My oldest son turns 15 this week, which has plenty of implications regarding his teen spirit, but also on my run as a father. I turned 47 a couple of months ago, which, if you carry the one, means I have been a dad for nearly a third of my life. It’s a funny thing, having built my writing career waxing melancholy on the always-closing, finger-smudged window of childhood, and the tenderness thereof, to now engage in conversations with a son nearly as tall as me, and a voice just as deep. His little brother isn’t far behind him. I admit that, in terms of monitoring milestones — the last … [Read more...]
About Whit Honea
‘Incredibles 2’ Features Super Shift of Family Dynamics: A Stay-at-Home Dad
Between the mid-century architecture and space-age technology of Pixar’s Incredibles 2, the long-awaited sequel to the 2004 blockbuster The Incredibles, we find the timeless tale of a family struggling in its quest to find work-life balance. Yes, when it comes to household budgets and raising babies, even superheroes get the blues. The tale is indeed timeless for several reasons, most notably, there is not a gap in the Incredibles/Parr family’s storyline as it picks up exactly where we left them in the previous film. Additionally, subtle shades of Stepford in Metroville, where conforming … [Read more...]
The Greater Outdoors are Greater with Clorox Clean Patio Furniture
DISCLOSURE: This post is sponsored by Clorox®. Summer gets a lot of press. It’s full of sunshine and backyard shenanigans, days at the beach and family vacations. There are more songs written about summer than all the other seasons combined (give or take). Summer is doing OK for itself, I'd say or -- better yet -- write. However, when you live in Southern California, which I do, summer is often times more of a lifestyle than a specific stretch of calendar. For example, according to the internet, people in some regions of the country actually store their patio furniture for the winter … [Read more...]
I am Groot: Teenagers, Trees, Parenting and Electronics
“I am Groot,” is what I should have said, but that’s his line. Instead I said it in my native tongue, and this time with feeling: “You’re being a jackass.” And he was. Still, calling my son names in a fit of anger hadn’t been on my Sunday morning itinerary. Rather, I had planned for it to open like every Sunday does, with Nina Simone playing over cups of coffee, me in an apron and something on the griddle dangerously close to burning. Plan B, apparently, was standing in the doorway of my sons’ shared bedroom, repeating myself in competition with electronics that they weren’t supposed … [Read more...]
Now are the Chores of Our Discontent
The chairs in the family room are in constant use, their seats warm against the press of pants and careless give of sun-dried towels. There are two of these chairs, set just so to encourage casual conversation while still open to the glow of the fireplace, a request to the piano or whatever is sent from the kitchen. It is a cozy corner, softly lit by stylish lamps and stars of varying distance. The dogs dine there twice daily, the bar against the wall is visited somewhat more so. These chairs grow heavy beneath the weight of our day, and heavier still the following and again after that. … [Read more...]
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