Nostalgia

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Dear Jack: Webisodes 3, 4, 5 of Jack-Man: “One Bitten, Twice Nice”; “Backyard Brawl”; “Farmers’ Market”

4 years, 6 months.

Dear Jack: Webisodes 3, 4, 5 of Jack-Man: “One Bitten, Twice Nice”; “Backyard Brawl”; “Farmers’ Market”

Dear Jack,

Friday morning you woke up at 5:30 and wanted to watch something on the Kindle. I explained that it was still time to be asleep, but if you didn’t want to lay in bed for another 30 minutes until it was time to get up; that you and I could make another Jack-Man episode instead.

It seemed like the better option to you, so Webisode 3 was born…

So from 5:30 to 6:30 AM Friday morning, the two of us were filming while Mommy got ready for work. Then you and I had to hurry to get ready for school and work ourselves.

While I do plan to record most webisodes outside, we made this one mainly inside; as Green Meanie sends Monster Man into Jack-Man’s closet to scare him.

I wanted this episode to be a bit more on the thrilling side. I wanted to see Jack-Man confronted with one of the most familiar (imagined) fears of young children: discovering there is a monster in the closet.

Hopefully, this story line is unique in that there actually is a threatening monster in the closet. But of course, Jack uses his quick thinking to utilize a way to quench the enemy.

Obviously every superhero series has an edge of darkness to it. In this webisode, I wanted to introduce a more intense combat scene with the scariest villain yet.

The audience is seeing that while Green Meanie isn’t one to physically attack Jack-Man himself, he prefers to send members of his infinite henchmen army to attempt to defeat Jack-Man.

Green Meanie is more evil and greedy that he appears. After all, he has access to a Monster Man!

Dear Jack: Webisodes 3, 4, 5 of Jack-Man: “One Bitten, Twice Nice”; “Backyard Brawl”; “Farmers’ Market”

It is becoming evident that Jack-Man isn’t in this alone. That is why in Webisode 4, “Backyard Brawl”, we meet Jack-Man’s cousin and fellow superhero, Super Calla; which is short for Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious. However, Green Meanie also brings his family along, which leads to an epic fight in Jack-Man’s backyard.

We were able to do this webisode thanks to my family being in town for Memorial Day weekend.

Dear Jack: Webisodes 3, 4, 5 of Jack-Man: “One Bitten, Twice Nice”; “Backyard Brawl”; “Farmers’ Market”

And actually, last Saturday morning while they still were driving in, you and I shot Webisode 5, “Farmer’s Market”, at the Franklin Factory. It was the first time we did a webisode in front of the unassuming public.

I think my favorite one so far is Webisode 4, “Backyard Brawl.” It was a lot of fun for our family!

Love,

Daddy

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Dear Jack: To Hide Away From The World

4 years, 5 months.

Dear Jack: To Hide Away From The World

Dear Jack,

I saw it coming; that once we had finally settled into our new house, that the rest of the world would seem to begin to fade away. Or maybe instead, that the I would feel myself unplugging from the rest of the world- which I am, at least compared to recent years in the world of social media.

And I don’t see that as a bad thing.

That’s exactly where I feel I’m at right now; in that place. Gone are the days when I was required to share my soul 6 times a week during those 3 years I was writing for Parents.com; where I would I felt that pressure to check my Facebook home page throughout the day.

After all, I haven’t checked my Facebook page even once since we moved in this house nearly 3 months ago. I assume I must be out of the loop with what’s going on in the world.

But I’m fine. I’m happy. I appreciate our life as a family like it is right now.

The result from me sort of laying low is that I have more time to spend and just hang out, without as many distractions, with you and Mommy.

Life is supposed to be this simple. Well, actually it’s supposed to be much more simple than this, I believe.

I would love to be able to just work from home and live a slower paced life. I’m working on making that happen; as this week I’ve invested a portion of my birthday money into teaching myself to edit videos for my YouTube channel.

It just seems there’s this cliche that you watch your kids grow up way too fast; then you regret that you were too busy worrying about temporary things in the process.

I don’t want to feel that way in 10 or 20 years.

This is me taking time to truly appreciate you drawing funny pictures of monsters that look like snowmen. And letting you squeeze glue into cups of water, just to see what will happen.

These are the quiet and grateful days in the lives of our family; just appreciating what we have.

At least until our upcoming road trip to Pensacola when we go digging for dinosaur bones and treasure chests in the sand.

Let’s just say I’ve got something up my sleeve to make that happen…

Love,

Daddy

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Dear Jack: Your Easter Ride In A White 1980 MG MGB Convertible

4 years, 4 months.

White 1980 MG MGB Convertible

Dear Jack,

Obviously, a lot of what I do on this blog is review cars from a family friendly perspective. All you have to do is click on the Family Friendly Car Reviews page on the upper left side of this page to be able to see the dozens of different vehicles our family has now reviewed.

What happened over Easter weekend was a little bit different though…

You and Papa got to test drive his the 1980 MG MGB convertible he is fixing up for his Daddy!

White 1980 MG MGB Convertible

He installed your car seat in the only passenger seat the 1980 MG MGB convertible has and you guys drove down to the end of the road and back. This marks your first time in a convertible and your first time in the front seat of a car.

Granted, I doubt you two even reached 30 miles per hour, and it was basically on a closed course, but still… that’s a big deal for you!

This weekend was basically Papa’s official debut of his 1980 MG MGB convertible. He’s been spending a lot of time working on it; getting it into drivable condition.

White 1980 MG MGB Convertible

You took your “new” stuffed animal who you named “Killer Whaley” with you. I got him back in 1987 when our family visited MarineLand on the Canadian side of Niagara Falls during my only visit to see where Nonna grew up; in Buffalo, New York.

After Papa gave you, then your cousin Calla, a ride in the 1980 MG MGB convertible, we had planned to follow everyone else in the Toyota Highlander down to the park. However, right as we were all about to leave, Papa realized one of the tires had lost a lot of air.

So it look like you were pretty lucky to get to cruise in it… I didn’t even get to myself!

Maybe next time…

Love,

Daddy

White 1980 MG MGB Convertible

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Dear Jack: Do You Know The Mushroom Man? (Mel O. Mushroom)

4 years, 4 months.

Dear Jack: Do You Know The Mushroom Man?

Dear Jack,

Last Saturday we met up with some of your friends from your old preschool, at our favorite place to dine out: Mellow Mushroom.

Other than Whole Foods, it’s one of the few places near where we live that openly accommodates to my vegan lifestyle as well as you and Mommy being vegetarians. Not to mention, we’re Dave Ramsey followers so it’s hard to justify eating out every week when we’ve got a mortgage to pay off early

We rarely eat out, so when we do, it’s always a special event; like when we moved into our new house… and for Valentine’s Day.

It was a great place to catch up with your friends’ parents; meanwhile, you and your friends enjoyed hanging out underneath the table.

Right after I had just paid the bill at the end of the meal, your friend Madison’s dad mentioned to me there was something going on behind me, near the front door.

I looked over, then shouted to you:

“Jack! There’s a mushroom man! Come with me right now!”

We scurried over to the scene. There was a staff worker dressed in the restaurant’s mascot costume; as Mel O. Mushroom.

It was quite an intriguing spectacle… even for me to witness.

You were obviously fascinated. I was somewhat surprised you showed no hint of fear whatsoever.

The Mushroom Man gave you high fives; you gladly participated. You stood there in awe of his shroomy splendor.

It’s not every day you happen upon a 6 foot tall mutant mushroom in the middle of downtown Franklin, Tennessee.  I suppose he was there to participate in the St. Patrick’s Day Festival.

You tried to look up his… mushroom skirt, for lack of a better term; to try to figure out whether it was a real person- or an actual, genuine mutant mushroom person.

As we left Mellow Mushroom, you had to ask, “Daddy, was that a real man?”

I explained that it was a person in a costume, which was what you thought; but I can still see you were having a little bit of trouble digesting that truth. After all, I too would want to believe the Mushroom Man was real.

Love,

Daddy

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Dear Jack: Why We Decided Against A Pool Table/The Great Outdoors

4 years, 4 months.

Dear Jack,

Dear Jack: Why We Decided Against A Pool Table/The Great Outdoors

There for a couple of months, our family was seriously planning on getting a pool table for our living room, for the same price as putting in furniture.

Ultimately, I told Mommy I changed my mind. Instead, I wanted to make sure we created an easily accessible space in our home where we could sit on comfortable furniture and have real conversations, without any threat of media interference.

Dear Jack: Why We Decided Against A Pool Table/The Great Outdoors

So we ended up doing that in our living room by getting a couch and chair on sale at American Signature. And I am so happy we did.

Dear Jack: Why We Decided Against A Pool Table/The Great Outdoors

Meanwhile, you and I have really started taking advantage of the great outdoors, in our neighborhood. Though it doesn’t have a playground, you and I have decided what matters more to us as a father and son duo is being able to go explore in the woods around our house.

Dear Jack: Why We Decided Against A Pool Table/The Great Outdoors

In essence, our cul-de-sac serves as the entrance to a walking trail that is intertwined with a creek and two small ponds.

For me as a boy growing up in Alabama, being in close proximity to something like that was one of the best things I could hope for.

Dear Jack: Why We Decided Against A Pool Table/The Great Outdoors

And now, you and I get to have that.

This past weekend you decided to release your crystals from your magic set into the water; since they would clog up the plumbing in our house if we flushed them or dumped them into the garbage disposal. You enjoyed watching them swell up in the water.

Dear Jack: Why We Decided Against A Pool Table/The Great Outdoors

Earlier this week you got to use your sidewalk chalk on our driveway for the first time. You were in your artist mindset.

Dear Jack: Why We Decided Against A Pool Table/The Great Outdoors

Seriously, the great outdoors! It’s a different lifestyle for us being able to enjoy it anytime the weather is decent.

I never realized how much our quality of life was truly going to improve by moving out of our townhouse community and into the suburbs into a “real house.”

Dear Jack: Why We Decided Against A Pool Table/The Great Outdoors

Of all the things I love about our new home, the outdoor walking path is definitely one of my favorites. And I know you feel the same way.

The great outdoors are crucial to boyhood.

Love,

Daddy

Dear Jack: Why We Decided Against A Pool Table/The Great Outdoors