parenting

Leave a comment Posted on parenting, Storytelling, Uncategorized

Dear Holly: Running You Around to Do Girl Things

9 years, 4 months.

Dear Holly,

I am driven in life by challenge. I just don’t do well sitting around with nothing to do.

So I actually was looking forward to this past Saturday, as I would basically be serving as your taxi all day for the fun activities of a 9 year-old girl.

You had been saying for weeks that you and your cousin Darla needed to go to a jump park. So Mommy found one less than an hour away, along with a place to stop for pizza after lunch.

That evening, it just so happened that you and your cousin were both invited to the same birthday party. So we dropped you off there for the rest of the evening.

The next morning, I asked Mommy, “Why do I feel so tired today?”

She reminded me, “It’s probably because you were driving us around all day yesterday!”

And I loved doing it.

Love,

Daddy

Leave a comment Posted on fatherhood, parenting, Storytelling, Uncategorized

Dear Holly: The Trophy I Am Proudest Of

9 years, 3 months.

Dear Holly,

At my work desk, displayed in front of my fancy award for being one of the top recruiters a few years back at work, is the strip of photos our family recently took at the photo booth at Mommy’s work party.

I’ll directly point out the obvious:

The “trophy” I am proudest of in my entire life is my family.

It is not lost on me what a reward it is to have the wife and kids that I do.

I think of how fairy tales end with the classic phrase, “And they all lived happily ever after.”

Well, this is what that actually looks like in real life.

We’re living it, right now.

Love,

Daddy

Leave a comment Posted on fatherhood, parenting, People, Storytelling, Uncategorized

Dear Jack: A Buddy Who Looks Up to You

14 years, 10 months.

Dear Jack,

After last week’s 3rd Saturday Cruise-In was cancelled at the last minute due to rain, you and your sister both still wanted to get out and do something. We had already planned to see our family friends, the McDaniels, there.

Mommy suggested Cracker Barrel instead, so that’s where we all ended up.

Just like a few weeks ago when we had them over at our house for dinner, their young son Walter buddied up to you.

After we ordered our food, you entertained him by playing him at that peg game they always have there on the table. And after dinner, he apparently taught you how to play checkers?

Your composure around him is so laughably nonchalant, yet still I can tell he thinks you’re really cool to hang out with.

Love,

Daddy

Leave a comment Posted on fatherhood, parenting, Storytelling, Uncategorized

Dear Jack: Your Instant New Hat Collection

14 years, 9 months.

Dear Jack,

This past Sunday, our family was invited to attend the big work party that Mommy was responsible for planning and directing.

When she explained there would be a “hat bar”, I just couldn’t comprehend what that even meant.

Once the party started, I suggested that our family be the first to try it out. I never would have imagined it would be so much fun to curate a collection of patches to be pressed on to a trucker hat. You immediately chose a Dale Earnhardt patch for your designated hat, as we assumed we would only get to make one hat per person.

But by the end of the party, since the cost of the hats and service were already paid for, you had some extra fun in creating some silly hats.

I would love to actually see you wear them in public…

Love,

Daddy

Leave a comment Posted on fatherhood, parenting, Storytelling, Uncategorized

Dear Holly: Why There is a Roller Skate on Your New Hat

9 years, 3 months.

Dear Holly,

I’m sure I’ve pointed this out before, but I’m officially the person in our family who says “no”. It’s written into my DNA and therefore my role as the patriarch of our family.

Not only do I say “no” to questions like, “Can we get a pet dog?” and “Can we get a pool?”, but I also am the person who initiates what time we will go to an event and what time we will leave.

I’m the gatekeeper and the timekeeper. As I like to think, I keep things fun by creating and promoting the boundaries.

Accordingly, I make sure that you and your brother get to bed on time, and more importantly, get to sleep on time, each night.

It is of course your instinct to delay the bedtime process every single night: “I need a hair tie first… I need some water first… I need some lotion first… I need my stuffed animal first…”

I learned to proactively say, “Okay, Holly… it’s time to go take your shower. Before you do, I need you to go get your hair tie, your water, your lotion, your stuffed animal… your roller skates!”

Part of our nightly routine is for you to respond to my silly joke, “Daddy, I don’t need roller skates to go to bed!”

So when it came time for you to create your trucker hat this past weekend at the “hat bar” at Mommy’s work party, in addition to the shell I suggested to represent our last name, you obviously also chose to include a roller skate patch!

Love,

Daddy