Tag: #family

  • Day Off with the Kid (Unedited)

    You know, I never really feel like I have a day off. Today, President’s Day, is a day off for the kid. She slept in, video chatted with friends, did homework, read a little from her new book, and generally has been a really good kid. I don’t think she’s brushed her teeth yet, hence why I am holding back and giving her a “generally good” rating.

    Me? I had to get all the normal Dad stuff accomplished. The feeding of everybody, and doing laundry, and making sure this home runs smoothly. Not that I am complaining, but it’s not till 4pm that I get a chance to sit down and do this; put a blog up.

    But something that has become painfully clear to me know is that I am running short on days that she will sit around the apartment with me. I can’t stop her from getting older, and more than I can stop myself from getting older. Soon, on days like this, she’ll be off to her friend’s place to hang out. I wouldn’t call this a melancholic thought; more like a dark realty of the world that is barreling toward me whether I’m ready or not.

    The solid truth that I hold to is that as my kid gets older, that this is the most enjoyable age to be with her. Like the baby phase was great, and who doesn’t love a snuggly cute baby! But, the kid now has opinions, and can make jokes, and likes to show me stuff that’s she learned, and it is infectious to be around a person who’s view of the world is still optimistic and exciting. I like this age. And in another year when she’s a teenager, that will be the best time! and so on and so on.

    This might just be the fastest eighteen years of my life.

  • ODDS and ENDS: The Cold That Won’t Die, Writing in a Blazer, and Tottenham Woes

    (Cryin’ never did nobody no good…)

    So, I’ve had this cold for almost a week now, but it’s not a normal cold. Stuffy nose, post-nasal drip, coughing, but I don’t feel run down like I normally do when I have a cold. Also, this cold only seems to come alive for the first two hours of my day, and then all night when I try to sleep. Other than that, I feel rather normal. But the damn thing won’t go away. It won’t get worse, and it won’t get better. It just exists in a perpetual state of being… Neither gaining nor losing energy.

    I am sitting and writing in a blazer today. No real reason to be this formal, other than I want to sit on the couch, my computer on my lap, trying to think up three jokes to write about, with a blazer on. It’s not cold in the house, and I have no one to impress, just felt like something I should do. Like, how I should put jazz on, get a glass of wine, and catch up on some reading. Hell, here’s a picture to prove that this is really happening.

    So, Thomas Frank got sacked as manager for Tottenham Hotspur this week. I think it was a mistake, yet I also freely admit that things can and will get worse for this team. They just can’t get out of their own way, and with the injuries piling up, there seems like little chance of hope. Relegation is a very real possibility. I won’t blame Frank for this, as it seems like he just has had the worst luck for a first-year manager. I put the blame for this situation on Daniel Levy and Peter Charrington. Levy created an untenable situation where the expectation is that managers are interchangeable. Honestly, the team hasn’t been the same since Mauricio Pochettino was at the helm, and he was fired for a stupid reason like not being successful enough. Sure, do wish we could go back to those days when we were in the Champions League Final and at the top of the table in the Premier League. Honestly, I don’t put it past West Ham to get enough of their act together and make a run to get out of the bottom three, and kick either Nottingham Forest or Spurs down the ladder. I don’t want to see Tottenham in the Championship, but if that’s what it will take for the owners to get their heads out of their respective asses, then so be it.

  • Getting Things in Order (Unedited)

    I know that January is over half way over, but in my little world, the wife and I are still trying to figure out what our 2026 is going to look like. This is more than “New Year’s Resolutions” which are I feel are doomed to fail. No, this planning is more like setting out birthday and holiday budgets, if and where do we want to travel, do we remodel the kid’s bedroom this year. Stuff like that. You know, planning.

    And then there are goals. Paying down debt is high on the list, and it would be nice to drop ten pounds. I think that 2026 is the year that I need to start earning an income. A few dollars here and there from writing has been cool, but it isn’t enough to actually make a dent in the family’s finances. I’m not sure/confident that 2026 will be the year that writing starts bringing dollars, or if I will need to go out and get a traditional job. And if I go out and get a job, do I return to my former career of arts admin, do I try something different, or do I go after a part-time gig to keep my stay-at-home-dad creds current?

    Now, 2025 didn’t actually work out the way we planned, but I do know that God got a good laugh outta it; per normal. Yet, 2025 wasn’t a bad year. We made progress as a family, and the kid is good and happy, which is our paramount concern day in and day out. But, I have to take responsibility that I didn’t complete the number of stories that I had set as my goal, and I did fall one story shout on my publication/acceptance goal for the year. And I did drop ten pounds, but put it back on during the Holidays, so that was a wash.

    But as I look at 2026, and even with all the shit that is flying around in this country and in the world (I’m still doom-scrolling in the morning) I haven’t given up yet. I hope that one day I will get to rest and relax, but I know life is struggle and I don’t see that changing. Struggle for a better day, a better world for my kid and yours, too.

  • Political Observation While on Christmas Vacation

    For Christmas, we went home to Texas to see family and friends. We had a good time, and did all the fun family stuff for the Holidays: wrapped gifts, ate too much, drank a little too much, laughed a lot, caught up, enjoyed the Season, and laughed some more.

    With all of this merriment, there was one thing that I wanted to avoid, which was talking politics. One reason was that I just wanted a break from the doom and gloom and unending aggression and conflict. Another reason was that I just wanted to have a good time with the people I love.

    I do love my friends and family, and I am very fortunate (I do mean this) that I have a large group of people in my life that are all over the political spectrum. It can make conversations interesting and heated, but it also keeps me grounded. My conservative friends and family remind me that conservative people all don’t think the same, they’re not all MAGA, and do make some good points. Same goes for the liberal and moderate people as well – they are good at defending/explaining their beliefs as well.

    Though I tried to dodge the trap of talking politics, it always comes up.

    BUT! I did observe two very interesting conversations that came up across the board, no matter who I was talking to – conservative/liberal/moderate. They were:

    1. Interest in Zohran Mamdani
    2. Tired of Fighting, Let’s Get Things Done

    Everyone is interested in Zohran! Maybe not everyone agreed with his policies, but everybody talked about how much they liked the guy. And with us being from New York City, all of our friends and family kept on asking us questions about him, if we voted for him, do we think his plans will work. The other interesting thing was that they all had seen at least one of his videos. What I think it all came down to was that they all felt he was “the new thing” in politics, and they wanted to know more about him.

    The second observation I thought was the more profound one; everyone wanted to stop fighting/arguing and just get things done. They all explained it in their own unique ways, but what I got is that everyone is tired and frustrated with feeling like they are constantly being pitted against someone or something, and the result is that nothing changes. To that end, everyone started asking why aren’t we compromising, or why aren’t we electing people who can compromise, or at least work to a solution?

    Sure, this is completely anecdotal, but talking to our friends and family about this gave me the feeling of hope. A slight, little, tiny hope which maybe, might be signaling that this antagonistic/zero sum/winner take all politics could possibly, just sort of be showing the first signs of cracking.

    Wouldn’t that be nice?

  • The Day After Thanksgiving Soup

    This is also part of our Thanksgiving tradition, as the soup hasn’t let us down in all the years we have made it.

    A note on the recipe, we prefer swapping out the white wine for a very dry rosé, as it adds a depth that you don’t get with the white.

    Creamy Turkey and Wild Rice Soup

    Ingredients

    For the Turkey Broth

    • 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
    • 2 onions chopped
    • 1 celery rib chopped
    • 1 turkey or chicken carcass cut into 4 pieces; NOTE: Leftover turkey wings, thighs, or drumsticks can be used in place of the carcass.
    • 3 cups white wine
    • 6 cups low-sodium chicken broth

    For the soup:

    • 1 cup wild rice
    • 2 carrots peeled and chopped
    • ½ teaspoon dried thyme
    • ¼ teaspoon baking soda
    • ¼ cup all-purpose flour
    • 1 cup heavy cream
    • 3 cups chopped cooked turkey
    • Salt and pepper

    Instructions

    For the turkey broth:

    • Melt butter in large Dutch oven over medium-high heat.Cook onions, celery, and turkey carcass until lightly browned, about 5 minutes.Add wine and chicken broth and simmer over medium-low heat for 1 hour. Strain broth, discarding solids.

    For the soup:

    • Wipe out Dutch oven and toast rice over medium heat until rice begins to pop, 5 to 7 minutes.Stir in turkey broth, carrots, thyme, and baking soda and bring to boil.Reduce heat to low and simmer, covered, until rice is tender, about 1 hour.
    • Whisk flour and cream in bowl until smooth.Slowly whisk flour mixture into soup. Add turkey and simmer until soup is slightly thickened, about 10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Serve.

    Notes

    Recipe source: Cooks Country Magazine, October / November 2007 issue