Triple The Dad

“Daddy, I’m angry at you!” My dear daughter says these words with a fierceness that would seem impossible for a four year old.  But I almost don’t hear them.  I’m busy checking my watch.  It’s a couple minutes before my wife gets home.  The second tick by. tick, tick, tick. I’m wondering how long this tantrum will go on. tick, tick, tick.     Not because I’m worried she will come home to a tantrum, or wonder how I've failed so miserably as a Dad.  No.  It is because part of me is not only  wondering  how long the tantrum will run, but actively  rooting  for it to go on. I'm not worried my wife will walk into a war zone; I'm afraid she won't.  Because I want my wife to not just hear about it from me, but to witness it;  experience  it. I may have been recently named a  Brilliant Dad . Given the potentially  low bar , I suppose its possible I am. But I am without a doubt a very, ...

The Day My Son Just… Broke As if raising triplets weren’t a big enough horror story, on recent Sunday my son just… well, I don’t know how to explain it.  He just broke. He is by far the more emotional of my two boys.  Always has been; I expect he always will be.  He can be touchy on his best days, and simply telling him not to slam the door can result in an angry mood. He has on more than one occasion told me he wants to break his favorite toy of the moment, simply because I told him throwing it across the room will break it.  And his mood swings in this direction tend toward hitting.  When one of the other kids is yelling in his general vicinity – not at him, mind you – he will occasionally walk over to them and just hit them.  Great.  But at least I’m prepared for this behavior.  Three count him to correct his behavior and move on to a timeout if needed. But as I said, on this recent Sunday he just broke. It started around 7...