Author: Family Friendly Daddy Blog

Leave a comment Posted on Nostalgia, parenting

My Age, Now That I’m A Parent, Seems Less Relevant

October 6, 2013 at 9:30 pm , by 

2 years, 10 months.

Dear Jack,

I keep having to remind myself of my age. It’s not something I really think about, but when I am about to say my age out loud, I naturally want to say that I am 28 or 29.

And it’s not because of the cliche where I miss being in my 20s and therefore jokingly pretend I’m still 29.

What it probably comes down to for me is that I was 28 when I found out Mommy and I were going to become parents and 29 when you were actually born.

So I guess somehow, psychologically, my age as an individual stopped mattering to me on November 16, 2010.

For all practical purproses, my age became irrelevant that day.

Instead, what I identify with more, is that I am the parent of a young child.

That, is my age. Or at least that’s what I place in that category instead.

This is something I found out officially just a few weeks ago. Mommy and I had been looking for a Sunday School class to join at our church.

We hadn’t been in a steady one since before you were born.

It was either too much trouble or too much of a sacrifice not to be near you for that extra hour or so of the week.

But now that you’re nearly 3, you make it clear that you like to go to church. You ask us to go to church. When we can’t go for whatever reason sometimes, you are disappointed.

It may just be because you get to eat snacks and play with their trucks in the playroom. Oh, and getting to ride on the giant buggy that seats like 8 kids…

The third try was a charm for us, in regards to finding the “right” class. What we realized was that the people in the class are mostly were parents of young children like us.

Mommy and I are both 32 years old. Other parents in the class were 5 years younger or 5 years older, but that didn’t mean anything.

What we didn’t realize is that we were looking for was a group of friends we could relate to in the facets of life that are most important to us- being parents of small children was was of those main things.

Having a young child defines me, not my age.

I already forgot how old I am just now; that’s how much it doesn’t matter to me anymore.

 

Love,

Daddy

Leave a comment Posted on Nostalgia, parenting

Hey! Scout, Want To Come To My House Today and Play?

October 6, 2013 at 4:17 pm , by 

2 years, 10 months.

Dear Jack,

On the drive to school Friday morning, I heard you turn on your LeapFrog cell phone and start talking to My Pal Scout:

“Hey! Scout, want to come to my house today and play?”

After the call ended, you explained to me, “Daddy, Scout’s coming over for dinner and he’s sleeping in my bed tonight!”

I wanted to make sure it actually happened, even if you forgot about it later on in the day.

As soon as we got home, I reminded you about Scout coming over.

You can see here in this picture, you gave Scout a reminder call about the plans for the evening.

Minutes later, the doorbell rang.

“Jack! Come answer the door! It’s for you!” I yelled out from the other room.

You screamed with amazement.

There he was… Scout was waiting for you near the doorstep!

(And he happened to be sitting on a paper towel, for some reason.)

As I opened the door for you and Scout, I could see how surprised you were that Scout actually showed up after you called him on the phone!

By the time you made your way to the living room to play with him, though, you asked me with a confused look on your face, “I have two Scouts? Daddy, will you go get my other Scout upstairs?”

Oops. Busted.

So I did my best to explain that was the same Scout.

For me, the whole thing was an experiment to see how much of the story you’d go along with.

I wanted to know if you knew the whole thing was pretend, tracing all the way back to when you called Scout that morning.

Even now, I’m not totally sure. I mean, I’m pretty sure you know that I was just perpetuating your story line.

Either way, I was committed to make your make-believe story come true.

You said Scout was eating dinner with us and sleeping in the bed with you. So I had to make sure Scout “followed” you around, from playtime…

…to dinner…

…to bedtime.

You and Scout had a fun sleepover Friday night and it’s all because you called him and invited him over!

Plus, I might have had a thing or two to do with it.

 

Love,

Daddy

 

 

Leave a comment Posted on parenting, Storytelling

And 7 Years Later We Have A Nearly 3 Year-Old…

October 5, 2013 at 10:04 pm , by 

2 years, 10 months.

Dear Jack,

Our family time today at the park was probably one of the hottest and most humid October days in Tennessee I can ever remember.

It’s easy to forget that this is October right now, but exactly 7 years ago to this day, on October 5, 2006, I remember it feeling more like  a normal October day.

In other words, ther air was slightly chilly and the thought of a Pumpkin Spice Frappucino seemed much more appealing…

I’ll never forget that Thursday night.

As I sat at my laptop  after dinner, I saw an email invitation to be part of the audience for a taping of the the CMT show, Crossroads.

Though I wouldn’t really know anyone there, the episode of The Office was a rerun that night.

Plus, I was a single, 25 year-old guy. Who knew? Maybe I’d meet the girl I was supposed to marry…

Needless to say, that’s exactly what happened.

The end.

Oh, you want to know more? Okay…

The memory of the first time I saw Mommy is so clear to me.

I walked into The Factory, a mall that used to be an actual factory, where the taping for the episode was taking place, realizing I was part of an ocean of people; so many, that my participation in the episode might not even be needed.

As I looked for the end of the line to get in the door, I saw my friend John sitting on a bench outside of a restaurant.

Next to him was a very beautiful girl he appeared to be friends with. Perhaps on a normal night, there was a chance I would be too intimidated to strike up a conversation with a girl like that.

But this was no ordinary night. Not to mention, I knew it would help that apparently she and I had a mutual friend, who could serve as the perfect conversation starter.

I can’t remember many details of our first conversation, but I do remember this: We talked for nearly 3 hours as we waited in line and during the taping of the episode. (The music from the concert was so loud it’s not like we were disturbing anything.)

Oh, actually, we talked about Pumpkin Spice Frappucinos… that’s one detail I do remember.

Exactly 4 months after the night we first met, we had our first date at a John Mayer concert. Exactly a week later was Valentine’s Day, which made it easy for me to ask for a 2nd date.

We fell in love. The rest is history.

Actually, the rest is the future– and you’re part of that future of ours.

Mommy and I met exactly 7 years ago tonight… and 7 years later we have a nearly 3 year-old.

That’s you!

Great story, huh, kid?

 

Love,

Daddy

Leave a comment Posted on parenting, Storytelling

Counting Random Cell Phone Keyboards, Like A Boss

October 3, 2013 at 8:49 pm , by 

2 years, 10 months.

Dear Jack,

Some things in life just can’t be explained. For example, why are there over a dozen cell phone keyboards in the parking lot of your school?

Since a couple of weeks ago when we started parking next to your teachers’ Mustangs, we discovered a strange array of cell phone keyboards as we got out of my car.

It’s so strange…

There are no other cell phone parts anywhere else around. Just the keyboards.

Are cell phone keyboards hot on the black market right now?

Did a cell phone keyboard bandit run across your school’s parking lot, carrying hundreds of them over his shoulder in a giant sack, that happened to have a slit in it, causing many of them to fall onto the ground?

That’s the best explanation I can come up with.

Needless to say, you’re pretty fascinated by the mystery (and possible government conspiracy?) of these cell phone keyboards.

Our new daily tradition is that every time we now get out of or into our car in the school parking lot, you like to get down and count them.

Today when I picked you up from school, your teacher Ms. Lauren updated me on the funny thing you said to her this time:

“Ms. Lauren, there’s cell phones in the parking lot. I counted them. There’s 10 of them!”

You’re right. You indeed count 10 of them each time.

It is because of the cell phone keyboards that I now officially know you can count to 10. Because you do it at least once a day now.

Even without meaning to, you found a way to test out what you learn at school.

I think it’s safe to say that cell phone keyboards may be the most peculiar thing you will ever use in the process of learning to count.

As for the mystery of how they got there, I guess we’ll just have to ask God when we get to Heaven one day.

 

Love,

Daddy

Leave a comment Posted on parenting, Storytelling

Is It Okay To Take Our Jogging Stroller To The Mall?

October 2, 2013 at 10:19 pm , by