Zoe's DadZoe's DadBe careful what you wish for....reflections, musings and a cry for help from a stay at home father of 5. Humorous anectdates of a dad taken hostage by his children. 
Articles
So, You Want to be a Nurse?
2008-02-21 20:40:00 Dude, tell me about this nursing gig. My exact words to my high school buddy, some ten years post graduation. It had not been my first choice. Or second for that matter. Truth be told, it was probably not in the top ten but at the age of 28 and with my life in what can only be described as a state of transition, I needed options. For different reasons, he too was experiencing a similar life transition and to my benefit, had done all of the necessary leg work in preparation for our next life journey. Chemistry. Biology. Anatomy. Physiology. Prerequisites as they are referred to in the course curriculum. After wading through these and numerous others you may petition the college for entry into the Nursing School where you may sink your teeth into heartier more relevant courses. Courses about wound care, post-operative care, general medicine, drug administration, emergency procedures, pediatrics, ob, surgery,... More About: Nurse
You've made me proud.....
2008-02-18 02:20:00 She looked up and forced a smile, half of a smile, really for what she would have preferred were tears. I saw it in her eyes, in her face, in her body. Did you hear it, her eyes were asking. Do you think Mrs. Bender noticed? What about the the rest of them. Do you think they heard it? She was being brave, consummate, strong. I smiled, proud and winked at her. You did good. I didn't bring it up, never even hinted.We've signed a contract, Zoë and I. Ninety minutes a week. It's usually more but never less. We gave our word and must honor that. It's not easy what with the numerous directions we are pulled on any given day. But you would think just 15 minutes a day would be a cinch. I'm hear to tell you--it's not. Miss one day and you quickly find out just how difficult a task it is. We didn't have time for 15 minutes today and you think we'll have time for 30 tomorro... More About: Redemption , Made , Proud
Story time with Zoe--Volume 3
2008-02-16 11:16:00 I remember the first time Zoë read Go, Dog. Go! by P.D. Eastman on her own. It seemed to take an eternity, each turn of the page leaving her stumbling over and phonetically attempting to sound out words. I would start a word giving her the sounds and she would finish it. We repeated the process page after page my frustration level rising though not in proportion to her excitement level as the end of the book neared. "Look how much I've read, Daddy," she would exclaim after every couple of pages. She refused every offer and attempt of mine to take over the reading and let her just listen to the story. She was on a mission. By the time she had finished I was completely spent. She was totally stoked. "How many pages was that? Did you see me? Daddy, look. I just read this whole book!" Pride transformed my weariness and my frustration dissipated. This week's Story Time with Zoë brings us back to a great... More About: Volume , Volume 3
A Momentary Lapse of Reason.....
2008-02-14 10:01:00 No, this post is not about Pink Floyd or their 1987 post Roger Waters album A Momentary Lapse of Reason . I do own that one though and despite what the critics say think it was a pretty good one. You see, Roger Waters left the band in 1985 stating that creatively the unit had run it's course. He officially declared the band defunct. Guitarist David Gilmour and drummer Nick Mason had other notions. They re-entered the recording studio in 1986 to work on a new project despite opposition from Waters over the use of the name Pink Floyd. Although legal stuff ensued with name calling, mudslinging and regrets over being mean to each other (this part is not really true, there are no regrets) several months into 1987 Gilmour and Mason released, as Pink Floyd, A Momentary Lapse of Reason sans Roger or any of his influences. Bands do this. They fight amongst themselves and display what can only be described as poor interpersonal communication ski...
I am Better!
2008-02-09 23:05:00 She's asleep now, a pattern of slow rhythmic inhalations and exhalations intermittently disrupted with a soft sniffle. She's already forgotten the reasons she started crying those memories having vanished with hugs and I'm sorrys. She's resting . At peace. So why aren't I? Why do I find it so difficult to forget, to forgive to start anew? My stomach aches, my head hurts, my heart beats heavy and I torment myself with disparaging analysis of my own worth. I have failed her. I've failed them all. I've failed myself. My execrable behavior has left me demoralized, ashamed. She'll wake up tomorrow joyous, excited to start another day. Carefree and happy. I'll rise apprehensive, still doubting. Anxious to prove that I can be better. That I am better.It doesn't matter what happened or why. That is past. What matters is that there are never good excuses for bad behavio... More About: Forgiveness
Story Time With Zoë---Volume II
2008-02-08 20:59:00 Last week's initial offering of Story Time with Zoë was a resounding success. Dr. Seuss is an all-time favorite of mine and Green Eggs and Ham still ranks as one of my top choices. All of my kids seem to like his works and I find that the rhyming and meter of his stories lends itself to not only an engaging active listen but also encouraging early reading. It helps that the stories are fun, timeless and bring to mind some of my most fond childhood memories. We could read a Seuss book every day and scarcely grow tired of the story. It is pure joy to be able to pass that on to my children.This week's story also reminds me of my youth, of times when what was going on in the world around me didn't matter because there was a little place nothing short of utopia deep within the heart of the city. A place where I could lose myself and become a part of someone else's wonderful world learning to read, count and bang a drum like an animal. ... More About: Volume
Story Time With Zoë---Volume II
2008-02-08 20:59:00 Last week's initial offering of Story Time with Zoë was a resounding success. Dr. Seuss is an all-time favorite of mine and Green Eggs and Ham still ranks as one of my top choices. All of my kids seem to like his works and I find that the rhyming and meter of his stories lends itself to not only an engaging active listen but also encouraging early reading. It helps that the stories are fun, timeless and bring to mind some of my most fond childhood memories. We could read a Seuss book every day and scarcely grow tired of the story. It is pure joy to be able to pass that on to my children.This week's story also reminds me of my youth, of times when what was going on in the world around me didn't matter because there was a little place nothing short of utopia deep within the heart of the city. A place where I could lose myself and become a part of someone else's wonderful world learning to read, count and bang a drum like an animal. W... More About: Podcast , Volume , Sesame Street
40 Days.....
2008-02-05 19:59:00 Five minutes, maybe longer. That's all I took, honest. After breakfast this morning I took just a short constitutional to the family library. Don't be impressed. Remember the little hovel of a bedroom that Harry Potter had under the staircase in his uncle's house? Yeah, think that but smaller. It's got a light, a lavatory and a seat that is quite comfortable and best of all the door locks. It's one of the few locking doors in the house. This morning's read, a magazine or sales flyer, back of a tissue box, whatever else may be within arms reach and a cup of coffee. Five minutes. Then I would be off to the tasks of the day. My list was quite extensive and there would be little time for dilly dally.The twins, had other plans.This was not on my list today. Are they trying to tell me something? In other news....The Lenten Season begins tomorrow. Ash Wednesday. As is tradition in the Catholic faith, ... More About: Days
I'm not ready.....
2008-02-04 01:34:00 The emptiness of the room was short lived. I had really only a few short moments to stand absorbing the vastness of the space. Void the result of my dismantling. Piece by piece, screw by screw. Zoë helped with the project with what little time she had before leaving for school. Zane took over when she left ably carrying out the bulk of the work as in Zoë's absence he was senior. Good fortune for Zia that there had been a two hour school delay otherwise she would have been entrusted to tasks she probably is not ready for. But she cheerfully assisted when asked carrying things here and there and generally keeping the twins occupied and out of the way. Generally, I say because more than once I had to inform Zella that she was holding the hammer backwards or ask Zander to please bring back the screws. It was a family project. Rightly so, I suppose as our subject had directly affected each one of them. Comfort.... W... More About: Growing Up , Ready
Story Time with Zoë --Volume 1
2008-02-02 01:02:00 Welcome to the first of what I hope to be a recurring entry on the pages you see before you. I got the idea for this as I painstakingly labored to bring my adoring masses (all three of you) some Christmas Cheer. It was my first attempt at a podcast. Songs were mislabeled, some were left out, others snuck in there all in an attempt to provide some Yuletide Cheer. Honestly, the entire process was horribly painful and by the time I had completed the podcast, I could care less if Old Saint Nick ever came to see me or for that matter any of you. That's right. For all I cared the fat little elf could find himself stuck in your chimney only to be discovered as his rotting charred corpse began to fall into the embers of your fireplace after months of winter log burning. "Honey, you forgot to open the flue, again. No. Wait. Good God! Honey, take the kids and run, get outta here. That's not soot--it's Santa! Dear... More About: Story , Time , Volume
Story Time with Zoë --Volume 1
2008-02-02 01:02:00 Welcome to the first of what I hope to be a recurring entry on the pages you see before you. I got the idea for this as I painstakingly labored to bring my adoring masses (all three of you) some Christmas Cheer. It was my first attempt at a podcast. Songs were mislabeled, some were left out, others snuck in there all in an attempt to provide some Yuletide Cheer. Honestly, the entire process was horribly painful and by the time I had completed the podcast, I could care less if Old Saint Nick ever came to see me or for that matter any of you. That's right. For all I cared the fat little elf could find himself stuck in your chimney only to be discovered as his rotting charred corpse began to fall into the embers of your fireplace after months of winter log burning. "Honey, you forgot to open the flue, again. No. Wait. Good God! Honey, take the kids and run, get outta here. That's not soot--it's Santa! Dear... More About: Story , Time , Seuss , Volume
The afternoon edition.....revisited.
2008-01-30 10:47:00 Cabin fever and the daily stresses of five children can skew a persons perspective. Don't believe me? Read this post. With the very best of intentions I had set myself to writing a pithy little anecdote to illustrate my point about how the effects of cabin fever will cause you to do things that you would otherwise have never dreamed of. You dear reader, God Bless you, were the recipient of some far fetched and totally out in left field story from my childhood about an extraordinary photo of a UFO in my local afternoon newspaper. The fever is powerful. It leads me and I, willing or not, must follow. I'm sorry. I'll try to do better. But the walls are literally closing in around me, the ceiling compressing and the floor rising. With that preface, I'm going to try again.I grew up in Louisiana. North Louisiana. Actually, it was Central Louisiana or Cenla as the natives refer to it but as a kid who seldom travele... More About: Afternoon , Edition
The afternoon edition.....
2008-01-30 10:45:00 I grew up in Louisiana. Yeah, it used to get really cold in the winter time. This one time, I recall it got so cold that our grass turned brown for two whole months. Some of the leaves even fell from our trees. I had to rake them. Almost filled an entire bag. That was one long winter. One morning, it was so cold that I actually had to put on shoes to go outside and get the morning paper for my mom. OK. You got me. We had an afternoon paper in our little town. Only years later as the town began to grow did the paper change its distribution time to morning. I kind of liked the afternoon route. I remember once there was an extraordinary picture of a UFO on the front page of the paper. Being that it was an afternoon paper and our parents were still slaving away at the old salt mill, as were every other kids parents in the neighborhood, and we had never seen proof positive in our local paper or anywhere e... More About: Afternoon , Edition
Babble.....
2008-01-24 01:50:00 I'm not sure what I dislike more, the total feeling of helplessness I feel when I am consumed by the inability to articulate the thoughts in my head or memes. Somehow they both tend to fester in the recesses of my mind rotting there until released from their stagnating pools of decaying gray matter. Either way, what eventually emerges is usually babble and not nearly worth the time I have invested in them. I suppose it's a process, a learning process and I should appreciate the lessons. Like Castor Oil, it's good for me, and though I can't immediately see that, I shouldn't be dismissive. No, I haven't been tagged as they say. I did , however, read a very interesting meme by Darren over at Clare's Dad the other day and it kind of stuck in my head. It basically uses the songs on your iPod to answer a series of questions. I had no intentions of completing the meme but the very first question gave me a very cool answer and before lo... More About: Babble
On this day seven years ago.....
2008-01-18 23:18:00 This entry is adapted from the entry I placed in Zoë's baby book. Today is her seventh birthday and I felt it was appropriate to post it. Please bear with me as I tell the story of my daughter to....my daughter.You arrived triumphantly into this world 7 years ago today at 3:54pm but your story actually begins much earlier. I was working the night shift and was unwinding after a long shift when your mother arrived home having pulled an all nighter herself and announced, "Come upstairs. Quickly. I'm ovulating." What happened next....well, that's a whole other story for some other time. Let's just suffice it to say that on that early morning of May in the year 2000 your story really began.I remember the morning your mother announced your impending arrival. She suggested we take a short vacation in January. Hey, it's cold in Middle America in the winter so I was all for it. Then she suggested our resort stay as a hospital ... More About: Birthday , Years
Carpe diem.....
2008-01-15 00:36:00 .......As you complete the poster, have fun!! Remember, this is your chance to show the other children in the class just how special your child is. We are looking forward to learning more about our Star of the Week....... or some words to that effect. Zoë has been selected to be the Star of the Week in her classroom. Our weekend assignment was to complete a poster that was chock full of information that would be relayed to the other children providing them valuable insight into just exactly who Zoë really is. You know, burning type questions that you always wanted to ask but were afraid. Favorite color---PINK.Favorite food---MAC AND CHEESE.Favorite movie---THE LITTLE MERMAID.I know, I know. You are sitting there as you read this mouth agape and a feeling a numbness is starting to set in. These questions went deep, really deep and exposed the very core of my precious 6 soon to be 7 year old little girl. Hard hitting, no hold... More About: Carpe Diem
Take a bow.....
2008-01-08 23:50:00 The warm water tumbled over my shoulders, soothing, calming, satisfying.If I could smell, I feel certain the lavender bubbles now scrubbing the grime from by body would have gone straight to my brain adding to the euphoria quickly consuming me.As it was, it just felt good to be getting clean, so good I added a shave.Yep. There's nothing like a good shower to revitalize and invigorate tired, sore and smelly muscles.Over all to soon, I stepped onto the warm tile floor and reached for my towel.At this very moment the cheering began.Zia, Zander and Zella rose from their seats on the window ledge and stood atop the box radiatorarms raised triumphantly with shouts of "Hooray for Daddy.""Thanks, guys. Now......can I have my towel?""Not until you take a bow," replied Zia.Suddenly, I felt dirty again. *note to self--FIX THE LOCK ON THE BATHROOM DOOR! More About: Modesty
2008, The Year in Review.....
2008-01-07 01:29:00 Dude. 2008 was a brutal year, the likes of which I am happy to say is behind me. Come on 2009!What?It's only just begun?You have got to be kidding me! For all intents and purposes January was scheduled to start with a bang. The first (Jan 1) is our wedding anniversary. I may have mentioned something about that in a previous post. Anyway, we learned early on in our married life that unless Cracker Barrel is your idea of the perfect setting for a romantic anniversary dinner, you're not going out to eat on New Year s Day. Nothing is open. New Year's Eve, by default, has become the night for celebrating our years of wedded bliss as well as ringing in the new year. It's our little way of multi tasking. The restaurant was fantastic and the food delicious. We lingered, maybe a bit too long for the New Year was greeted cordially during a pause in the conversation during our drive home. Yeah, we ushered i... More About: Review , Year in Review
Y2K+8
2007-12-30 01:23:00 So.....would you do it again? I despise the question. First off, the question centers around a point or issue that is for every practical purpose mute. Unless of course, H.G. Wells' Time Machine was not just a science fiction novella but in all actuality the genius blueprint for actual time travel. Bear in mind we are talking about life decisions here. If I decide in a momentary lapse of reason to ride the twist til I puke whirly bird spinning teacup of death at the county fair and by some act of God himself am able to step off of said ride without puking and someone asks, "So...would you do it again?" Well, then I can see how "would you do it again?" may be a fair question. If you are actually asking me to repeat something I am fully capable of repeating then sure, ask away. All's fair. If, however, you pose the question as it relates to some decision I have made during the course of my lifetime that has obviously affected my curren... More About: New Year
The wisdom of Linus.....
2007-12-24 10:32:00 It's easy to become so totally absorbed in the holiday season that we lose focus, the ability to just step back for a minute or two and ask ourselves why are we doing all of this? Bows, ribbons, packages, cards, lights, trees, family get togethers, Christmas carols and music programs.......Really? What's our motivation? What's it all about? Thank you, Linus Van Pelt.God Bless and Merry Christmas to you and yours from me and mine. Here's to a year of promise, prosperity and peace.See ya in January! More About: Wisdom
The downward spiral.....
2007-12-20 02:40:00 If you, like me, fear you may have peaked just a tad too early this Christmas season I offer this. Levity. For me, it seems to put things back into perspective. Brings things into focus. Enjoy. And remember, there's only six days left.
Llella did disss.....
2007-12-10 08:16:00 The life of a parent is filled with tiny moments of joy, moments that seem to validate your parental efforts. We've even given these events a name, a moniker. Developmental Milestones. I should be happy for today I witnessed the passing of yet another mile marker. No, I'm still buying Pampers. I know the good folks over there are giving each other high fives about that. And no, the twins have not learned to dress themselves although Zander is getting very good at pulling his pants down. More words? Complete sentences? Not really. They are adding new words and sounds every day but it's so subtle and gradual that it's really hard to consider this a milestone. So what is it?, you ask. What have they learned to do? And why aren't you happy?Today, the twins drank from a cup. That's right! Totally unaided and on their own accord they chose today as the breakout day. They used the small Dixie cu...
The Christmas Gala.....
2007-12-09 00:39:00 There are many who prepare for December all year long, starting December 26th of the previous year with the after Christmas and return sales, picking up odds and ends on weekends throughout the year, diligently socking away an extra ten or twenty here and there for the Christmas fund. For these careful planners, come December it's all over save the wrapping. I hate these people! The litany of items on my list of things to get done before Christmas for some odd reason does not seem to be growing appreciably smaller. Oh, I've been able to cross off a few items: we put up the tree, the Christmas cards are sent, I got the lights up on the house. (OK so they were still up there from last year but I had to replace a strand and...and...well, that's it.) Oooh. Today I bought wrapping paper and some ribbon. No. I haven't bought any presents yet but when I do, I've got the paper. Of course, I forgot to get tape. I'm not m... More About: Gala
What are you thinking.....
2007-12-05 20:49:00 On a typical day I am barraged with countless questions, some pertinent others totally insignificant, statements, some declarative, some observational some hypothetical, sounds, ticks, screams, whispers and silences....and that's just from the voices in my own head. Couple that with the voices of five children, only three of whom actually possess any understandable form of the English language. The twins, God bless them, understand language they just don't use it. I spend quite a bit of each day engaged in a bizarre game of charades in an attempt to decipher their impassioned yet incomprehensible mutterings. "I know!! You said Llellow. But that means nothing to me and you are pointing towards an empty wall. Why are you saying Llellow and why are you so mad at that wall??!! Zoë, please help me. What is your brother trying to say?""Dad. He wants to change his shoes. He also said that he drew you a picture but couldn'... More About: Pod , Reading , Randomness , Thinking
the ChristmasCast.......
2007-12-02 00:55:00 OK. So it's not the quintessential Christmas Playlist. But unless your heart is two sizes too small.....it's sure to brighten your Christmas spirits. &nb sp; &n bsp; & nbsp; ; &nbs p; &nb sp; &n bsp; 1. ; Hark the Herald Angels Sing --- Bryan Duncan 2. Please Come Home for Christmas --- B.B. King 3. Little Drummer Boy (Grinch Mix) --- Jars of Clay 4. O Tannenbaum --- Stanley Clark, George Duke, Everette Happ 5. O Little Town of Bethlehem --- Nat King Cole 6. Winter Wonderland --- Dave Koz&nbs... More About: Christmas Music
I'm not 15 anymore.....
2007-11-27 00:51:00 Thanksgiving 2007 and the morning after--or the way I remember it.The alarm sounded at 7:00am. The pain started at 7:00am and 10 seconds. "My God, what have I done? Why on Earth would I do that? What was I thinking?!" My head was pounding. Every ounce of my body was in pain. I literally had to will myself to move from the bed to the bathroom just 15 feet away. Seriously, I could actually feel the synapses relaying the messages to the muscle fibers in my legs forcing an awkward unsightly limp towards the cold porcelain god of relief patiently awaiting my arrival. There was no relief. I looked elsewhere. The shower. That's the ticket. Hot, steaming and pulsating streams of reinvigorating water. It was not to be. Hot, steaming and pulsating are three terms I have yet to associate with any hotel shower and today would be no different. So what is this self-inflicted poison coursing thro... More About: Family , Kids , Thanksgiving
The Prophet, the Plumber and Flossie
2007-11-19 09:19:00 It's a pilgrimage, a ritual of sorts. Every afternoon we dutifully line up our cars, park in the designated areas of the cramped little lot to the side of the schoolyard, unbuckle and unstrap our little ones and lead them like ducklings into the commons. Patiently we wait making idle small talk with one another as we try to keep our ducklings corralled and orderly. The bell sounds and in moments the commons is bustling with screaming and excited kids eager to relay the events of the school day to their parents. OK. So maybe not eager. Zoë is only six and has already mastered the one word descriptors. How was your day?Fine. (sometimes to change things up a bit I'll get--good)What did you learn today?Nothing. (occasionally--I don't remember)Actually, we're moving away from the Nothing as an acceptable answer. I told Zoë after one too many of the them that we were paying entirely too much money for her to spend... More About: Kids , Prophet , The Prophet , Nostradamus , Floss
What was Ben thinking?!.....
2007-11-15 02:03:00 The man was clearly genius, forward thinking and ahead of his time. To read his biography is dizzying. One is struck with the impression after scanning just a short list of his accomplishments that one lifetime is not enough. America's first library, our first fire station, our first hospital, instrumental in the formation of two colleges. He was a publisher, an author, an inventor, a politician, a musician, an ambassador. He was also crazy as a loon! OK. That is my little addition to the biography of one of America's founding fathers. It's not true. But he did have some wild opinions on all manner of things. Check out the book Fart Proudly: Writings of Benjamin Franklin You Never Read in School if you don't believe me. It's great stuff and provides some interesting insights into the wit of the man we generally regard as genius. As the holiday season approaches, I am reminded of a bit of useless trivia regarding Mr. Franklin. In a letter to his daughter he made known his di... More About: Thinking
Zoë has a free spirit.....
More articles from this author:2007-11-13 08:20:00 Zoë has a free spirit. Not my words. OK. I have used these exact words and the exact phrase to describe my daughter to someone who is meeting her for the first time, someone who might not be prepared for the Zoë Experience. I?ve used the phrase as a precautionary preamble in baby sitters? instructions, as forward to an apology, in defense of disruptive public behavior and more often than any other, as a reminder to myself that my firstborn is truly a special gift sent by God to teach me what the joy of Heaven is really all about.But, this time, I did not use the phrase or the words. No. These are the words from Zoë?s teacher as relayed on her very first 1rst grade report card. My wife and I absolutely love Zoë?s teacher! She has a youthful exuberance and excitement about teaching and it shows. Not an easy task for someone who has been teaching first and second graders for 17 years. She and Zoë have quickly become thick as t... More About: Free , Spirit 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 |
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