we’re on the road to nowhere…
My daughters 3rd grade fieldtrip to a museum? Sure, ill chaperone:)
Got to the school this morning and piled onto the bus. Wow, I forgot how loud 22 3rd graders can be. Thankfully I got to sit up front. Cool museum with a good native american exhibit(which is what they are studying) so I did learn some neat things.
Problem is, we're on the bus, and the kids are louder than on the way here, and we've been driving around lost for 20 min. I finally moved up front, told her where to go, and now we're finally on our way back.
Now all I need to do is:
A) not kill the little monster kicking my seat.
B) not scream at the whiny little girl in front of me
C) not die of starvation
It's a good thing I love my daughter....
What is too much?
DadCentric wrote about a kid holding up a sign about lying to his parents:
I WILL NOT LIE TO MY PARENTS AND I WILL NOT USE PROFANITY
Standing on a busy corner, eyes downcast, humiliated with a group of people standing in the shade behind him, most likely his family.
Here's the thing - when does this become okay? As parents, we have to set boundaries. We set limits to protect their safety, hopefully teach them something, and generally keep them from running us over as they speed their way out of our houses. This, to me, seems like what DadCentric is saying - maybe a bluff got called and hopefully the parents are just as miserable and humiliated.
As a father, well, as a parent, I am constantly hit by varying degrees of issues/emergencies/decisions. The last several months have been fairly emotional, and I find myself reacting like RagingDad and exploding over some split milk. One issue after the other after the other and BOOM!
HULK SMASH!
The problem is, we lose control for a split second on kids with impressionable psyches who take in EVERYTHING - don't shake your heads, they do! - EVERYTHING you say and store it in that little brain of theirs where it percolates and helps them grow. Problem is when something comes out of your mouth that you want to desperately grab out of the air and stuff back down your stupid throat, gets away, gets in their heads, and germinates into something that comes out years from now that when you realize what it's all about, you want to turn in your DaddyLicense and slit your wrists open because you are the worst father in the world.
*wow, that was interesting. I love how I start writing because something catches my attention and it turns into a thought provoking post that helps me figure out what in my head*
So what do y'all think?
Growing up
That's right. Kids do that sometimes. I just got a nice little shot in the arm. Gillian called me at work to ask me a question - "Daddy, I have a question. There's a rainforest. It's in Brazil, and I don't remember the name of it. Do you know?"
"Let me think.." I said as I googled it furiously.
"How is your day" she asked in that sweet little voice that wraps me right around her finger.
"It's good honey, lots of work today. Is it the Amazon Rainforest?"
"YES! UGH! Thanks Daddy. I couldn't remember that. Bye" and she hangs up.
It's amazing that you live with these little people every single day and suddenly they ask you something or say something that is not in line with how old you think they are. I realized quickly that my kids are growing up.
For those of you with small ones. Cherish them 
They'll call you at work soon too. My first wakeup call with Aidan was when I got an email from him.
In MY DAY, we all called. We didn't have any fancy internet crap! We dialed the rotary phone and WE LIKED IT.
Smile, people are watching
Ever notice what happens when you smile, or giggle? People tend to join in, even if they have no idea what you're happy about.
Try it on the street today. Smile and see if anyone smiles back.
Try it at work today, see if anyone smiles back.
Try it anywhere today - at least you're smiling
Treehouse!!!
Been wanting to do this since I was a kid, so when my father in law asked me to help him, I was totally ready.
Keep in mind, the front of the treehouse is about 6 feet up. The hill slopes down so the back of the treehouse is about 9 feet up. Not a fun thing to keep in mind as you're nailing and screwing things together
Lessons from SuperDad: Kid Power
I ended up ranting in my last post about being sick of the bullshit that surrounds us today.
Lets talk about our children. How can we help them be what this country so desperately needs? Can we force them to be certain ways? Can we bribe them to be certain ways?
Sure. But how will you ever know if their actions are genuine? If they did something out of fear, or out of desire for a cookie or money?
Do I have the answer? Yes, but not in the way that you think.
Spend time with them. Teach them. Help them learn to be better people. How?
By being a better person yourself. Yes, YOU! Everyone can help children grow up to be better adults, simply by being a better person themselves. And yeah, I'm even talking to the people who don't have kids. How many do you see during the day, at night, on the weekends? Do you realize how much a frown or a smile from a passerby can influence anyone, especially a child?
How can you do this?
Smile. It's not hard. Takes less muscles than it does to frown. Yes, look it up
Breathe. It can't be all that bad. Take a few deep breaths and relax already.
Think. How is my mood/action/reaction going to affect the people around me?
Slow Down. Life is way too precious for it to all get lost in "getting there already" Enjoy the journey.
I'll be posting lessons from time to time according to the best parent in the world. Me No, that's not pompous, it's the truth. I believe it, therefore I must act like it, right? It's not meant in comparison to anyone else, it's more a reminder for me that my job on this earth is not to go to work, it's to raise two kids, and influence others, to be the best people they possibly can be.