Sep 22 2013

Should I Stop Holding Back?

Believe it or not, I hold back a lot. Should I stop? Is it time to to really tell the world (whoever is listening/reading) what I actually think?

DaddyTips—Thoughts on Dadding

Some have told me that no good will come of me expressing my views. Not that I’ve never expressed an opinion. I was particularly harsh to Lance Armstrong, but I felt that he deserved it. (Plus I was ahead of the curve on that story.)

Ultimately this is a parenting blog. It is called DaddyTips. The original idea was to offer, you know, tips. That isn’t always easy because a lot of parenting advice comes from my actual experiences as a father. Why is this an issue? Because I don’t like writing about my kids too much. I don’t use their names, I don’t post their photos, and I think they have a right to privacy.

Note: I know this isn’t what everyone does, and I respect people who make different decisions on this matter. Except for Jon Gosselin and Kate Gosselin. Them I find irritating and always did. Here’s the proof. Notice what I wrote at the end, that perhaps Jon could get a regular job. I wrote that in 2009. This has now happened.

And yes, quoting yourself is tacky but it makes fact-checking easier. I will keep writing that until somebody tells me to stop.

Anyway, back to the original topic of whether or not I should hold back. Someone suggested to me recently that they thought I was out of control. There’s a lot more to that story that I’m not going to share because it’s too personal and involves details I prefer not to discuss in public. I have always felt strongly that one way to avoid being “out of control” is to vent. Get it out. Rant, if that helps.

I don’t know. It’s difficult to decide.

Is there a tip here? There is. The tip is to consider whether or not sharing certain things on the Interwebs is good for you or for your kids. It might be. Or not. But like Dora says, let’s stop and think for a minute.


Aug 23 2013

Grah! I Am Not Getting Anything Done

I am not getting anything done. This is frustrating.

I don’t think I need a book like Organizing For Dummies. First, I’m not a dummy. Second, the issue isn’t organization. It’s time.

Yes, there’s a book for that too. And it can bite me. (Technically it can’t, unless it’s one of those books from Harry Potter. But I digress.)

The issue for me is not managing time properly. The issue is not having any time to manage.

Parenting, as I’ve said often, is not easy. Raising kids takes time. Some of the things that one must do when raising kids are things that can only be done if said kids leave you alone for awhile. My kids are great. But I’m the type of person who needs multiple minutes in a row in order to accomplish anything significant. Starting a task — even, say, writing a blog post — and then getting interrupted (not always by kids) can and does derail my activity. This isn’t the case for everyone, but it is for me.

Then there’s relaxation. Downtime is a requirement for parents. It took me awhile to realize this, but trust me, it’s true. While it is true that the children eventually go to sleep and I could use that time to do various tasks, that’s not always a good idea. Because a tired dad is a cranky dad, and a cranky dad is no fun for anyone.

Eventually the stuff that absolutely must be done will in fact be done. Because that’s the way it is. This is how we do it. Letting important things slide is not an option. Starting and stopping and getting stymied is still annoying.

Dadding ain’t easy. See also: SAHD WAHD. Then call me a wahhhbulance.


Jul 30 2013

Fear Of Not Waking Up On Time

Does anyone else have this? A fear of not waking up on time? I do.

At the moment I’m setting three alarms to ensure I get the hell out of bed in time to get people ready to go where they need to go. For some reason I’ve been more neurotic about waking up this summer than I have in previous years. Read more »


Feb 04 2013

Can I Go Back To Bed Now?

Ever wonder why you bothered getting out of bed on a certain day? In my case it’s not an option. I have to get up to get the kids off to school. That being the case, today I had the “why exactly did I get up today?” Without getting into specifics, it’s because today has been not much fun. So far.

So there’s hope. I have a whole afternoon left.


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Apr 26 2012

The Least Productive Part Of My Day

DaddyTips—Thoughts on Dadding

Do you want to know what the least productive part of my day is? Do you? You do.

The least productive part of my day is right now.

Really. Read more »


Jan 26 2012

Wherein I Bash Parenting Blogs On A Parenting Blog

DaddyTips Rant

I’m not familiar with the parenting blog EarlyMama, but it sounds like the author, Michelle Horton, gets her chops busted a lot for having kids when she was in her early 20’s.

I have some thoughts to share. Generally we call these rants. It’s not really a rant, per se, but calling it a rant makes things easier. Read more »


May 10 2011

Osama Bin Laden’s Son Speaks Out

Bin Laden Book

More dad related Bin Laden news, and this time it’s a doozy. Omar Bin Laden has decided that this is a good time to release a statement questioning the legality of the way his father met his end. Read more »