Tag: #StayathomeDad

  • Doing Laundry

    Monday is laundry day around here. The family laundry has been my chore since the kid was born. I used to get up… Well, the new born would get us up at 6am, and on Sundays, I would head out around that time, and walk the one block to the local laundromat. We had been going to that place for years, and all the people who worked there knew me, so it was a friendly place. (In fact, before the kid was born, we used to drop our laundry off and use their wash and fold service. But with a baby, we stopped using the service, and I started doing it all ourselves.) That was six and a half years ago when I started doing the laundry. The laundromat has gone through a renovation and a change in management, but now every Monday, I am there doing it.

    Recently, I started thinking about my chore of the laundry. It takes up two hour of my day, and sometime longer if I do or do not get help folding. It would be nice to have a washer and dryer in our apartment, or at least in the building, but even if that were true, it would still be a chore that I would have to do, and it would still take up time. But, the time really doesn’t bother me, as I am writing this while all the clothes are in the dryer.

    What I started thinking about is how I sort of feel fulfilled doing this chore. Like making dinner every night, I like that I provide a necessary service for my family. I don’t feel like I am being taken advantage of, or that this is a thankless job. I like that I am doing something that helps the family keep moving forward. I never thought I would get to the point in my life where I would enjoy doing laundry.

  • ODDS and Ends: Tottenham and Kane, Dallas Cowboys, Project Management for the Home

    “Odds and Ends” is my continuing series of random thoughts and follow ups…

    And… Have I mentioned that I know nothing about the Premiere League? Looks like everything I thought about the Harry Kane saga was wrong. Was my theory based on anything that I had read by professional sports writers? Oh, golly no. It was a gut feeling, and it was clearly wrong. I still don’t understand what Tottenham is doing, nor do I understand what Kane will do if he doesn’t get his trade, which he clearly wants as he hasn’t shown up for training, and the season starts on the 15th.

    Also in sports, the Dallas Cowboys played a preseason game, and I could not have given two craps about it. It was pre-season after all. In all honesty, I’m not very excited about the team this year. Sure, it will be nice to see Dak back on the field, but other than that, not much going on there. The Cowboys play the Bucs on the first game of the season in about a month, and not looking forward to it.

    I’m a stay at home parent, I think most of you know that, and I have been thinking that there really isn’t a project management app for people like us. I was in operations in the not-for-profit world, and in that line of work, there were apps and programs to help you manage multiple projects. I can’t seem to find anything for a household. I don’t need something with SLACK integration or any of that crap. Just basic project management.

  • Napping

    The kid hates naps. She hasn’t regularly taken one for over a year now. Oh sure, now and then she’ll take one, but it’s pretty rare. Now, if we suggest taking a nap, she treats it like a punishment.

    We all know that in about eight years or so, she’ll get back on board with napping. Then she’ll be like us, and want to take naps but can’t find the time.

    But you know who gets naps on their own terms? My 77 year old father. He naps when he feels like it and it’s glorious. I am jealous, that’s true. I would to be able to accomplish a task like he does, and then reward himself with a nap. Yet another thing to look forward to in retirement,

  • Follow Through on Writing

    One of the many benefits of sending the kid to a Summer Day Camp was that I was going to have an opportunity to write. Unobstructed writing was the plan. And I was a little nervous heading into the two week stretch; would I actually follow through?

    Follow through has always been a problem for me. And procrastination. I have had many opportunities in my life to get ahead on creative work, and for one reason or another, I found a way to watch tv, or clean, or snack, or find some errand that I HAD to accomplish first before I could start writing.

    I remember once when I was in junior high, and I was semi-sick, and my dad let me stay home from school. I promised him that if I was home, I would practice my trumpet, as I was in band, all day. The old man agreed, and I stayed home, and watched tv. Didn’t touch the trumpet once. When my dad came home from work, and asked me about the trumpet, I was honest and told him I didn’t practice. He didn’t get mad at me, he just said he was very disappointed that I wasted the day, and didn’t keep my promise.

    That moment still sticks with me. Whenever I have the chance to work creatively, and I decided that I should, instead, watch my favorite episodes of Mad Men, that memory pops back into my head.

    I am testing my follow through this week. To see if I am really serious about this writing thing.

  • The Summer Day Camp Saga Concludes

    Today was the big day. It was the first day of Summer Day Camp for our daughter. After everything we went through last week, I was pretty nervous that it might all get derailed. But it worked out; Forms were sent, approval given, protocol followed.

    Yesterday, the wife took the kid out to get a new bathing suit for camp, as her current one is getting a little small. We hit the drug store for sun screen and other camp goodies. The kid picked out her clothes for this morning, and we all help pack her backpack last night before bed. I even got a surprise joy from making the kid’s lunch last night.

    This morning, it all went like clockwork. We all got up on time, without a complaint. Ate breakfast, brushed teeth, and were out the door like we planned. It was a fun walk this morning, just me and the kid, talking about what might be in-store at the camp; Would there be a water slide? New friends? Art classes? Building a robot.

    As we got closer to the camp, other kids began to coalesce around the entrance gate. I could feel the excitement in my daughter build. As we stepped onto the grounds, she asked me, “Can I go make friends?” That was the point, I thought, but I just said, “Yes.” Off she went to introduce herself to two girls.

    I checked my kid in with the councilors, and soon a gaggle of eight 1st Graders were all talking to each other, waiting for the camp to begin. The councilor went over to the kids, took attendance, and started to lead the kids inside for the day camp. My little one looked over her shoulder at me, gave me a quick, little wave, and was off with the rest of the group.

    And it was done. She was back with kids again. After a year and a half, she was with kids her own age, doing and talking to kids about kid things, all away from their parents.

    It honestly felt like we would never get back to something like this.