25 Sep

Dad and Buried Posted in Future One comment

Does It Get Better?

“Does it get better?”

That’s the question a follower asked me, in a lighthearted panic, after I posted a meme about unruly kids.

It’s just after my often-challenging eldest son’s 8th birthday, and this idea of things becoming easier is on my mind, so all (most) joking aside, I thought I’d try to answer. (But I hate being threatened by more experienced parents who warn me about the tween years or the teen years or the unemployed-and-living-in-my-basement years, so I’m going to try to answer without doing that.)

Mr. Invincible

I’m not saying I’m a hero (I do replace the toilet paper a fair amount), but I do have some heroic qualities. All parents do.

Parenting requires superpowers. The same way emergencies case adrenaline to kick in and unlock heretofore unknown abilities when one is in danger, parenting reveals unknown reserves of strength, stamina, and, as my 7-year-old points out, invincibility.

He didn’t actually say that – he didn’t say anything, really, he just yelled “You’re the worst, I wish you weren’t my father!” but I survived that, and just a few minutes later, we were snuggling on the couch, watching a movie together.

So yeah, I’m pretty sure I’m invincible.

Second Kid Slacking

Last week, The Hammer turned two!

The last two years have moved pretty quickly, but a lot of that is probably because I’ve spent most of that time sleepwalking half-awake through my life. The baby phase is over and the toddler phase is in full-swing, so if the terrible twos actually arrive on time (Detective Munch didn’t get terrible until he became a threenager), I’m about to be awoken very abruptly.

In order to save my sanity, I’ve started indulging in some second kid slacking.

Is Parenting Overrated?

I recently shared a tweet decrying the daily balance parents are forced to strike between their kids’ lives and their own.

My tweet was about the well-deserved oasis of adult time that falls between those few hours when my oldest son goes to sleep and when I go to sleep, and about how that gap is shrinking as he gets older and stays up later.

When I shared it on Twitter, a fellow parent responded succinctly: Parenting is overrated.

12 Jan

Dad and Buried Posted in SERIOUS! 2 comments

Top 10 Reasons Why I Love My Son (Part Two)

I don’t do sappy and sentimental. It’s just not me.

Instead, I mock, affectionately, and sarcastically, and honestly too. This can lead to communication breakdowns with all manner of people, from friends and family to coworkers, waitresses, even strangers. When you rely on sarcasm, it makes being sincere twice as difficult, both because you’re less comfortable with it and because no one believes you!

When it comes to my kids, and this blog, I occasionally take a break from myself and get all into my feelings. To make sure people buy it, I typically do it on their birthdays.

Today is The Hammer’s second birthday. Brace yourself.

Dad and Buried

Tag: terrible twos

Does It Get Better?

Like this:

Mr. Invincible

Like this:

Second Kid Slacking

Like this:

Is Parenting Overrated?

Like this:

Top 10 Reasons Why I Love My Son (Part Two)

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this: