27
May
Parents Are Boring
Parents are boring.
At least the ones who care about nothing except being a parent are. I care about my kids, but they’re not all I care about.
Nor should they be.
Tag: pop culture
26
May
The Pizza Solution
As a parent, pizza plays a big role in my life.
Every weekend, we have a movie night with my picky five-year-old, and we watch a movie of his choice (please choose Star Wars, please choose Star Wars!) and eat some pie. Already, pizza is being connected to some of his favorite nights, and that’s a good thing.
Many of my childhood memories of food are negative, due to my parents’ unrelenting insistence on making me eat vegetables I despised. But there are a few positive associations, and many of them involve pizza. I mean, how can you have a bad time when pizza is involved?
Please, allow me to feed your #pizzastalgia with this heartwarming story from my youth…
20
May
The Parenting Shrug
I once wrote a post entitled “The Secret to Happy Parenting“, in which I suggested that you’ll be happier if you stopped caring what other people think of your parenting. (From that post: “I’m not suggesting you stop caring about your kid. I’m saying you need to stop caring about everyone else but your kid.”)
It sounds good. Being able to inoculate yourself against all the haters is definitely a great way to improve your peace of mind. The problem is your kids are still around! And as annoying and stressful as judgmental people can be, no one is as annoying and stressful as your kids themselves.
I was wrong. The secret to happy parenting isn’t to stop caring about everyone and everything else but your kids, the secret is to stop caring about your kids at all.
The secret to happy parenting is “The Parenting Shrug.”
18
May
Inspirational Movies
My son is in is second year playing little league.
If you’ve ever seen five-year-olds on a baseball field, then you know that I use the word “playing” very loosely. There’s less crying this year, but there’s also less paying attention. Most of Detective Munch’s time in the field is spent sitting on the grass or playing with sticks and dirt.
Despite the fact that he enjoys being up to bat, he’s already expressed his reluctance to attend some of his games. So over the weekend, in an effort to get him motivated to play, I decided to pull out some inspirational movies.
05
May
I Hate Date Night
I like spending time with my wife, without the kids.
Going out for a romantic dinner or even a boozy lunch, enjoying each other’s company and pretending life is as it was before you became parents, or became roommates, or became contractually obligated to run out the string, is a critical part of a healthy relationship.
But I hate date night.