“You’re taking my arms?” This question confronted me at a recent yard sale as I walked toward the puzzled seller holding his creepy mannequin arms in my normal human ones. My answer raised his eyebrows further. “Yes," I said, "they’re for my daughter.” Then I explained that my 14-year-old daughter, Lindsay, is a filmmaker who specializes in short horror films with a touch of humor. She loves creating these films, and I’ve learned that I love to find scary props to support her vision. Filmmaking has become an unlikely source of father-daughter bonding for us. As the stay-at-home dad … [Read more...]
Mom Caught in the Moment By Dad
Dear Wife, I caught you doing something basically every night. It’s nothing bad, but actually very sweet. After a looooong day at work, after coming home only to be bombarded by the need to breastfeed our daughter Avery, as I am asking you several questions before you have time to think, after you spend the little time left before bedtime playing with Avery, after you nurse her to sleep (or try your damnedest since she’s a crazy), after you finally lay down to relax, you do something that warms my heart. You look up pictures and videos of Avery, as if just to make sure she’s really … [Read more...]
How Does a Dad Raise a Girl?
Any day now, I will be the father of a baby girl and I’ll be honest, I’m terrified. As a stay-at-home dad, it has become soberingly clear that the responsibility of raising this little girl is resting on my overweight shoulders. I’m a boy. I have a boy. I’ve been raising my boy to be like a boy. But a girl is not a boy! Raising a boy is easy. My boy thinks that atomic elbow drops are hysterical. When either of us makes a fart noise, we’re the funniest two boys on the planet. Is this all going to change when a little girl comes into our daily routine? Can I give a girl an atomic elbow … [Read more...]