It’s Pink Shirt Day and as a father who has struggled with seeing my kids suffer from the negative effects of bullying I’d like all of us to just, be nice.
Thanks.
Be Nice.
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Category Archives: Life
Happy Monday! (Screw you Wednesday).
On the drive to early morning basketball practice we reflected on the days of the week and the unfair treatment Monday seems to get.
The vitriol for Wednesday was unexpected.
Big Bones
If you give it time after dinner just as you’re finishing clean-up, and you’re open to it, marvellous conversations can be had. Logic doesn’t always apply in these cases. Just go with it.
Sink plants
How gross does a sink have to be that a plant grows out of it? How does a seedling even find it’s way in there? From a mouth, right? Do I immediately throw out all our chia, hemp and pumpkin seeds? HOW MUST ONE PARENT IN THIS SITUATION??!!!
Ok. Right. Just do a better job of cleaning.
Got it.
Job Descriptions…
Ain’t that the truth…
Being there.
I’ve worked from home for the last 11 years. It’s been a challenge at times being alone, forever looking at the dirt that needs to be swept or the laundry that needs to be folded when deadlines are looming or deadlines are non-existent and need to be drummed up. I sometimes question why I chose this path, why I didn’t go out and work like “most” people do.
Moments like today however, when mere seconds after returning home from school great floods of tears are spilled and I’m there to soak them up, to try and help make some sense of the topsy-turvy life we all live in, that the decision to work the way I do makes all the sense in the world.
Sometimes what our kids need most, is just having someone there.
The new concussion protocol
After 14 years of avoiding them, we’ve now entered the wonderfully terrible world of concussions. During a nordic ski race our daughter had a crash and had her proverbial “bell rung”. Concussion awareness is a big deal these days (see the NFL lawsuit and the new NHL protocol for examples in the pro sport world), and I’m grateful that the learning is yielding some positive steps for recovery. This is a far cry from when I was a kid and literally used smelling salts and a swig of water to get back on the ice or on the field of play.
Today, through the Return to Learn protocol, we have a structured step by step plan to follow. Once this has been achieved the Return to Sport guidelines will be followed. Bookmark these sites because they’re excellent. While I hope you never have to use them, they’ll be there should you or someone you know, need them.
While following these steps we noticed there is precious little to do for the modern tween or teen. No screens? Heavens above. After a couple of boring days we stumbled on the winning concept – audiobooks. Thanks to the good folks at the public library and our trusty internet connection, entertainment that is free of cognitive challenge is readily available. Add in a comfy couch by a window, a warm blanket and a pair of sunglasses and you’ve got yourself a decent recovery activity with some quality literature.
Why did you bring me here?
This is classic stuff. When kids get hurt they let you know, right away. Usually with volume. As they get older and we as parents get wiser, we wait a little bit to ensure the ailment is legit otherwise we’d be rushing off to the doctor every half hour. When the complaining has lasted long enough and is loud enough I’ll make the appointment and off we go. Inevitably, we’ll get to the doctor’s office and everything that was wrong has been magically fixed. This puts me in the wonderful position of looking like an overly stressed, suffocating hypochondriac who twitches at the sight of a runny nose. So it was, at a recent appointment that when our kindly doctor did ask why my son was seeing him, my boy turned to me and asked “Why did you bring me here?”. Sigh.
We’re fine!
Ahhhhh kids, winter weather and clothing. My wise friend (who said he’d heard it from someone else but I’m crediting him anyway) said: “There’s no such thing as bad weather, just the wrong clothing.” And he’s right. I fear it’s a rite of passage for all teens (and soon to be teens) to forgo the down-filled jackets, sheepskin lined mittens and micro fibre wicking toques, and to brave the elements for all they’re worth. I did it. I’ll bet you did it. The only difference now is that we’re the ones nagging because we know we’re the care-givers that have to be there for them to make chicken soup, take days of work and nurse them back to health when the inevitable happens. (And we haven’t even hit the -20’s yet!)
Nocturnal newborns
Dear Ron,
I had a lousy sleep last night. I don’t why. It could have been the howling winds outside, or the financial issues on my mind or the extra glass of wine I had to combat the financial issues, whatever the reason it got me thinking about you and newborn sleeping patterns.
The effort required to parent is enormous. The feeding, changing, walking, anticipating, playing, cleaning, changing again takes so much of our physical, emotional and mental well being that 7:00pm looks like a perfectly reasonable bed time for a grown adult. What makes it even more challenging is that some babies, (our son for example) become nocturnal. How is this possible you ask? Don’t they just adjust to the rhythms and flow of every day life? No my friend. No. You can swaddle them within an inch of their lives, adjust the temperature in their room to the perfect setting, wrap them in the softest blankets made from beluga tears and unicorn hair and still they’ll act like badgers and bats (I learned badgers were nocturnal one night while watching an animal documentary at 3:00 in the morning with a fully awake newborn) just when you need your rest the most.
I have no great words of wisdom here other than this – get as much sleep now as you can. Bank it, because you’re going to be making more withdrawals than you are deposits. That and remember nothing lasts forever, it just feels like it’ll never end when you’re in the moment.
With that, I wish you a very good rest tonight.
Thinking of you,
Jason
The Art of Dad 