I’ve learned over the years that I have to get very zen when it comes to cooking meals for my family. A dear friend of mine once said meals take up one third of the week when you factor in your figuring out what to make, buying the food, putting away the food, preparing a meal, eating the meal and cleaning up after the meal. I put a lot of thought and energy into making good food that is flavourful and nutritious so being advised that “gourmet” is clearly not synonymous with “delicious-can-I-please-have-some-more” could be very disheartening. I’ve also learned (though not without much kicking and screaming on my part), that it’s better just to roll with it. And sometimes, plain pasta with butter and a wee bit of salt is all ya need.
Tag Archives: parenting tips
Just so-so…
Heroic Girls – Part 2
Last week I posted a sketch that was inspired by John Marcotte’s website, Heroic Girls. John has kindly give “The Art of Dad” a shout out on his site and I invite you to have a look at the great work he’s doing if you haven’t seen it already! Thanks John, keep it up!
The pains of puberty and school forms
This form came home from school and, being an art kind of guy, I was immediately hit by the accompanying illustration. Stock art. Generic. Meaningless. Creepy.
If I was a kid, not only would the content of the form freak me out, so would the picture. Why a family? Why are they all swimming? Why are they all smiling except the little girl? Nope, no good. So, I came up with three better ideas that I’d love to see accompany a future form. Check them out:
Heroic girls
The other day I heard an interview on a local radio station with John Marcotte, the founder of heroicgirls.com talking about the lack of female heroes in popular culture. He spoke about how it’s incredibly hard to find a toy of Black Widow from the Avengers, on her own, while all the male heroes have a multitude of toy options. I got thinking about that and it inspired the card I made for our daughter who just turned 12. This is what I wrote on the back of the card to her:
We live in a world that loves heroes. We wrap them up and package them for others to buy because in many ways we want to be like them, heroes standing up for what’s right. Fighting for good over evil. Having some kind of super power. Well, if I could, I’d make and wrap up millions of you and give them out to kids around the world because you embody the characteristics that so many people strive for. Honesty. Fairness. Compassion. You make us laugh. You make us proud. You possess wisdom beyond your years and a humour that bonds people together. And all that after just 12 years. Happy Birthday to the most real superhero I know.