Halloween

If you can get past the pumpkin spiced lattes, this is a great holiday. There is something about the change of seasons, the falling leaves, the spooky themes and the idea of changing your identity, even if for only one night. Halloween doesn't have the pageantry of Christmas or the history of Thanksgiving, but it has it's own story. One of mystery, and terror, a story of superstition and respect, shrouded in the past. From the ancient Gaelic practice of dressing up to welcome and blend in with the dead around Samhain (the end of summer), comes the modern tradition of costumes. Likewise, carrying hollowed out gourds and turnips with ghoulishly carved faces acting as lanterns lit the way and warded off evil spirits.

The Case Against Obstruction

2013 World Series, Game 3

The Boston Red Sox vs. the St. Louis Cardinals

Tie game, 4-4.

Ninth inning.

One out.

Runners on second and third.


By now, we all know the setup.

We all know the play.

We all know the outcome.


Was it the right call? The rule book is behind it. Let me play the devil's advocate and try to make a case for how it might have gone the other way.

Moving Day

As our normal, lazy Saturday morning came to a close and I was about to start giving the dog a much-needed bath, Nat burst into the bathroom in tears sobbing "It's today! It's today, Dad!"

I was up to my elbows in dog hair and had no idea what she was on about. Eventually I got it out of her that it was "today" that our neighbors were moving. The same ones who's dog passed away this past spring. The same ones who's children welcomed ours to the neighborhood four years ago. The same ones who's daughter and Nat are best friends (except when they're not, because *girls). Those neighbors are moving.

Raising Good Kids

Recently, I had an unfortunate professional interaction which left me scratching my head as to how the man I was talking with made it this far in life with the awful people skills he possessed. And its not as though he was 20 and in college, with youth and naivety to blame. No, this man is from the Boomer generation, and has a job where he is constantly interacting with people. Perhaps he got where he is by being a shrewd businessman, or maybe he knew all the right people at all the right times. It could be that he has just seen enough life that it has jaded him, but I think more likely he simply never knew any better, and no one's called him on it in a long time.

At really all came to a head when he attempted to deliver an apology. It went something like this:

Stuff My Wife Says IV

"He's going to have your sense of humor. Please wait to introduce him to Monty Python"


Never have I been so proud!

USP - Unscheduled Sleep Positions VI

Now this is a sight I like to see. If he can pass out on the carpet, he must be playing hard.

The trouble with this though, lies in the timing. I'm sure he could get a good hour and a half in, and at 11 am, no problem. But at 6 pm? It's just too much sleep, too late in the day!

Just before Godzilla turned three, Kate and I would get into it about naps. I loved getting him down around 2 and letting him sleep for two hours, then going to work. It really eased up the end of my day at home. But every day he took a nap for me, he was up that much later for her at bedtime. He was so tired and cranky, he needed the nap, and I needed him to have the nap, but then he wasn't tired at night. Eventually, his bedtime routine won out and our daily midday naps ended. So, this is what we get now from him. And even these are falling away, becoming less frequent.

So, when I find him like this, I'm happy to snap a picture and let him sleep as long as he needs. If he's falling asleep while the dump trucks are still out, he probably shouldn't be operating heavy machinery anyway!

Questioning an Involved Parent

Lets just get this over with.


I'm a dad.

I'm involved with my kids.

I encourage them to be active, eat well, be polite, go to school, ride their bikes.

Sometimes, I even put two or three of those things together.

So imagine my surprise when I get a call from my son's speech therapist saying the school doesn't want me riding my bike to school with my son, because I might be a predator or my son could get hit by a car in the parking lot.

What?

Go ahead, if you haven't already, read that again. I'll wait.