“Is Father’s Day outdated?” That's what Mary Schmich, a columnist for the Chicago Tribune, asked in 2018. For me, the answer is a resounding “no.” As long as there are men, fathers will be relevant and worth celebrating. And, I don’t just mean “father” as though it were interchangeable with the word “parent.” A parent, in my view, can be of any gender or none at all. If you are willing and capable of taking on the responsibility of parenthood, you can be a parent. A parent’s responsibility is to educate, entertain, guide, protect, provide for and love their child. My success as a parent … [Read more...]
Add Life to Your Work-Life Balance with These Tips
The stress and commotion of the workplace can attach to you like a leech. By the time you get home from another long work day, any desire you had to do anything with your family can suddenly become the lowest of priorities. You kick your feet up and reach for the remote, but ... You know dang well that your kid and family need you. They want you to play, help with things around the house, and plan for the future. But you are just so exhausted. So how does one find the "life" in work-life balance? I've been on a constant search for that during the past few years. I look to determine … [Read more...]
‘Could I Be Doing More?’ Question Vexes Busy Modern Parents
Sometimes, as parents, we look at our day-to-day activities and wonder: Could I be doing more? The simple answer is "Yes!" We can always do more. But the real question to ask is this: SHOULD I be doing more? I have been a stay-at-home parent to twins for almost four years -- saving us money that would be going toward a nanny or daycare, maybe a cleaning service or takeout food not to mention gas and tolls for commuting to work. But those kinds of doubts about the need to do more come easily to me because I don’t have a "paying job.” This is even after many mornings of doing multiple … [Read more...]
Wall Reflects Sacrifice Made By Some for All During Vietnam War
She walked slowly, which wasn’t necessarily out of the ordinary. Her legs were strong, despite their size; I was often surprised by just how much energy she was able to channel through them as she ran, jumped and danced her way through her days. But that morning, she didn’t have the same sense of urgency that she often did. To be clear, my daughter was not taking each step deliberately as a form of protest or expression of independence. She did not appear to have any specific purpose in her gait; there did not seem to be any hidden message that could be interpreted from her soft … [Read more...]
Dad Bod: What It Means to Me at Mid-Life
“Let it go,” my wife instructs whenever she catches me in front of the mirror of our bathroom vanity, pinching my jiggly love handles. I’m staring at the reflection of a body in transition. I’d heard about the softer side of fatherhood – the research that links declines in testosterone and muscle mass to becoming a father – but I never thought adding one word to my identity (dad) would introduce a two-word certainty: dad bod. You may recall the term’s explosion into pop culture in 2015. Clemson University sophomore Mackenzie Pearson published an article that went viral, titled “Why Girls … [Read more...]
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