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1 Comment Posted on February 20, 2017 book review, fatherhood, People, Recaps, Spirituality, Uncategorized

Almost a Minyan: Jewish Children’s Book Review (A Coming-of-Age Story of a 13 Year-old Hebrew Girl, Dealing with Her Grandfather’s Death)

My son Jack was excited to see we received a new book in the mail: Almost a Minyan, by Lori S. Kline. Granted, when I first read him the title, his eyes lit up as he looked for a picture on the cover of a “minion” from the Despicable Me movie series…

But as I read the book to him for bedtime, he was still very intrigued despite realizing that “minyan” is also a Hebrew word. As I read him the story, he learned about a tween girl from a close Jewish family.

After regularly seeing her father and grandfather regularly attend their town’s minyan (a public worship group of ten adults), she and her father experience a character arc after her grandfather passes away.

Almost a Minyan: Jewish Children’s Book Review (A Coming-of-Age Story of a 13 Year-old Hebrew Girl, Dealing with Her Grandfather’s Death)

On the verge of her 14^th birthday, she realizes she can be the one to qualify as the 10^th adult necessary to keep the minyan going.

For Jewish families, this book will surely reinforce and further illustrate the traditions of the Hebrew faith.

For families outside the Jewish fold, this book will surely still engage the reader, as it introduces a new (yet ancient) culture.

Thanks for reading my book review today. I will close with basic marketing information of Almost a Minyan:

Almost a Minyan: Jewish Children’s Book Review (A Coming-of-Age Story of a 13 Year-old Hebrew Girl, Dealing with Her Grandfather’s Death)

Release date: April 4, 2017

Publisher: Sociosights Press

Price: $17.99

Kindle Price: $7.99

Pages: 40

Distribution: Itasca Books, Amazon/Ingram

eBook Distribution: Kindle, Nook

Website: http://www.sociosights.com

Leave a comment Posted on February 2, 2017 fatherhood, parenting, People, Storytelling, Uncategorized

Dear Jack: Your Sister Appreciates Your Reindeer Games

6 years, 3 months.

Dear Jack: Your Sister Appreciates Your Reindeer Game

Dear Jack,

Whatever you’re into and at given moment, Holly is always eager to be invited to the action. She sees you as an important source of knowledge, based on your 6 years of life experience, along with your adventurous boyhood perspective.

Last Sunday, all it took was me finishing a bottle of nearly expired cold-pressed juice from Kroger, with the “Woo-Hoo!” sticker on it to celebrate the savings.

Before I could make it over the recycling bag in the pantry, you saw the potential: “Daddy, can I have that bottle?”

You began tossing it into the air, finding enjoyment as it would bounce on the hardwood floor each time it landed. It didn’t take long for Holly to crawl over from the living room and plant herself right into the middle of the action.

She also could was able to see the wonder of an empty bottle flying through the air.

I know you aren’t aware of this, but it’s little events like that when you teach your little sister about life. She is learning from you. She is taking those lessons seriously.

As her brother, there are certain unique things you are able to teach her that I just don’t have an eye for. It’s those kind of reindeer games that remind me that you and your sister live in a version of the world where excitement can be found in things like… garbage.

Her already playful spirit is only being enhanced by your daily influence. There is a reason she immediately stops what she’s doing whenever you walk by. There is a reason she has a reverence for your silliness.

Because to her, you can offer life lessons that only come from an only brother. While she definitely loves her Mommy and Daddy, she looks at you in a way like she looks at no one else.

You’re a really big deal to her.

Love,

Daddy

Dear Jack: Your Sister Appreciates Your Reindeer Game

8 Comments Posted on February 3, 2016February 3, 2016 movie reviews, parenting, Uncategorized

I Cry Every Time I Watch Inside Out (and I am a Man)

I Cry Every Time I Watch Inside Out

It’s true and I am not ashamed. I know that’s technically the least masculine blog title I have ever used, but I am comfortable with it.

I took my son to see Inside Out this past summer when it first came out, then we watched it as a family this weekend now that it’s out at Redbox.

Granted, I’ve only seen it twice so far, but I am confident that I will never be able to keep dry eyes for any future viewings of it. Still, I can legitimately proclaim that I cry every time I watch Inside Out.

Just to be clear, if you were sitting next to me while watching Inside Out, you wouldn’t know I was crying.

You wouldn’t hear anything about of me.

But if you simply turned to me to look me in the eyes, you would see tears running down both sides of my face.

Yes, it’s suppressed crying, but it’s still crying.

Sunday night after the movie ended, my wife, my son, and I all looked at each other’s wet cheeks, then laughed at the fact we all just saw proof of each other crying.

It’s not that Inside Out is a sad movie, because I don’t believe that it is.

Instead, with it being a movie about emotional intelligence, Inside Out undeniably reveals the love that involved parents have for their children.

The movie provides an enlightening experience as it reminds us that the emotion of sadness is necessary and vital; especially as it strengthens family relationships.

I might just have to proclaim that Inside Out is officially my favorite Disney movie, ever. It appears the general public agrees, as the movie has earned an impressive 98% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

And it has been nominated for an Oscar for best animated feature film.

It’s one of the few Disney movies to not adhere to the stereotype that the protagonist’s parents are dead. Instead, her parents are alive and well, and are actually good people.

Compare them to Elsa and Anna’s parents, in Frozen, who instead of confronting the issue that one of their daughters had a special power that makes her different, they basically locked up both of their daughters and kept them from interacting with each other. And if that psychological drama wasn’t enough, then the parents had to die, like almost every other Disney protagonist’s parents.

Of course, there is a very legitimate theory that Riley, the protagonist of Inside Out, is adopted.

But whether she is or is not adopted, that doesn’t change the fact that the movie does a wonderful job of expressing from the inside out what it’s like to be a parent and a kid who is part of a loving family.

And again, it’s also a fact that I’ll cry every time I watch this movie.

Leave a comment Posted on October 22, 2015October 22, 2015 marriage, parenting, Storytelling, Uncategorized

Why Family Friendly Daddy Blog is Unique

It’s common knowledge there aren’t nearly as many daddy bloggers as there are mommy bloggers; but to take it a step further, I specialize in family friendliness in my documented male perspective of parenthood.

On my blog, I believe in keeping things upbeat, positive, constructive, and artistic; and in particular, void of profanity, violence, or innuendos.

I want my blog to be an escape from negativity. I want to regularly expose my readers to a narrative featuring a traditional, loving, committed family.

Modern popular culture tries to sell us on this idea: “You don’t need a man in your life to raise a child or a family.”

Meanwhile, I instead see the invaluable importance of an involved husband and father.

Dear Jack: Our First Time to Carve Pumpkins

Billy Graham states it this way:

“A good father is one of the most unsung, unpraised, unnoticed, and yet one of the most valuable assets to our society.”

Therefore, those of us husbands and fathers who do sacrifice everything for our families, who I believe are the majority, not the exception to the rule, fly under the radar.

That’s because we’re not broadcasting our good deeds and our loyalty to our family. We have nothing to prove to the rest of the world. Our family is our world.

Perhaps my role as a “family friendly daddy blogger” is to help celebrate fatherhood.

Most of my blog posts are weekly letters I write to my children. I enjoy, in real time, serving as their narrator; sharing picture collages to illustrate the stories I tell them about what is going on in their lives that week.

My goal is for my subtle stories to convey the message of the importance of family; and that the dad character is a crucial element in that formula.

It used to bother me that the committed father and husband character on TV shows is typically either portrayed as a bumbling fool (Tim Allen of Home Improvement) or a widowed saint (Danny Tanner of Full House).

Apparently, the concept of an involved husband and father who is not a walking bio-hazard and whose wife is still alive is difficult to capture in a television program.

But that doesn’t bother me anymore. I can’t control that.

What I can control is my family friendly daddy blog and how I positively portray fatherhood to a sometimes skeptical world that tends to forget that we committed husbands and fathers really do exist; and that we aren’t such a rare breed after all.

1 Comment Posted on February 27, 2015 new house, parenting, Uncategorized

Dear Jack: The 4th Week Of Living In Our New House

4 years, 3 months.

Dear Jack,

We’re just about fully moved in by now. We’re still waiting on our living room couch, though. It’s been delayed a total of 7 weeks now, due to it being such a popular piece of furniture. Actually, it was out of stock the day we bought it. Today I was able to convince the store to ship to us for free. It worked!

Still have to wait another month for it to get here, though.

In the meantime, the matching chair has been waiting in our living room for its counterpart. In fact, Mommy did a really cool job of having your “growing up” pictures. She created an abstract heart shape. It looks really neat.

Mommy didn’t even mean to; it just ended up that way. I think it’s very appropriate, though. In the middle is a sign that reads, “All because two people fell in love.”

With it is very true, it’s also reference to a Brad Paisley song from the first CD Mommy ever bought me.

This has been the week of getting all of photo frames off the floor and onto the walls. Therefore, this is the first week we’ve been in our new house where you’ve actually been able to run around like a little boy is supposed to do.

It wasn’t a surprise to me that you insisted on taking me upstairs so I could help you dress up in your superhero costume that your friend Madison got you for your birthday.

We snuck down stairs so you could surprise Mommy, who was in the middle of making dinner.

You darted from the living room to the kitchen no less than 17 times before dinner time.

Afterwards, we made vegan cookies for the first time in our new house.

Meanwhile at your new school, Rainbow Child Care Center, your teacher Ms. Aimee bought a new gecko!

Here’s what she told me about your interactions with it this week:

Jack wanted to make a boat out of cardboard. He worked very hard to cut different shapes out of the cardboard, tape, and construct his boat. He also got to hold our new Crested Gecko! He giggled as the gecko climbed up due to his Velcro like feet. Jack is an absolute joy having in my class. I’m excited to see how he grows throughout the year!

Our new life is quite enjoyable. Mommy and I were just talking last night about what an uphill journey the past couple of years have been for us. We were new to being parents, while working hard to get out of debt and find a bigger house.

We’re there now. Now we can take a minute to breathe… and focus our attention other things we have formerly had to put on the backburner.

In fact, I’m working on something right now that, if it turns out, could be really good for our family. We’ll see how that works out, in a few weeks or months…

Love,

Daddy

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“A good father is one of the most unsung, unpraised, unnoticed, and yet one of the most valuable assets to our society.”

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