parenting

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Why Changing Dirty Diapers Is Like Making PB & J Sandwiches

January 13, 2013 at 11:56 pm , by 

2 years, 1 month.

Dear Jack,

No, don’t get ahead of me on this one. I’m not implying that a peanut butter and jelly sandwich looks like a dirty diaper, in any way. Good guess, though.

This past weekend I changed one of your dirty diapers. Oddly enough, it’s been a while. Somehow with the timing of things, it’s rarely me that has that privilege.

Instead, it’s either one of your teachers at daycare, or Mommy, or a teacher in your class at church, but rarely me.

It’s not that I’m avoiding your dirty diapers.

After all, I of all people, a Generation Y daddy blogger, am very aware of the classic stereotype that dads are grossed out by changing their kid’s dirty diaper.

The thing is, I don’t mind changing your diapers. It’s my job and responsibility, and I take pride in it. Honestly, for any ad or commercial to portray a dad making a slight dramatic fuss over it is a tad offensive to me. I’m your dad, not a joke targeted at women to help sell diapers, dinner, or laundry detergent.

Sure, I admit that changing a dirty diaper isn’t necessarily fun. But my least favorite part of it isn’t actually the smell.

To be more candid than I should be, I’m used to the smell… aside from you.

The annoying thing about changing a dirty diaper is the process; which is the same reason making peanut butter and jelly sandwiches is a chore.

There are so many steps involved…

Get a clean diaper, predict the number of Wet Wipes it will take, get them out of the container in advance, find a good spot to change your diaper, give you a toy to distract you while I change your diaper, don’t get the mess on me or the floor or your clean diaper, put dirty diaper in a plastic disposable bag, throw away the dirty diaper outside, wash my hands…

Making a peanut butter and jelly sandwich is nearly just as bad:

Get out the bread, peanut butter, jelly, a butter knife, and a napkin to the place the sandwich on top of; then spread on the peanut butter, then wash the knife, then the jelly, then place the two sides together and clean the knife again.

It’s a very lengthy ordeal!

In fact, now that I think of it, I’m starting to wonder which really is worse: Making a peanut butter and jelly sandwich or changing a dirty diaper.

Well, at the least with the sandwich, I get to eat it afterwards. So yes, changing a dirty diaper is worse, but only slightly.

 

Love,

Daddy

 

Top photo: A peanut butter and jelly sandwich open faced on a blue plate, Shutterstock.

Bottom photo: Baby care room sign, Shutterstock.

Leave a comment Posted on Nostalgia, parenting

My Parents Seemed So Much Older When I Was A Kid

January 13, 2013 at 11:50 pm , by 

2 years, 1 month.

Dear Jack,

Sometimes I feel like I’m a little too young to be your dad; yet I’m 31.

When I was a kid, I always thought my parents were old; not in a bad way, just that they seemed like they really had a lot of life experience.

The funny thing is, when I was your age in 1983, my dad was 26 and my mom was 25.

Your Mommy and I didn’t even get married until I was 27 and she was 26!

An even stranger thought for me is that when my dad was 31, like I am now, I was 6 and my sister was 3.

Needless to say, it’s a definite challenge for me to imagine having two kids right now… ages 6 and 3. Again, you’re only 2 year right now.

I get it that there are plenty of parents out there my age with two kids, ages 6 and 3. But for me personally, I just can’t see myself in that position right now.

Of course, this goes back to the struggle Mommy and I have been talking about a lot for the past several months: Will we even have a another kid?

What this shows me is that I’m not ready for you to have a brother or sister right now. I’m just not.

Whether it means I’m selfish or not mature enough or whatever it needs to mean… it’s just where I’m at right now.

Maybe part of this is that I’m a Generation Y parent.

I look at my own parents, who didn’t need college degrees to get real jobs. They actually built their first house when they were in their very early 20′s; whereas Mommy and I live in a townhouse.

In general, my parents just never seemed to worry about the future the way I often do. They managed and survived and it never seemed like a struggle for them.

Well, I suppose you will think that Mommy and I are “old” too. We’re not, though. We’re only 29 years older than you.

While to you we may seem like we’re really in control of things, the truth is we’re just now figuring things out.

But with nearly 3 decades of life experience more than you, I can see how we make it look like we actually know what what we’re doing.

I have a feeling it was the same way for my own parents, even if it didn’t seem that way growing up.

 

Love,

Daddy

Leave a comment Posted on parenting, Storytelling

Playing “Make Me Laugh” With A 2 Year-Old

January 11, 2013 at 11:32 pm , by 

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Best Parent Rap Video So Far: “I’m A Daddy And I Know It”

January 10, 2013 at 10:47 pm , by 

2 years, 1 month.

Dear Jack,

It’s official, “I’m A Daddy And I Know It” by Chad Morton, a Utah dad of five, has officially gone viral this week.

Unlike other homemade rap videos about parenting that have surfaced since I have been a dad, this one has surpassed the “has been shared and liked a lot on Facebook” level to “I heard them talking about it on the radio today, plus there’s a Yahoo Shine article about it proclaiming the video has officially gone viral” stage.

It doesn’t take an expensive, highly polished product to captivate an a big enough online audience and eventually go viral. As explained in the book Grouped by Paul Adams, it takes a product built around people; a product those people can personally and subliminally relate to.

“I’m A Daddy And I Know It” is simple, funny, easy to relate to as a dad, and most importantly, it’s not reaching. In other words, the video isn’t trying to hard to be cool, it just is.

Another thing I think that sets it apart is it seems to be void of classic (and annoying) fatherhood cliches. Sure, there’s a quick and necessary reference to dirty diapers, but there’s no predictable camera shot of the dad holding his nose as he changes a diaper.

Honestly, Chad Morton successfully makes being a dad look fun, yet real. Watching this video doesn’t make me think of any token classic 1980′s or 1990′s sitcom where the idiotic dad destroys the kitchen sink again in an effort to repair it; or even worse, he forgets his wife’s birthday.

Currently, “I’m A Daddy And I Know It” is nearing a million hits on YouTube. And it should.

Yes, I thoroughly endorse it. And I don’t thoroughly endorse many things.

I do admit, part of the subtle fascination with Chad Morton is that he’s got five (!) kids. Five young kids, including triplets.

(By the way, the one on the far left, in the picture above, looks like you when you were a little bit younger… he even has the faux hawk!)

As Mommy and I entertain the idea of ever giving you a sibling, this video serves as a reminder to us that there are plenty of families out there with a lot more kids, and apparently, they’re surviving.

We’ll see how that turns out for us over the next couple of years…

 

Love,

Daddy

 

Leave a comment Posted on parenting, Storytelling

How Do Families Have Time For Cable TV And Smartphones?

January 9, 2013 at 11:53 pm , by 

2 years, 1 month.

Dear Jack,

In yesterday’s letter, The Peculiar And Impractical Tradition Of Tithing 10%, I suggested that perhaps part of the reason our family is able to tithe 10% of our income is because we don’t pay for cable TV or smartphones.

Of course, it’s been that way since Mommy and I got married on July 5, 2008. So by the time you came along 2 years ago, it was simply the norm; already established as our family’s culture.

But honestly, the fact that we don’t spend money on those things isn’t really much of a sacrifice on our end. What I can’t seem to grasp is how our family would find the time in our time-starved schedule to watch enough TV or utilize the wonders that a smartphone can do.

Maybe I should blame it on that episode of Saved By The Bell where Zack Morris has to call his dad on his cell phone to get his attention, though they’re already in the same room. Maybe I fear getting so caught up in the convenience of modern technology and entertainment that I allow myself miss out on quality time with you.

Our family struggles so much already with budgeting what little time we have together,  so even sacrificing only 10% of our time on those things would cause a strain on our family dynamics.

And again, if we only gave 10% of our free time to cable TV and smartphones, we wouldn’t be getting our money’s worth.

I try to imagine how distracted and unsettled I would be if I had a smartphone. I personally would not do well. Though I’m only 31, I don’t fit some of the token Generation Y traits like keeping up with the latest technology, and therefore, entertainment.

During the day at work, it would be extremely difficult for me to focus on getting anything done; knowing I could be discretely checking my email or looking random stuff up on my phone.

The best thing for me is to not have Internet on my phone. That helps keep me grounded, and honestly, helps keep my head clear enough to write you 6 days a week.

Similarly, I feel that if we had DVR and could record shows from dozens (or is it hundreds?) of channels, I would get overwhelmed quickly.

You, Mommy, and I somehow find a normal life in having basic (and outdated!) phones and paying just 8 bucks a month for Netflix streaming as our entertainment. You get to watch Mater’s Tall Tales everyday (and apparently never get tired of it) and Mommy and I get to catch up on the new season of Portlandia.

Of course, I’m very aware that our lifestyle is… counter-cultural. I ask, “How do families have time for cable TV and smartphones?”

Meanwhile, they are probably wondering, “How does that family function without those things?”

I just don’t see how our family is cut out to be that modernized when it comes to the tech and entertainment world. And ironically, that’s coming from a daddy blogger.

 

Love,

Daddy