Your 5th birthday is on Monday, but we decided to go ahead and have your “school birthday party” today before the weekend kicks in. Normally we would take cupcakes for you and your friends to enjoy to celebrate your birthday, but this year, you had a different specific request…
Donuts and vegan blueberry muffins.
So yesterday I hopped in the 2015 Lexus GX 460 that we are driving this week and drove to Whole Foods, which is just a 5 minute drive from where I work.
I was able to get your chocolate-covered sprinkle donuts and the vegan blueberry muffins right there at the same spot. I brought home 4 donuts and 6 muffins. Mommy and I were discussing how we would get your teacher to cut them in half; and that even then, that would be a lot of food for 5 year-olds.
You then proclaimed to me, “Tell my teacher to save a whole donut for me because I want the whole thing, not just half.”
Here lately, you’ve been saying other things like that which have really cracked me up.
We drove past a place that sells those glorious wooden playgrounds. They had one that was a pirate ship. It cost $1600.
You declared, “If I had that pirate ship playground at our house, I would never watch anything on the Kindle, because I could play on the playground.”
I told Mommy, “Maybe we should get Jack that playground. He would never, ever watch anything on the Kindle again. All he would ever do would be to play on his pirate ship playground…”
You intervened, “But sometimes, I would.”
I think I actually had you convinced we would have bought you that $1600 playground if you had agreed to never watch the Kindle again. I thought it was hilarious how you attempted to make a bargain with Mommy and me.
Funny stuff.
Okay, so imagine this: The next time I write you a letter, you’ll be 5 years old!
This morning as my wife and I were getting ready for work, we were talking about the concept of how parents can influence their kids, even without trying to.
For example, no matter how much you praise your child on their abilities, talents, and looks, they can be just as influenced by the way you, the parent, see yourself.
As Bekah on The Wally Show explained yesterday morning, a mother who picks herself apart in front of the mirror will often, by default, teach her daughter to do the same; no matter how much the mother compliments the daughter.
We learn so much from our parents.
Today is my dad’s 59th birthday. So naturally, having just had this conversation, I’ve been thinking all day about the ways my dad made me who I am; whether he meant to or not.
I easily thought of 5 ways:
1) Diet:
The first story that comes to mind was back in the late 80s one time when my dad stopped to get gas for his Ford Ranchero.
I asked him if I could get a candy bar inside the gas station. He reluctantly said yes, but went on to explain how unhealthy candy bars were, because of “all that sugar”. He told me how little boys my age needed to be eating healthier foods.
That made me curious. I then asked him when the last time he had eaten he candy bar. He replied, “Years… I probably was a boy. But I shouldn’t have, because those things aren’t healthy.”
Similarly, I can also specifically remember, around the same time, we were watching 20/20 on TV and there was a special about how kids were having heart attacks because of their diets.
My dad warned me if I didn’t start eating healthier foods, I could end up like those kids on TV who had heart attacks.
In our house, we never had white bread; only wheat. I felt deprived.
Granted, those elementary school years passed, then my teens, then my college years, and I ate horribly the whole time; whenever it was up to me. I didn’t heed his advice.
But by the time I reached my late 20s, I started seeing my processed food diet catch up with me…
Now, look at me. I am the strictest vegan anyone personally knows. If it weren’t for my dad, though, I wouldn’t currently be the healthy man I am.
If it weren’t for my dad, these days I would be a highly medicated guy: I would take something daily for severe allergy and sinus issues; and I would still constantly be suffering eczema, paying for prescription medicine to attempt to alleviate it, but not cure it.
That all went away when I became a vegan 2 and a half years ago; not to mention I’ve effortlessly remained in the perfect weight range for my height and weight since then.
I am confident that my dad’s “you better stop eating candy cars or you’re going to be a kid who has a heart attack” comments greatly influenced me for the good; even if I couldn’t appreciate it at the time.
It was ingrained in me from my dad that it’s important to prevent cancer and disease; not simply focus on the cure.
Here’s a webisode that he and I made with my son; which hints on the fact we don’t trust microwaves:
2) Being active:
Plus, my dad was always physically active. During my entire childhood, he participated in martial arts; he was a black belt. Back in 1992, he even won 1st place in the sparring competition, for his division in northern Alabama.
(As for me in modern day, I regularly run and go mountain biking; plus I take at least two 10 minute walks outside during my breaks.)
Quite regularly, I when I was a kid, I would go with my dad to his Tuesday night practices and workouts. I knew that he would let me get a cheeseburger at Hardee’s on the way home if I went with him.
Here’s another webisode that my dad and I made with my son; which features my dad in one of his classic karate uniforms:
3) Letting me make my own decisions
And perhaps that’s another way he influenced me: He let me make my own decisions, even sometimes when he knew there was a better way.
I’m not sure I’ll be as hands off with my own son. I don’t know that I can be as Libertarian with my son as my dad was with me.
But had my dad not been so laissez-faire with me (a policy or attitude of letting things take their own course, without interfering), there’s a good chance I would rebelled and acted out as a kid, teenager, and even a young adult.
So twenty years ago, during the reign of grunge, I had the long hair and the baggy jeans; and my dad never once revealed he was concerned about it.
Of course, my dad also taught me, by default, to be calm-assertive.
These qualities are only the tip of the iceberg. In all this, it was not only his words, but more importantly, his actions that inspired me how to live my life.
4) Faith
Going deeper, I grew up with my dad reading me stories from the Bible for my bedtime stories, teaching my Sunday School classes at our church, and leading the youth group at church.
Therefore, I do my best to lead my own family in the teachings of Christianity; not out of tradition, but as a way of life- serving others, not judging them.
I seriously doubt my blog would be called Family Friendly Daddy Blog if it weren’t for him. He never cussed, so neither do I. Curse words never seemed necessary in order to communicate something worth saying.
5) Politics
And when it comes to politics, I see that I have become my dad as well:
“Vote for the lesser of the two evils; whether that happens to be a Democrat or a Republican.” I remember he told me that a couple elections ago and it’s stuck with me.
A mindset like that requires an individual to use critical thinking beyond what they are taught by either the left wing or the right wing.
After all, they are both wings of the same bird.
Ultimately, he taught me to question the norm. And I do. That is a huge part of who I am.
It’s even one of the main reasons my wife started dating me, as she has told me before, “You always seem so confident in what you believe, even if it not what most other people believe.”
So really, the way I see it, it’s undeniable that my dad greatly influenced who I am. Today he turns 59 years old. Despite whatever gift card my wife and I mailed him for his birthday, these words today are my gift to him more than anything else.
I am not an animal rights activist. I’m not a tree hugger. But watching Blackfish a couple of years ago forever changed my view of orcas.
Yesterday I couldn’t help but notice that in addition to “Non-Christmas Starbucks cups” making the news this week, another headline grabbing attention is the fact that Sea World has officially surrendered:
They are still able to continue breeding orcas in captivity, but at least this news is a major step in the right direction.
Each day on my Facebook feed, I’ve kept up with Blackfish; ever since I watched the documentary when it first came out 3 years ago in 2013. I’ve watched how sponsors of Sea World have dropped out due to the controversy, I’ve learned how attendance continues to diminish, and now, I’ve seen how in a last ditch effort to please stockholders, I know now that Sea World has decided to make their killer whale show a thing of the past.
Ultimately, this all happened because of a documentary that people watched on Netflix (not movie theaters), and then from there, word began spreading online about Sea World’s history with orcas.
The surprising reason I’m happiest about Sea World removing orcas from their shows is this:
It’s proof that when enough of the free market becomes enlightened on an issue, positive changes can take place… even without the assistance of the government, ridiculous bans from far-right or far-left groups, or violent protests from the people.
Sea World isn’t dropping their orca show due to our government passing a law saying they can’t… or because certain groups officially “banned” them like Starbucks coffee, or because some lunatic bombed Sea World.
Instead, this happened because the free market collectively became educated on the subject and the free market decided it would not continue to support Sea World’s killer whale shows like it used to.
That is much different that an official “ban” against Sea World.
I am happy about this because it is another phenomenon in which documentaries on Netflix influence casual watchers like us to actually consider changing our views, and possibly, the way we live our lives.
Though it’s never been more popular to throw money at causes to help “raise awareness and find a cure” for cancers and diseases, there have also never been more people who are more concerned with actually preventing those cancers and diseases.
I ultimately became a vegan(and therefore finally rid myself of dyshidrosis eczema, severe sinus issues, and allergies to animals) after watching casually watching documentaries on Netflix; like Forks Over Knives, and Vegucated.
It makes me wonder other ways the world can become better thanks to documentaries on Netflix.
The first to respond was Brian, with his blog, Love, Food and Beer, featuring his homemade vegan/vegetarian tomato soup recipe. Here it is:
“This healthy, vegan tomato soup recipe was my first attempt at digestive redemption following the misguided (albeit delicious) aforementioned meal. In short, I came home with a hankering for soup, the realization that I should have a salad, and the industriousness to attempt a combination of the two. I scoured my cabinets and the recesses of my refrigerator, and produced the following ingredients, which I turned into a simple, hearty, and beautifully rust-colored tomato soup.
Prepare all of the ingredients first. Believe me, this stuff is way easier if you prep ahead of time.
Heat the olive oil in a medium soup pan over medium heat.
When the oil is hot, add the onions and carrots. Saute the vegetables, stirring occasionally, for 3-4 minutes or until they’re just softened.
Add the garlic, basil, thyme, and celery salt, and stir until they’re well-mixed and effervescent (about 60-90 seconds).
Add the tomato and veggie broth and mix.
Puree the mixture in one of two ways. Either pour the mixture into a blender or food processor, and puree until smooth, or use an immersion blender (the most wonderful kitchen tool in the world) to puree the tomatoes and vegetables in the soup pan.
Add a pinch each of salt and pepper, and cook the tomato mixture for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
After the soup has cooked down just a bit, add the greens, and another pinch of salt and pepper (give it a taste) and puree the greens into the soup in the same manner as before.
Return to the heat, add salt and pepper to taste, and serve it up when you’re ready!
For the record, I definitely made a gooey grilled cheese to go with this soup. Granted, this totally negates the vegan-ness of the meal… but that’s definitely the point of the grilled cheese. Cheese is delicious.” -Chris
I am excited about this new blog series. It will be a collaborative experience. I’m used to hosting the discussion about the plant-based life, but I eagerly invite you, the reader, to join me on stage.
If you already have your own blog, this could be a good way to grow your own audience, as I will obviously include the link to your blog in the post.
You don’t actually even have to be a blogger. Maybe you simply have found yourself positively and curiously effected by my steady stream of “vegan life” blog posts or my wife’s “Family Friendly (Mommy) Blog” posts; many of which features her original vegan/vegetarian recipes.
By now, those documentaries on Netflix (like Forks Over Knives, and Vegucated) have really made an influence over many of us.
This week I had a friend from college reach out to me, explaining he is “going vegan” until Thanksgiving. My response was basically to force him to agree to do a guest blog post for me. He agreed.
So then I figured, why stop there? Why not extend my offer to anyone out there who has discovered my blog, who would like to share their vegan/vegetarian stories here on Family Friendly Daddy Blog?
I am excited about this new blog series. It will be a collaborative experience. I’m used to hosting the discussion about the plant-based life, but I eagerly invite you, the reader, to join me on stage.
If you already have your own blog, this could be a good way to grow your own audience, as I will obviously include the link to your blog in the post.
Family Friendly Daddy Blog 