Triple The Dad

Parents of all stripes, but new parents especially, are prone to worry. And why not? The early months of parenting are unlike anything you've encountered before. You are bone tired and lost at sea, having never been too sea before and without any way of knowing where you are, or even if you are on Earth. Many parents react to this situation by promptly taking out an auger and drilling a hole right through the bottom of their boat. The question is - right after "hey, where did they get that auger?" - why? Why do parents make it harder than it has to be. For one thing, if your kid does it, its probably normal. Like 99.9% probably normal. You see parents in advice columns and busily pounding away questions at Google like... My kid does X, is it normal? In fact, the first five Google suggestions for "my kid does..." are: 1) doesn't want to go to college 2) doesn't sleep 3) doesn't listen 4) doesn't play sports 5) doesn't eat ...

Some people get it; some people don't. I'm an Eagles fan and so Emmitt Smith was never my favorite player. I rooted against him and his team countless times. But he gets it. I'll bring up a sort of related point in a minute, but first: When asked if Smith would let his son play football - a big question that former players face these days - he said yes. Here is what he said: “ Why would I steal his passion from him ?” Smith said. “I never made him play football. He had many choices, options. I love watching him play basketball. Football, I get nervous just like any other parent. And I’m concerned for him just like any other parent. But his goals are his goals, and my job is to help him reach it and protect him when he needs protection. And so to take another kid’s passion from them is just not right. I don’t think it’s right. It’s like me taking your passion from you, telling you, ‘You cannot do this.’ When you want to do it. Especially if it’s right. It’s good for...

I haven't been posting regularly because I’ve been stuck trying to come up with a way to post about how I hope my kids won't grow up to be like me - without it sounding like I hate myself or making people worry that I’m depressed.  Essentially, a way to say what I’m about to say without sounding like I’m fishing for a “its all going to be OK.” I've written before about  Live Like Daddy Syndrome , the idea some Dads have that their kid must grow up liking the same things they do/did.  But this was a little different.   As if in answer to my conundrum, I poked myself in the eye while getting my daughter out of her car seat hard enough I worried I dislodged it.  As if that wasn’t enough, I then spilled a three-gallon can of paint all over the bedroom floor.  As my wife says, these things just seem to happen around me.  Like the time I spilled a large Dunkin Donuts iced coffee in the exam room of the fertility clinic.  So, yeah, I don’t w...