Link-apalooza #3
/Welcome back, folks!
We are on time this week and chock full of great links. But first, a couple exciting updates on goings on in and around Explorations.
Read MoreWriting about parenting, fatherhood, life, and all things ambiguous
Parenting Lessons From My All-Star Mom
/My favorite part about Mother’s Day in the social media era is learning that everyone’s mom is “The Best Mom in the World!” That moniker has become the equivalent of the ubiquitous participation award in youth sports. Everyone gets a trophy, hooray!
Sorry folks, I’m here to deliver a little slice of harsh reality this Mother’s Day: All your moms are scrambling for the runner-up trophy, because my mom has a strangle hold on the top prize.
Read MoreLink-apalooza #1
/Exciting times here at Explorations! We just launched a Facebook page; please feel free to like it for updates on new posts and random musings. And today we are rolling out a new feature: Link-apalooza!
Read MoreAnd We'll Never Be Royals...Or Will We?
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First off, congratulations to Will and Kate on the birth of their second child: a girl with a yet to be revealed name (I’m rooting for Katniss or Pixie).
Read MoreMoney Store Man
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Sometimes it seems like yesterday that I was a young(ish) lad, energized by idealism, prowling the cobble-stoned streets of Cambridge in my vegan loafers. Of course, it wasn’t yesterday; it was almost four years ago. And to be totally honest, most of the time it feels like if it was 100 years ago or that perhaps it never even happened at all.
Read MoreUpdate and A Few Links
/Hello everyone, it's been awhile. I haven't posted much lately, and frankly, I don't really have much in the pipeline right now. I've been busy writing and submitting some pieces to outside outlets, so, fingers crossed I'll have some news to share soon. Worst-case scenario, I'll have a couple new pieces to post here that no one else wants. Try to contain your excitement.
Hopeless Wanderers
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But hold me fast, Hold me fast,
'Cause I'm a hopeless wanderer
The last several weekends, usually early on Sunday mornings after another harrowing night starring a restless just-turned-1-year-old, I roll out of bed, load the big guy into his car seat, and set out for a driving tour of central Florida to give Mommy an hour or two of rest. I once looked upon this as a bit of a chore, preferable to trying to keep the baby quiet in the house, but still nothing to look forward to. This past Sunday though, it felt different.
Read More#BigBen Strikes One
/Few things in life are quite as ridiculous as birthday parties for 1-year-olds. Think about it. Besides weddings, where else is a central protagonist of a celebratory event more irrelevant or overlooked? Nowhere. Grooms and 1-year-olds, that’s the list.
Read MoreFor Any Podcast Fans Out There...
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Podcasts are kind of my new thing. Actually, my not so new thing. My passion for them is starting to recede already (after discovering them maybe 6 months ago). Anyway, maybe I'll talk about that more later, but wanted to share one I listened to today in case anyone is interested. It's the most recent episode from The Longest Shortest Time by WNYC. The topic, of course, is gender roles, parenting, and traditional role reversals: My all-time favorite topic. Check it out; it is very well done and thoughtful.
Hitting the Snooze Button on #BigBen
/In honor of B’s birthday week, welcome to another installment of our new favorite series: Things B Does That Annoy Us. Just kidding! It’s definitely nothing personal; any parents out there who have had a difficult sleeper will understand the struggle. For those of you who don’t have or have never had a B, go back to watching The Bachelor on TV while eating bon-bons or whatever it is you do at night.
Read MoreMarch Madness
/Some days this whole parenting thing really sneaks up on you. It’s like routine, routine, routine, then suddenly, boom: Butterfly visit!
Read More#BigBenRising
/With our little guy’s first birthday fast approaching, I figured it was about time to shout him out on the old blog. Being the younger sibling can be hard; it’s definitely difficult to claim your fair share of the spotlight when yourolder brother often writes, directs, and stars in the screenplay that is our life.
Read MoreIt's Comedy and Tragedy
/Every good story is built around a perfect mix of comedy and tragedy. Similarly, every day of parenting has an often not so perfect mix of the same two ingredients. The days the scale tips in favor of comedy are the great ones. And when it goes the other way, well, let’s just say that’s when you’ll find me pounding the pavement at 10 p.m.
Or pounding something at least.
Read More6 Pointless Things I Say to My 3-Year-Old
/Trying to reason with a 3-year-old is roughly the equivalent of simultaneously having a root canal while repeatedly banging one’s head against the wall.
Read MoreDispelling the Mystery: A Running Diary
/Because there seems to be a fair amount of confusion about what two small children and a father could possibly do all day without a mother around, I wanted to take this opportunity to offer a peak behind the curtain at our typical day. Full disclosure: In true reality TV fashion, some of the events portrayed here may have been compiled from several days to produce a smoother and more enthralling narrative, a very small portion may have been exaggerated, and an even smaller portion may have been totally made up. But, I promise, at least 87% of what follows is true and accurate.
Read MoreA Tribute to a Person I Didn't Know
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This is a very sad piece of news I came across yesterday. A very well-known (in parent blogging circles) and trailblazing Dad blogger, Oren Miller, recently passed away at a very young age. You can read about his life and accomplishments here. I was not familiar with his writing before I read of his passing, but as I've written before, I'm woefully ignorant about many things in the wider parenting world. His writing is really excellent though and I encourage you all to take a look at his blog linked in the article above. Life can be, just, well, plain absurd sometimes.....
Exploring Ambiguity on the Airwaves
/This humble blogger made his radio debut today, discussing my recent post about 'letting go' and other parenting matters, on The Matt Townsend Show on the BYU radio network. Here is the link to the show archive and the podcast version can also be found on iTunes. I haven't listened to it myself, but I've been told it wasn't a complete train wreck. So, we'll call that a win.
Shock and Awww!
/ORLANDO – More often than not, real life stories don’t come neatly packaged with storybook endings. A moment’s hesitation can undo hours of preparation. In the blink of an eye, all can be lost. This afternoon at CFE Arena on the campus of the University of Central Florida, #BigBen went toe-to-toe with reality, and reality won out, in stunning fashion.
Read MoreParenting 101: Learning to Let Go
/I made a monumental rookie mistake the other night. I attempted to fold laundry with the kids around. More than three years into the parenting game, I should have known better. That’s pretty much the equivalent of Russell Wilson throwing an interception on the goal line in the waning seconds of the Super Bowl. You just can’t have mental lapses like that.
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