I’ve heard parenting described as a vocation where the goal is to work yourself out of a job. Seems pretty accurate to me. As a longtime stay-at-home parent, I see myself doing it all the time. In fact, as I write, the washing machine is spinning noisily and the dryer is droning away, and I didn’t start either of them. My 14-year-old twin sons are doing their laundry today, a job I did for them for years. I showed them the ropes a few months ago and now, begrudgingly and with a bit of prompting from me, they’ve been doing it on their own. Late last week, I found one of them riding the … [Read more...]
First Job for Teens Brings Many Benefits Beyond Paycheck
onr “I feel important.” That was my younger daughter’s surprising answer to a mundane question. I had been wondering why she liked her job as a hostess at a busy restaurant so much, especially since it was her first “real” job as a teenager beyond watching kids or walking dogs. Frankly, I had expected the job would not appeal to her. I was wrong. But shortly after she announced this surge of self-esteem, I remembered my own first real job as a teenager beyond mowing lawns or shoveling snow. My employment history began one summer at a grocery store in my hometown where I bagged … [Read more...]
Fun Times Slip Like Sand Through the Parenting Hourglass
I used to be a lot more fun. There was a time, it feels like years ago, when every free moment was seemingly spent amusing my kids (and myself in the process). But lately, that isn’t the case. Granted, these days there is far less free time to speak of; plus, the boys no longer consider me their primary source of entertainment. Both factors render my services more or less unnecessary, which is a justifiable excuse for the dulling of my comedic timing, but it’s more than that. I often feel like I’m actively avoiding fun. To be fair, some of the blame can be placed upon our family’s … [Read more...]
Son Takes Big, Meaty Slice of Pizza; Becomes a Man
“What exactly do you think you’re doing?” I ask my son at the dinner table. Normally, when such a powerful fatherhood statement like that comes out of my mouth, he’ll freeze. But not today. Today, my boy has decided that it’s time to become a man. He grips the slice of pizza tighter. “Mine,” he says. Such a simple statement but it is as loaded as that slice. He knows this. That’s not something you say to your father and expect to NOT to mow the yard. He doesn’t hand over the beautiful hunk of meat lovers pizza. Instead, he puts it on his plate. It lands with a challenge. “You want to … [Read more...]
Museum Showcases Happy Memories of Raising Little Children
I was alone at my museum. Not exactly alone, but my family wasn’t physically with me at the moment. In fact, the Children’s Museum of Indianapolis was packed, as it should be, because it is an amazing place to take kids. I had an opportunity to go see the dinosaurs by myself if I wanted. Or the Star Trek exhibit. Or whatever I wanted to do. Instead, I found myself wandering. I stumbled into the Pop Culture exhibit and got lost in the comic books. That’s when I heard it. “Daddy!” I turned my head. It wasn’t my kid, but a flood of memories swept before my eyes. I decided to … [Read more...]
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