted in Money No comments

The Disease of More

My 7-year-old always wants more.

He wants more toys, even though he doesn’t play with half the ones he has. He wants more dessert, even when he can barely ask for it because his mouth is already full of dessert. He wants more time before bed, which he usually gets by tortuously extending the bedtime routine. All this demand for more makes me want less — less whining, less stress, less kids!

Of course, children aren’t the only ones who want more. Adults have the same obsession, especially parents.

Your Old Man’s Money

I’ve been turning into my father for years now, probably since I was born, actually.

But nothing accelerates the transformation into your parents like becoming a parent yourself.

The best evidence that I’m becoming my dad, besides increasing back pain and deepening bags under my eyes, are the things I yell at my kids about. Like money.

Read more about Your Old Man’s Money …

29 Sep

Dad and Buried Posted in Gender No comments

Dads Have a “Mental Load” Too

Over the summer, Meredith Ethington of Perfection Pending shared a list of the anxieties that plague her – and moms in general – every day, like having enough food in the house, cleaning messes, making it to appointments on time, etc. I stumbled across “Thoughts Moms Have After A Long Day of Work” again recently, and have some thoughts of my own.

The punch line to her post is that dads aren’t troubled by such things, and only think about naps. It’s all in good fun -in the comments she included a disclaimer that her husband is great and that the list was merely meant to showcase “the mental load” women have that men often don’t – but she’s not alone.

The idea that moms are the only ones who deal with this kind of anxiety is pretty common. I beg to differ.

Dad and Buried

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Stress Actor

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Parenting Isn’t A Job

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The Disease of More

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Your Old Man’s Money

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