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parenting
All posts tagged parenting
“Starting it up again?” asked my 12-year-old son…I shook my head up and down. I’ve been doing this blog in one form or another since 2008. I originally started it to learn about blogs. It then became a place to write about my observations as a father to my two sons. As time went on, I would leave this space for months at a time, and then reappear sometimes with stories, a 90 day writing challenge or to reflect on images I liked, or wished to comment on. It is an evolutionary blog that has never had much of a following except for a day when I discovered some techy link that generated an insanely huge following for a few days. Today, I begin, I think, a new phase.
I decided to change the name 4wrdthnkndad to Forward Thinking Dad, because it was just easier for people to find. Perhaps it reflects that I’m aging and becoming more practical. Also I’m taking an improv class, where I’m being asked to begin with a monologue. I find myself avoiding that experience. I keep looking for the perfect story to tell. And yet I know, talking about writing this blog post would be a good enough place to start a monologue.
So my intention today is to write about moments that I’m interested in.
While wAlking to noodles&company, my older son pleaded for my phone. Not unusual, but instead of texting, he ran back one block to take this photo. I had walked right by it, not even stopping to point it out. So I am posting it to remind me to pay attention to the beauty all around me. Perhaps it will inspire you too.
STOP! Stttop! STOOOOOOOOOOOOOOPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPP!! Be quiet! You be quiet! Mom, why are you blaming me!! He hit me! You’re a plop! MOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMMM!. STOP! I’m trying to read! Can I watch? You’re a jerk!. You’re a jerk! I don’t want to do my homework! I want to go outside! Will you feed the cats Not my day-will you pay me? It’s not fair! STOPPPPP! Practice piano-COME ON-that’s so not fair!! Can you make me something to eat?! Come on! We’re going to be late for my baseball game!! Thanks Mom-love ya. Family time.
As I read the NY Times report about Amy Bishop the Harvard PhD accused of killing three colleagues at the University of Alabama in Huntsville,one part of the story stood out. It is the following,” The Boston Globe reported that Dr. Bishop was charged with assault in 2002 after punching a woman in the head at an International House of Pancakes in Peabody, Mass. According to a police report, Dr. Bishop was angry that the woman had taken the last booster seat in the restaurant, which Dr. Bishop wanted for one of her children, The Globe said. It added that Dr. Bishop was sentenced to probation and that prosecutors recommended she take anger management classes, though it is not clear whether she did.” I’m not an authority on these matters, but I feel pretty certain she never made it to anger management class.
It;s 7:30am, I’m blowing past a string of green lights to get my kid to a 7:40am student council meeting. On the way, I stumble through a myriad of radio station, pausing to hear “Boston” singing “Smokin” on the classic rock station. My mind drifted back to parties where “Boston’s” first album was pounding out of every woofer and tweeter in the house. “Boston” was legendary. Perhaps the greatest question about them was, “how come they don’t have more albums coming out.”
We were convinced they were the greatest band of our time-at least their first album seemed that way. I remember going to see Boston in concert. This girl’s dad was a Chicago cop, who worked the event at the Stadium. He somehow managed to get about 10 of us into the show.As a parent, I can only imagine what a nightmare it was to keep that promise to his little girl.But it was a great night. The band sounded as good in person as they did on their album. In fact, some people suggested they were lip synching. For weeks after that, we boasted to anyone who came near us that we went to the “greates fricken concert ever.”
As I screeched into the school parking lot at 7:38, I wondered if kids today could listen to those long songs that Boston sang, or Electric Light Orchestra. You have to be patient or high to sit through some of those things. I don’t know what became of the legendary band. I keep waiting to hear their next album is finally coming out.
