How Youth Sports Helped Me See the World From My Children's Perspective
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It's just sports, right?
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I started writing down my life goals and it turned out to be a list of places where I want to nap, but haven’t yet
— Andrew Knott (@aknott21) February 12, 2018
Writing about parenting, fatherhood, life, and all things ambiguous
They Say You Should Meet Your Children Where They Are, I Think
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They say to meet your children where they are. Anyway, I think that’s what they say.
While I was playing with my kids recently, silently bemoaning my fate as I often do when they rope me into some confounding activity that I barely understand, this mantra popped into my head.
Read MoreThe Upside of Sick Days
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Last week was quite the week around these parts. It started Wednesday when my first grader started running a fever and had to stay home from school. Even though my youngest child is still at home all the time, adding another child to the daytime mix is an adjustment.
Read MoreOur Family Flies Kites, Kind Of
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We have many passions around here and kite flying is now definitely one of them.
Read MoreThe Hardware Store and a Butterfly Experience: The Ultimate Suburban Florida Weekend
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I’m not saying I’m getting desperate, but I decided it would be fun for us to take a family outing to Lowe’s over the weekend. This may sound crazy, but I can explain. We need some new carpet, and anything beats sitting around and watching YouTube. Or so I thought.
Read MoreSoccer. It’s in Our Blood.
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I didn’t play youth soccer for long, but I made a huge impact. I played just one season when I was five or six, but my unique style and flair is still widely talked about. By my mom, mostly, but still, talked about.
Read MoreLet’s Keep Raising the Bar for Dads
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In my more than seven years as a stay-at-home father, I’ve experienced many unusual moments. I’ve pretended to pour milk back in the jug to remedy an egregious error in milk-pouring protocol more times than I can count. I’ve lied about McDonald’s being out of French fries and I may have given my children the impression that Dunkin Donuts does not make donuts on the weekend. However, perhaps my most head scratching parenting moment was the time I was walking down my short driveway to check the mail, with one of my young children in my arms, and a woman walking by said, “Look at Super Dad!”
Read MoreCan’t Miss Sights and Activities in London or Random Things We Did with Our Kids?
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There is no shortage of lists of must-see sights in London on the internet. Different sources have different opinions on what you have to see, but I’m pretty certain all the lists have at least one item in common: The McDonald’s Across from King’s Cross and St. Pancras Train Stations. For that and more must-see destinations or random things we did with our kids in London, read on!
Read MoreAnd Still, We Rock On
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Even now, he stills chooses the rocking chair some nights. I try not to take it for granted. He’s almost five and he seems to get a little bigger every day. He’ll be heading to kindergarten soon. When we lie in bed together, it’s not immediately quiet anymore. He tells me seemingly random facts that I finally realized he had learned at school that day.
Read MoreQ and A with Gary M. Almeter, Author of The Emperor of Ice Cream
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I love reading people’s stories and I was enamored by Almeter’s personal and deeply honest tale. I was also fortunate enough to interview the author via email about EOIC, farm life, fatherhood, ice cream, and his writing process. As you might expect, when you get two humorists together, things kind of went off the rails.
Read MoreStepping Back in Time and Reflecting on Life’s Different Chapters
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I’ve been a parent for more than seven years and it has really messed with my sense of time and age. On one hand, my children change so rapidly from week to week and year to year that it’s impossible to go long without thinking about the passage of time. On the other hand, I feel almost ageless. Certainly not in a narcissistic or boastful way. Quite the opposite really. My body feels the years, but my sense of self sometimes feels stuck in the past.
Read MoreAn England Adventure - Part I: Knott in a Rush
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The line snaked around in front of us, chasing its tail slowly. It was like the queue for Disney ride but the reward for making it through was confusion about where to go next. We assured the kids it would move quickly but we were lying. It was slow. Slower than slow.
Read MoreMy Daughter Threw Up in Walgreens and Now I’m a Drug Store Nomad
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I had just picked out my purchases when my daughter coughed once, hesitated for a moment, and emptied the contents of her stomach onto her tulle (maybe?) skirt and the linoleum floor
Read MoreHow Writing Makes Me a Better Parent
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Parenting is hard. It’s physically and emotionally draining. The days can feel endless, and perhaps even worse, the nights can feel even longer. Is there something longer than endless? Yes. Webster’s defines “longer than endless” as nights spent with children who don’t sleep and also the amount of time it takes for children under age seven to get dressed in the morning.
Read MoreTwo Days and Nights in San Antonio
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I was walking towards the Alamo on a warm February night in San Antonio thinking about horses that pull carriages, as one does.
Read MoreMaybe Dirt Isn’t My Parenting Kryptonite Anymore
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Change is an inevitable part of life. Time makes you bolder. Children get older. The soreness you experience after playing a tennis tournament lingers for several extra days. On the other hand, things that used to bother you, suddenly don't seem so important anymore. Like dirt. In particular, your children's fascination with it.
Read MoreThe Losing is Bad, but the Taunting is Worse
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Sure, she looks cute and innocent, but when it comes to competition, she’s cold-blooded.
Read MoreThis is Two
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This is Two
Two is sticky. Sticky hands. Sticky faces. Sticky hair. Sticky tables. Sticky everything.
Read MoreDo I Have Time for This?
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This year I've taken a new tact when my kids are arguing with each other or whining to me. I say to them in my most serious voice, "That's enough. It's 2019. No one has time for this!"
Read MoreExorcising Chuck E. Cheese Demons
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You might find this hard to believe, but I wasn’t a big fan of Chuck E. Cheese even when I was a kid. There was just something about it. I’m not sure what. Perhaps the fact that it’s a life-sized petri dish filled with every strain of virus and bacteria known to man? Yes, that’s probably it. Fun fact: There are a couple of bacterial strains that exist only inside Chuck E. Cheese. The “E” stands for Escherichia.
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