parenting

Leave a comment Posted on July 20, 2014 parenting, Storytelling

People Who Have More Kids Than You Are Just Plain Crazy

November 9, 2013 at 8:16 am , by Nick Shell

2 years, 11 months. (7 days from your 3rd birthday!)

Dear Jack,

Good Morning, Son. I’m actually writing you from Detroit today. That’s a bit unusual, huh?

I’ve been up here in Michigan for the past couple of days, as General Motors invited me to be part of their “Connected By OnStar” Immersion program.

Yesterday, while particating in a Twitter chat with other fellow parent bloggers, I learned two things:

1) We missed randomly meeting Jimmy Fallon by less than an hour, as proven by the “19h” and “20h” which explain how long ago the event took place:

jimmy fallon ‏@jimmyfallon19h

The Decision. (American or Lafayette Coney)#Detroit #BOTH http://instagram.com/p/gdocXVvZ72/

Meanwhile, this is the group Daddy was with:

Carissa Rogers ‏@CarissaRogers20h

If there was any doubt @Mochadad proves the American Coney Dog wins!!#puremichigan #tmom @ American… http://instagram.com/p/gdiU3MiTXC/

(For what it’s worth, I invited Jimmy Fallon to dinner with us (via Twitter) but I later learned he had already flown to Chicago shortly after lunch. Hey, I tried!)

2) As we were sort of going around the room, telling each other how many kids we all had, and by default, comparing, this nugget of wisdom was born:

“People who have less kids than you don’t know what they’re missing… people who havemore kids than you are just plain crazy.”

As I’ve shared that quote with my Facebook friends and Twitter followers, they seemed to easily agree.

Of course, I was one of the parents in that Twitter chat who only has one child, with no definite plans of having another. So for me to agree with that statement, which I do, is to say that parents with even just two kids are crazier than I am!

And by crazy, I actually might mean… more disciplined and patient, exponentially as compared to me.

Or, maybe they really are just crazy… who knows?

But as for me, I can’t imagine taking two of my own kids to the zoo. I look at these “photo op fails” from our last trip to The Louisville Zoo and think how that was big enough of a challenge for me.

I loved it, don’t get me wrong, but, more than one kid- well, I guess I just don’t know what I’m missing.

Love,

Daddy

P.S. For more on “photo op fails”… click on this other letter I wrote to you back in the summer:

“Celebrating Photo Op Fails With My Kid”

Leave a comment Posted on July 20, 2014July 20, 2014 parenting, Storytelling

It’s Like Talking To An Actual Human Being…

November 7, 2013 at 10:49 pm , by Nick Shell

2 years, 11 months.

Dear Jack,

Tonight was the first time I’ve ever talked to you over the phone.

Mommy picked you up from school instead of me today, so I called you both to check in.

When Mommy handed the phone to you in the back seat, I had an actual conversation with you:

“Hey Jack, what are you and Mommy doing right now?” I asked.

“We’re at Whole Foods. I’m gonna eat pizza for dinner,” you replied.

Prompted by Mommy, you ended the call by telling me that you missed me and loved me. I can tell your words were sincere, though.

I mean this in the best way possible, but that was pretty weird for me. I was actually carrying on a legitimate conversation with you… like I would an actual human being!

Without your visual right there in front of me, I was forced to absorb only the sound of your voice.

I mean, I’m used to talking to you during the whole ride to school and back every day, but it’s a whole other thing without any prompts or crutches.

Wow. You and I can actually talk… over the phone.

I heard your voice. I’ve never paid attention to your voice before. Normally, I’m so focused on the circumstances surrounding the conversation that I hear the words you say, but not your actual voice.

Even though it may seem like I’m making a bigger deal of this than I need to, this for me is a bookmark as your Daddy.

Just days away away from your 3rd birthday now, this is a significant moment as I recognize you as a boy; as a fellow human being. Not a baby.

I can talk to you. And not about just superficial stuff like the “monster trucks” (Toyota Tundras) you see as we’re driving down the highway.

But instead, you can tell me what’s going on in your life… over the phone.

Cool, man.

Love,

Daddy

Leave a comment Posted on July 20, 2014 parenting, Storytelling

That Pinterest-Trendy Picture Of Your Kid… What’s It Called?

November 5, 2013 at 11:00 pm , by Nick Shell

2 years, 11 months.

Dear Jack,

This week on Facebook I was introduced to a cool type of picture that parents can create of their kids.

I don’t know that it’s called, though.

So until I do, I’ll just call it a “collage profile.”

Featured here is the picture that introduced me to it. Granted, this is a professional picture, by my friend Joe Hendricks, who took Mommy and Daddy’s wedding pictures as well as our pregnancy pictures.

To me, this is the perfect example of how it should be done. A+!

The concept is simple: a picture of a kid, superimposed with various, random texts showing their name, age, and interests.

What a cool idea! I have no idea who thought of it first but I hear that it’s trending on Pinterest.

Just for the fun of it, I threw one together for you. Eleven days away from your 3rd birthday, I now have a better visual of the stuff you’re into during this exact stage of your life.

A few months from now, I assume some of these listed interested will be replaced with others.

But as for right now, I can preserve this sort of visual bookmark on your life.

While I’m sure this kind of picture can be created on several different websites out there, the one I used is Picfont, where I do all the captions for your pictures. I like it because it’s free and doesn’t require a login and password.

So whatever this trendy kind of picture is called, it’s something I should probably do every so often.

The fact that you currently like the color pink… I have a feeling that’s going to change in the next couple of years and then we’ll really have something to laugh about.

Well, assuming you’re reading this years from now… Yes, son… you used to love the color pink.

But mainly as it relates to monster trucks!

Love,

Daddy