Spirituality

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Not Having A Smart Phone Is My Sabbath

November 13, 2013 at 11:17 pm , by 

2 years, 11 months.

Dear Jack,

In the midst of a dozen other bloggers at the GM and Buick headquarters last week in Detroit, it was discovered that I was the only one there who…doesn’t have a smart phone.

(Just so you know, back in the year 2013 when I wrote you this, that meant major cool points were deducted from my street cred score.)

I sincerely laughed along with my fellow blogger friends in their amazement:

“How is it that the daddy blogger of Parents.com doesn’t own a smart phone?”

We all laughed even harder when I explained to them that my “dumb phone” is brand new… I just got it like three weeks ago.

The fanciest feature my phone has is a full texting keyboard. Yeah…

But the more we talked, it made a little bit more sense to all of us: They all blog as their full-time career, whereas I have a day job in HR, in addition to blogging.

Second, I don’t know that my psyche could handle a smart phone. It would totally mess with my internal feng shui.

The thought of “being on all the time” stresses me out. I need time to mentally rest and meditate throughout the day.

In addition to driving you to school each morning (1 hour), working at the office (8 hours), then driving us back home (45 minutes), then helping with dinner and cleaning up afterwards (1 hour, 15 minutes), and writing to you (1.5 hours), it essentially means I work all day long.

What I would love is a routine, whole, solid day off each week, like the Seventh-day Adventists practice… religiously. In so many ways, I already live their lifestyle and subscribe to their doctrinal beliefs.

However, I’m not ready (if ever?) to be so literally serious about taking 24 hours off from any kind of work, as instructed in the Ten Commandments.

So until then, not having a smart phone is my sabbath.

It’s my way of having sanity throughout the day- to not have to wait and wonder who might have Tweeted me or sent me a Facebook message or emailed me.

Until I become a VIP, I will continue living with as much peace of mind as I can, not having a smart phone.

And more importantly, not having to pay for Internet on my phone when I already have it here on my $290 ASUS laptop from which I write to you.

I’m going to stop talking now, because I am losing street cred points by the minute…

[Changes batteries in Walkman Cassette player and continues listening to Collective Soul.]

 

Love,

Daddy

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Having Another Child, From A Business Perspective

October 29, 2013 at 12:08 am , by 

2 years, 11 months.

Dear Jack,

In 4th grade, I had the privilege and honor of doing the cartoon for my town’s junior edition of the newspaper.

The movie Dick Tracywas in theatres the summer before, so I crafted up a clever (?) comic strip called Nick Tracy.

As you can see, Nick Tracy steps in to save the day, as a bully-looking character named Alan mentions to a more studious-looking fellow that he is thinking about quitting school.

(I wonder how old I intended the characters to be, because I sort of get the impression they were in 4th grade at the time, just like me.)

But when it was all said and done, the takeaway actually had less to do with staying in school and more about the reason why kids should not quit school: so they can get a job. I was only 10, but I was concerned about my classmates getting jobs.

You will always know me as the Dave Ramsey-endorsing, Robert Kiyosaki-following (author of the book Rich Dad, Poor Dad), credit card-bashing dad I am. Granted, it took me plunging into financial hades (I’m trying to avoid the cliche “rock bottom”) to be the budget-obsessed, debt-free parent I’ve worked so hard and deliberately to become.

So while there was a learning curve involved as I transitioned into my 30s, ultimately, as I rediscovered this old comic strip of mine from 22 years ago, I now realize: I’ve always been seriously focused on money.

What I never cared about was buying trophies with money. I laugh at the idea of a person being congratulated about a new car purchase: They’re simply being congratulated on having to make car payments.

I’m not impressed by anyone’s material possessions they can afford (or can give the illusion of affording, thanks to credit cards and/or loans), but I am completely impressed by people who actually know how to manage their own money. Because I am so eager to learn from them.

The irony is, I’m impressed by the fancy things people don’t buy, but could afford. To hear of a CEO choosing to drive his old Toyota instead of a new BMW, that’s a man I’m going to respect.

With that being said, the main thing holding me back now from the thought of wanting to have another child is the financial aspect of it. Robert Kiyosaki has trained me to see the world in terms of assets and liabilities.

In his book, Rich Dad, Poor Dad, he recognizes children as financial liabilities. If I am looking at our family as a business unit, as I feel I should, then I have to be willing to remove the sentimentality aspect of bringing another child into this world and instead attach a dollar sign to your potential younger sister or brother.

As I learned from my editor in an article she wrote a few months ago called Will Millennials Be Able To Afford Children?, I found out that not even counting the cost of college, it costs around $240,000 to raise a child from birth to age 18.

You’re worth it, by the way!

But that would it take for me to feel comfortable (and passionate) enough to justify in my mind the expense of having another child?

Based on our current income and our plans to move to a better neighborhood so that we can get you into a good school system, I’d say… it would take doubling our family’s income, plus somehow miraculously being able to spend more time together as a family. Then I might be a little bit more ambitious when it comes to growing the family.

I’m not daring God at all on this. That’s just what it would take, based on where I’m at with it right now.

 

Love,

Daddy

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I’m Not Sure St. Peter’s Pickup Truck Was In The Bible…

October 14, 2013 at 7:58 pm , by 

2 years, 10 months.

Dear Jack,

This evening while Mommy was buying groceries, you and I played with the Dollar General version of Play-Doh, called Craft Dough.

With your 5 pack of Craft Dough came a very rare color… black.

You decided to make a camper for your Dodge Ram pickup truck, so you began stuffing the bed with black dough.

In the process, you picked up your St. Peter action figure and his boat, and stuck them in the back of the truck, then stood Jesus on top of a couple containers of Craft Dough nearby.

You ended up nixing the whole camper idea altogether and I got to hear the dialogue of the new plot line:

“Jesus, I gotta drive my truck and take my boat. Do you want to go?” Peter asked.

“No, I’ll just stay here today,” Jesus replied, in your falsetto voice.

I immediately began imagining a new kids’ show which featured favorite Bible characters in a modern day setting.

Yeah, that wouldn’t go over well at all…

But just the thought of Jesus and Peter as buddies who drive pickup trucks and take the boat for a spin out on the lake, instead of the familiar “walk on the water” story everyone knows, it’s pretty much hilarious to me!

In the process of trying to find Biblical action figures last Christmas, which you asked for by the way, I noticed there weren’t a lot of toy companies that made them.

Not only is there probably not an abundance of toy companies who are willing to make religious action figures, but there’s also the fact that those toys may very well end up in random activities which are more likely to show up in the lyrics of a Country song than they are in a sermon.

To be honest, I’m suprised it’s actually taken you this long to crack me up with your inevitable and accidentally humorous (and somehow seemingly inappropriate?) use of Jesus and St. Peter action figures during playtime.

What would Jesus do? I’m not sure sometimes…

 

Love,

Daddy

 

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Infographic: Abundance Consciousness Vs. Scarcity Mindset

August 23, 2013 at 10:39 pm , by 

Leave a comment Posted on parenting, Spirituality

The Day I Plan To Retire From Daddy Blogging

August 12, 2013 at 12:15 am , by 

2 years, 8 months.

Dear Jack,

When I decided to become the first daddy blogger in history to write at least once every week about his kid, starting from the day he went public with the info of the pregnancy, I didn’t consider at what point it would finally come to an end.

And now, over three years into doing this on a nearly daily basis, I plan to set and hold the world record for “Longest Running And Most Consistent Daddy Blog Ever.”

Why?

By default. I simply can’t imagine not writing to you nearly every day.

My entire existence as a father been documented for the world (and for you and me, as father and son) to see-since April 13, 2010 at 6:40 PM.

But this daddy blog of mine technically isn’t about you… or me.

Actually, it’s more about the love of a father for his son. It’s a documentation of the mutual respect in that relationship, both individually and mutually.

I want to know what that looks like on paper… or a computer screen… or a smart phone. I want to share whatever that message is with anyone who is as curious as I am about it.

Perhaps I should make it seem like I plan my letters to you weeks in advance. I don’t.

Most days, I only figure out what I’m going to write about earlier that day. That’s part of the thrill and the motivation for me: There’s always something intriguing to write about, concerning you. It’s fun to assess what’s really going on with us. I like figuring out what the plot line for that day is.

The funny thing is, too, I actually regret many of the blog posts I’ve written over the past three years. To be too honest, I am actually pretty ashamed of several of them.

It’s only because I can see how being a father has forced me to mature in my words and attitude. It’s forced me to major in humility and grace.

Last week I saw a comic book clip from The Joyful Noiseletter by Doc Goodwin on somebody’s Facebook wall, where a little boy prays, “God, make me like my daddy- big and strong and smart.”

The father then goes to his own bedroom and prays, “Lord, make me like my child- obedient, faithful, and trusting.”

Just like us: We learn from each other. That’s beautiful.

But as for The Dadabase, it’s a dangerous, humbling, and vulnerable thing to broadcast our story of father and son across the Internet for the whole world to see.

What if I make myself seem like I don’t know what I’m talking about?

What if I change my mind about how I perceive things, compared to a few months ago?

What if I embarrass myself by something I say?

I already have. At least once every two months- in my mind, if nothing else.

And I’ve learned to embrace those moments. I’ve learned the importance of finding value in the fact that without that necessary growth as a human being, I wouldn’t be experiencing fatherhood.

So, no- I honestly have no plans of retiring from daddy blogging. Ever.

Even when you’re an adult. As long as I am your dad, I plan to keep you informed of what life is like… this sideof Jack.

 

Love,

Daddy

 

P.S. This is my 755th daddy blog post- in case you’re curious.