As a father’s rights advocate and someone who has been through divorce and now is flying solo raising my kids as a single dad, I end up talking with a lot of men who are going through similar experiences, suddenly finding themselves not just being the father but without the benefit of an often more experienced mom in the picture to help. It’s daunting. We live in a culture that, like most cultures before us,…Read More
I was talking with a gal earlier this afternoon about single parenting and the involvement of both parents after a divorce. In my case, my ex and I are both quite involved in our children’s lives and regularly communicate about medical, sports, school and many other issues. For me, that’s the norm. Other single parents I know have a different arrangement, however, where one parent is the decision maker, while the other parent occasionally adds…Read More
I was sad to learn about the passing of my ex father-in-law last week. He was a kind, generous man and we had a very good relationship for the duration of my marriage to his daughter. But time waits for no man and in his early 90s he’d had a rich and full life and when he did go through the last phases, it was quick and he was apparently pretty unaware of what was…Read More
Like just about every other adult in the United States, I’ve been watching the US Supreme Court consider the constitutionality of both the California Marriage Protection Act (also known as Prop 8) and the Defense of Marriage Act, both attempts to codify into law that only a man and a woman can legally be married. Honestly, it’s hard for me to understand why so many people are worried about what someone else is doing, whether…Read More
We’ve taken a few days off to come out to Southern California and visit with my Dad. My sister’s flown in from the far north and instead of being jammed into a hotel room or two, we used the great resource that is Vacation Rent by Owner and rented a very nice three-bedroom condo just across from the beach and only about 20min from my Dad’s place inland. When we got here it turned out…Read More
I don’t really know how it happened, but in the last year or so I have gained about 13 pounds. That’s me in the blue shirt: you can see I’m well on my way to becoming the Buddha. Here’s the rub: I eat reasonably healthy and I hit the gym 2-3 times weekly, often more. Yeah, I’m fairly sedentary otherwise but I don’t feel like I have any horrible habits. Well, except I know my…Read More
A college student working on a research paper contacted me with an interesting set of questions and I finally had a chance this morning to respond. Since my response explains some of my parenting philosophy, I thought it would be interesting to post it here on GoFatherhood too, inviting you to read and response. So… have at it! Here’s her set of questions, which I kinda respond to: I was hoping to know how has…Read More
I attended my daughter’s cello recital last week and it was delightful. It’s wonderful to see all of these children have the courage to go in front of a room and play solo pieces, whether they were 45 seconds long or complicated five minute pieces (depending on their experience level). The piano was accompanying most of them, but there was a duet and even a quartet piece for cello. Lovely, and the little ones of…Read More
Sorry, but I’ve decided to remove this article upon the request of one of the parties mentioned in the original entry. Not generally my first choice, but as a blogger I seek to honor individual privacy and the needs of the community in addition to my own desires to share my experiences and musings about children and parenting. There’s lots else to read here, however, so please do browse a few more recent pieces before…Read More
I feel kind of bad for my teen daughter this afternoon. She was with me Thurs-Monday this week and today being Wednesday she’s at her Mom’s place. Problem is, she wants to go to the gym for a workout — which is great! — but her gym bag is here at my place. No worries, her Mom can bring her over and she can pick up the bag, right? On the phone, she assured me…Read More
Like most divorced parents, my kids have become rather like human ping-pong balls. Every 3-4 days they switch between their Mom’s house and my house, then back. Kind of like the modern version of If It’s Tuesday, This Must be Belgium. Usually it runs pretty smooth and the kids are good at knowing where they’ll end up on a given day. Sometimes there are complications, however, and that’s what I want to talk about here….Read More
It’s something I’ve done since my oldest was first in school: volunteer to be a driver / chaperone for school field trips. Whether it’s to the pumpkin patch in October or a farm further afield, or even a museum in far-distant Denver, I really enjoy the experience and find it’s great fun to see my child “in their natural element” interacting with their peers. The fact that the field trips are often fun too —…Read More
People who follow this blog know that my kids are on an extended three week vacation overseas with their Mom. I miss ’em as it’s a long time to be apart, but so far, as is typical, all I seem to get are glimpses of what’s not going well rather than updates from my kids about what they’re doing that’s fun. My son is the one pushing the envelope, as is often the case, and…Read More
I remember summer vacation from when I was a kid and it was day after day of nothing structured, no trips, no significant plans, an endless expanse of bike rides, shooting hoops, playing baseball on the street, tennis against the garage door, hanging with friends and having summer adventures. I never made Super 8 movies (never thought of it!) but my friends and I definitely did crazy bike rides to the beach (a really, really…Read More
Oh, my poor little 7yo daughter! Through an unfortunately series of events, late last week she witnessed Linda’s dogs attacking and killing her pet rat Trixie. Worse, she was alone in the house at the time. At least she was smart enough not to intervene, I suppose, so she didn’t end up bitten by the dogs in the middle of their frenzy, but still… Since then she’s had a sadness in her heart – unsurprisingly…Read More