tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35542222012-01-27T14:18:26.217-05:00The Dad ChroniclesFrom the midst of the most turbulent years of my life, spent raising a four-year old and balancing child, marriage, work, education and (in limited amounts) play, I've decided to chronicle some of these experiences and life lessons. I hold no illusions that they are unique or singular, I suspect that all fathers ride this wild 'coaster. So stay tuned, for the Dad Chronicles....Dean Hamiltonnoreply@blogger.comBlogger1651100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3554222.post-81815661972848863362008-02-11T13:26:00.001-05:002008-02-11T13:26:27.105-05:00Dean Hamiltonnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3554222.post-21942056974116696602007-08-23T10:46:00.001-04:002007-08-23T10:46:36.713-04:00testDean Hamiltonnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3554222.post-1098763453923362682004-10-28T23:43:00.000-04:002004-10-28T22:21:08.013-04:00Painful Lessons (continued)
I left the hospital the day after my operation, with a fine case of delirium tremans as can be imagined. Morphine and I do not mix well and after a hallucinatory and uncomfortable night, I was happy to be heading for home.
My right hand was swollen, scarred, achy - wrapped in coban (a nice, tight-fitting elastic bandage designed to reduce swelling - originally Dean Hamiltonnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3554222.post-1095305794452914022004-10-07T23:58:00.000-04:002004-10-21T17:06:28.040-04:00Painful Lessons
It was a Saturday, rife with chores and family - hot, humid, sunny for once, unusual in this cloudy and cool summer.
Zachery and I had dug out his portable inflatable swimming pool out of the garage and, after a vigorous 15 minutes of sustained pumping and an hour of filling it with the hose, we were finally ready for some splashing around. Zack was complaining about the leaves Dean Hamiltonnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3554222.post-1089391144718190312004-07-09T12:33:00.000-04:002004-07-09T12:39:04.716-04:00Hiatus
Well, it's official. I managed to sever the flexor tendons on my right hand in the baby finger and the ring finger. The surgery happened the day before yesterday and now I am officially left-handed for the next six weeks or possibly longer.
The Dad Chronicles and Booklinker will be in hiatus until recovery. So get the hell off your computer and go enjoy the summer.
See you in six Dean Hamiltonnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3554222.post-1088969138691984952004-07-04T15:20:00.000-04:002004-07-04T15:25:38.690-04:00Whoops
The Dad Chronicles will be taking a haitus for the next little while as I unfortunately managed to accidently slice my right hand while setting up Zack's big inflatable pool yesterday. It may or may not have caused some tendon damage (I'll find out later this week) but it is enough to put the kibosh on the post I was planning to put up for the next week or two, until I find out if it Dean Hamiltonnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3554222.post-1086662388216309852004-06-07T22:34:00.000-04:002004-06-09T21:41:54.563-04:00 I'm Being Eaten By a Boa Constrictor...
Driving to the video store on the weekend, Zack started singing to himself in the backseat.
I laughed so hard I almost had to pull over...
I'm being eaten by a Boa Constrictor,
a Boa Constrictor,
a Boa Constrictor,
I'm being eaten by a Boa Constrictor,
AND I DON'T LIKE IT ONE BIT!
Oh No! He's got my toe
Oh gee! He's got my knees
I'm being eaten by a Dean Hamiltonnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3554222.post-1086142507807786982004-06-01T22:08:00.000-04:002004-06-08T19:57:17.226-04:00The Unbearable Lightness of Freezies
Although the skies still remain stubbornly gray, and the sounds of springtime seem to be a soggy "splat" this year rather then cheerful birdsong, we've already moved into one small piece of summertime: freezies.
Zachery and I were sitting on the couch, watching for his morning school bus when, apropos of nothing, he chirped out , "Freezies are my favorite Dean Hamiltonnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3554222.post-1085024252347860172004-05-19T23:10:00.000-04:002004-05-19T23:38:37.723-04:00The Father Thing
Life as a Dad entails a few things that you need to be prepared for.
You don't find them listed in the parenting books often but they do seem to take on a peculiar importance in your life, often strangely and totally out of sync with their actual importance...
If you are a Dad be prepared to spend a significant part of your waking hours playing and mastering fiendishly complexDean Hamiltonnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3554222.post-1083641320509259932004-05-03T23:28:00.000-04:002004-05-03T23:32:37.280-04:00Miles to go, before I sleep...
Promises.
It was 10:30 at night before I arrived home.
Zachery had been asleep for an hour-and-a-half. My wife was waiting for me, watching Law and Order on television and, knowing her, worrying slightly until I was home. Silly as it might sound, we do that - worry about one another, when the other one is working late.
I've been working late a lot lately, Dean Hamiltonnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3554222.post-1081999423218843402004-04-14T23:23:00.000-04:002009-05-20T14:29:05.469-04:00Temporary Hiatus
Unfortunately due to some expanded work commitments, I've temporarily put the Dad Chronicles on hiatus. For the last two weeks and, most horribly, for the next two weeks, I serious doubt I will have the time or the energy to update the site.
I can only offer you my apologies and my assurances that the Dad Chronicles will be back by the end of April!
Meanwhile, just so you Dean Hamiltonnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3554222.post-1080789531178408802004-03-31T22:18:00.000-05:002009-05-20T14:29:05.475-04:00Three's a Crowd
Parenting isn't just an exercise in managing your kids. There is that whole, ill-considered and often ignored side of the equation - your own personal relationships.
It might sound simplistic, but I know of no one who truly understood the impact, the sheer unadulterated magnitude of how having a child can change the dynamics of your relationships - with your significant other, Dean Hamiltonnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3554222.post-1079496629219428702004-03-16T23:10:00.000-05:002009-05-20T14:29:05.480-04:00Happy Birthday
Last week Zachery celebrated his sixth birthday.
I still can hardly believe it. Everytime I look at him I am struck again by how, with certain things, time flows implacably fast. It can't have been six years damn it, I'm still trying to sort out this Dad-thing, still learning the do's and don'ts, how to cope, and yet like King Canute, I cannot keep up...
It just doesn't feel Dean Hamiltonnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3554222.post-1078197674254374012004-03-01T22:21:00.000-05:002009-05-20T14:29:05.527-04:00Life in the Busy
Lately, life has been busy.
It feels as though I've been moving continuously from one state to the next, doubling up on job and work, trading off with my spouse on pick-ups and drop-offs, edging in Zack's play-dates and squeezing in mealtimes, household chores, teacher appointments, skating practice...
Mind you , I'm not complaining. After more than six months last year Dean Hamiltonnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3554222.post-1077160608324533712004-02-18T22:16:00.000-05:002009-05-20T14:29:05.537-04:00Car Conversations Redux
"So how was school today Zack?"
"Fine."
"Um...so what did you do? Learn anything new?"
"No."
"But, what did you do?"
"Nothing."
"Nothing? Really?"
"Nothing."
"You did nothing in school?"
"Yes Daddy, I did nothing."
"You didn't learn anything new? You didn't do anything - all day?"
"I did abser-lutly nothing. All day." Big expansive hand gestures glimpsed Dean Hamiltonnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3554222.post-1076469066769099182004-02-10T22:11:00.000-05:002009-05-20T14:29:05.541-04:00 Vignette
The morning sun was hazy, filtering first through low winter clouds, then through the bedroom window blinds, filling the room with a tepid, vaporous half-light. I was lying on my side on the bed, shivering despite two thick comforters.
It had been a very long night, with fitful rest punctuated with racking bouts of the flu.
I was exhausted, aching and nauseated, unable to lie Dean Hamiltonnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3554222.post-1075865408731617192004-02-03T22:30:00.000-05:002009-05-20T14:29:05.546-04:00Winter Days
Sunday dawned clear, glorious cerulean blue above and iridescently white underfoot.
It being the first fabulous winter day in the last several weeks (fabulous being that for once we were not oppressed by severe arctic temperatures or buried in howling snowstorms) I was determined to make the most of it. Zack and I called one of his friends and decided to hit the slopes for some Dean Hamiltonnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3554222.post-1075175120847421852004-01-26T22:45:00.000-05:002009-05-20T14:29:05.552-04:00Bowlerama
"So," I asked as I climbed out of the car. "Do you want to wait a minute or are you heading out?"
My wife shook her head and said "You guys have fun."
Zack and I turned and trudged over the icy, snow-covered asphalt and into the doors of the Bowlerama. The occasion was the 6th birthday of one of Zachery's friends from school - it was bowling-party time!
I don't know if you've beenDean Hamiltonnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3554222.post-1074656939974118722004-01-20T22:48:00.000-05:002009-05-20T14:29:05.558-04:00Resentment Baggage
Parenting has its highs and its lows.
The highs can be terrific, but the lows at times leave you shaking your head, both at your own inner demons and at the unceasing vagaries the role of Dad assumes within your life.
I don't know if its a universal trait for all fathers, but being a Dad carries with it the occasional realization that, well...while you certainly don't Dean Hamiltonnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3554222.post-1073969802684875222004-01-12T23:56:00.000-05:002009-05-20T14:29:05.564-04:00Sleepytime
It's really quite astonishing, what impact a good night sleep can have.
Zachery has always been a problematic child to get to sleep. This fact seems partially innate and partially a habit inculated into him by his mother. When Zachery was a baby his mother was extremely reluctant to put him in the crib and Zack, either sensing this reluctance or merely lucky enough to capitalize onDean Hamiltonnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3554222.post-1073019975689925402004-01-02T00:06:00.000-05:002009-05-20T14:29:05.571-04:00Read Read Read
When I imagined myself as a parent, back in the dusty old days of my pre-Zachery life, I always tried to think about the various activities and things I would do with my child. Reading stories to my child was always one of the first things that sprang to mind. This stemmed, I think, from my own love of reading (for proof, drop by BookLinker, my book review weblog. I read Dean Hamiltonnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3554222.post-1072154651210261182003-12-22T23:44:00.000-05:002009-05-20T14:29:05.586-04:00Holiday Rush!
The hectic pace of the approaching holidays, combined with the vagaries of a new job (the second new job in the last month, so perhaps it should be termed "the new new job") have combined to run this particular Dad Chronicler into the ground (hence the unforgivable lack of posts. I can only hope that all of you have interesting enough lives that you haven't been bothered by the Dean Hamiltonnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3554222.post-1070944122410564312003-12-08T23:28:00.000-05:002009-05-20T14:29:05.596-04:00 Jumping Jalepenos!
Sometimes I look at Zachery and his mother is just there, shining through in his personality, his expression and, most of all, in the mischievous glints lurking in the back of his eyes.
With the Missus out of town for a family emergency for a few days, Zack and I have found ourselves "baching" it about the house - a circumstance that generally ends up with Zack trying to Dean Hamiltonnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3554222.post-1069909981902388332003-11-27T00:13:00.000-05:002009-05-20T14:29:05.601-04:00Mean Dad
Sometimes I'm a mean dad.
Not mean in a physically hurtful, or even an emotionally vicious way, but in a petty, intransigent manner. Willfully, ignorantly mean.
There are times, I must uneasily confess, that I don't feel like catering to my son's myriad needs, times I would rather ignore his demands, even when they are not minor or irrelevant. On occasion I will deliberately provokeDean Hamiltonnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3554222.post-1069216913514635892003-11-18T23:41:00.000-05:002009-05-20T14:29:05.605-04:00Eyes on the Prize
It's important to keep your eye on the things that truly matter in life.
I recently signed Zack up for a "junior scout" group that meets at one of the local church basements. The idea was to start getting him more involved in extra-curricular activities, in particular with kids his own age. Zack tends to be a bit of a "stick-in-the-mud" and, on occasion, is surprisingly Dean Hamiltonnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3554222.post-1068596212738546752003-11-11T19:16:00.000-05:002009-05-20T14:29:05.609-04:00Lest We Forget
IN FLANDERS FIELDS the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place, and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.
We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.
Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we Dean Hamiltonnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3554222.post-1068263899102273072003-11-07T22:58:00.000-05:002009-05-20T14:29:05.613-04:00Autumn Rides
Autumn is, I think, my favorite time of year.
One day last week, with Zachery safely in school and the sun finally sneaking out from the sluggish grey that colored much of October, I took advantage of some time for a long bike ride down the waterfront. I haven't been taking much "Dad time" lately, mainly because taking time for myself means taking time away from job-hunting or Dean Hamiltonnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3554222.post-1067656299764736892003-10-31T22:11:00.000-05:002009-05-20T14:29:05.618-04:00Scary-Boo!
Well, almost two weeks and two hard-drives later, my laptop appears to have rejoined the living. As it is Halloween, I hope you will forgive me for this cliche...
"It's alive! A-L-I-V-E!!"
Halloween is (after Christmas of course) Zachery's favorite holiday. Its not just the copious amounts of candy that gets him excited, but the complete combination package of dressing up in Dean Hamiltonnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3554222.post-1066832785965987422003-10-22T10:20:00.000-04:002009-05-20T14:29:05.623-04:00Temporary Outage
Unfortunately my tempermental laptop has finally had that long-awaited catastrophic drive failure...I am now awaiting a new drive and (fingers crossed) the Dad Chronicles should be back up early next week with new posts.
Apologies!
"Is the 'puter fixed yet Daddy?"
"No, Zack. It's still dead"
"How did you break it Daddy?"
"Zack, go play with your bionicals, okay..."
Dean Hamiltonnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3554222.post-1065752656314255512003-10-09T22:24:00.000-04:002009-05-20T14:29:05.641-04:00 Mangoland
"What about this one? Can we get this?"
"Ohh! Ohh! Can we get this? Please daddy? Puhleeeze?"
Grocery shopping with a small child is an educational experience. You learn very rapidly how little you really know about...well, all of the little things - like why shopping carts never drive straight, why are kiwi's hairy - you know, all the really key issues that make the world Dean Hamiltonnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3554222.post-1064461174092424172003-09-24T22:59:00.000-04:002009-05-20T14:29:05.646-04:00Mobility Rules
One of the interesting things about kids, is that there are stages you go through that the parenting books just don't mention.
When a child is still a baby, mobility is easy - bundle up Junior and go. You may use a baby carriage, or a carrier, but, aside from the extra baggage of diapers, a change of clothes, formula and snacks , but you as a parent are relatively mobile. YouDean Hamiltonnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3554222.post-1063769702046779642003-09-16T23:07:00.000-04:002009-05-20T14:29:05.651-04:00A Reed in the Wind...
Parenting is fluid.
This fact keeps getting driven home to me, again and again through the act of watching my child grow. It is one continuous set of curve balls which generally sail past me at the very point that I have the illusion I'm getting the hang of this Dad thing. Nothing is a constant, save worry. Adjusting to that fact and not giving in to anxiety and panic Dean Hamiltonnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3554222.post-1063076292978351392003-09-08T22:58:00.000-04:002009-05-20T14:29:05.655-04:00Back to School
My summer of Zachery is over. Last week, Zack went back to school.
It was with mixed emotions that I sent him back. Having him home for the entire summer with me (due to my current employment (or rather lack thereof) situation) has had both good points and bad. On the whole the good points far outweigh the bad....Though at times another day of endless "Daddy! Daddy! DADDEEE!!!Dean Hamiltonnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3554222.post-1061698173709286972003-08-24T00:09:00.000-04:002009-05-20T14:29:05.659-04:00Lorikeet Days
Zack's common expression these days consists of slightly knitted brows combined with a rather unsmiling face, not a frown, but an expression of serious intent, void of flippancy. It is a far cry from the gap-toothed, giddy, baby smile he wore as an infant, or the giggly grin that he wore as a toddler. Now, more often then not, his face has a more self-conscious serious cast...Dean Hamiltonnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3554222.post-1061001736324948862003-08-15T22:42:00.000-04:002009-05-20T14:29:05.663-04:00Blackout
Power has finally been restored to our neck of the woods. To Zachery's infinite regret, the Great Adventure has ended (hopefully..).
Yesterday was a hot one, spent mainly in and around the house, mainly because Zack's mother decided that she wanted the air conditioned comfort of the car rather then the subway in the stifling heat. Zack and I, forced by necessity to hang around the Dean Hamiltonnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3554222.post-1060745134592968322003-08-12T23:25:00.000-04:002009-05-20T14:29:05.675-04:00Not Just a Dad
"Daddy, look at this!"
"Daddy, watch cartoons with me!"
"Daddy, I'm bored."
Daddy, I want breakfast! Now!"
"Daddy! Daddy! DADDEE!!! DAD-DDDEE-E-EEE!"
I love being a father, but...there are times I would love to shut the boy off.
So much of my time these days is being spent with my son, it is both a joy and a curse. Don't get me wrong, I love to spend time with Zack Dean Hamiltonnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3554222.post-1060139032095700442003-08-05T23:03:00.000-04:002009-05-20T14:29:05.683-04:00 The Oracle of Dad
One of the secret joys of fatherhood is the fact that you matter to your child.
They want to know what you think, they want to know what you know. The questions are endless. To a child, often it must seem that a dad is a never-ending font of information, on every subject, be it shooting stars or what do unicorns eat...For me, it offers the chance to babble on all sorts of Dean Hamiltonnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3554222.post-105976679419705242003-08-01T15:39:00.000-04:002009-05-20T14:29:05.692-04:00 PC Problems
PC problems have temporarily derailed The Dad Chronicles! I expect to be back up and posting in a day or so.
Out damn gremlins! OUT!
Zack, please let go of the mouse.
Comments are always welcome. You can reach me at dadchronicles(at)hotmail.com.
Dean Hamiltonnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3554222.post-1059016359568558702003-07-23T23:12:00.000-04:002009-05-20T14:29:05.699-04:00Daycamp
Despite my being off work and home looking after Zachery, my wife and I decided that, in the interest of keeping everyone sane (both him and me), Zack would go to a daycamp for a couple of weeks this summer.
Consequently last week, on Monday morning, I loaded him into the car with his backpack, to drive over to one of the local schools for the pre-schooler daycamp. Zack was excited, Dean Hamiltonnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3554222.post-1058409799904116062003-07-16T22:43:00.000-04:002009-05-20T14:29:05.705-04:00Crossing the Border
I'm not exactly sure where or when it happens, but in my experience kids cross a border, an equator of sorts when they are between the age of four and five. The border crossing is marked, not with gates and flags, but with attitude.
Maybe it's a partially a product of today's society (I blame cartoons and that demon rock and roll) but I suspect that every generation of Dean Hamiltonnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3554222.post-1058237533854089562003-07-14T22:52:00.000-04:002009-05-20T14:29:05.709-04:00Saturday Sleep-in
The clear morning light is just starting to filter through our blinds and my tired eyelids...when HE hits the bed like a small bomb.
"Yah-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha! Yah-ha-ha-ha-ha!"
With a maniacal shriek, Zachery plummets onto my side, bouncing in quick succession from his mother to me (although even in his excitement, he generally reserves the REALLY major bounces for me - he Dean Hamiltonnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3554222.post-1057373936635281682003-07-04T22:58:00.000-04:002009-05-20T14:29:05.716-04:00Saying No
I arrived back from my grandmother's funeral the other night to find Zachery still awake, despite the late hour. His mother had decided that, as I was expected home by 10:30 pm, that he could stay up and see me.
It was very nice to come home to my family, particularly after spending the past three days motoring across the prairies for my grandmother's funeral. Though the occasion Dean Hamiltonnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3554222.post-1056774402497304732003-06-28T00:26:00.000-04:002009-05-20T14:29:05.726-04:00 Hiatus
The Dad Chronicles will be ceasing publication for a few days, due to the passing of my grandmother two days ago. I will be travelling to the wilds of the mid-west for the funeral.
Tonight while I was packing, Zachery insisted on helping. I don't know whether this was due to my impending departure tomorrow morning or just a ploy to stay up past his bedtime. The result of this Dean Hamiltonnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3554222.post-959069102003-06-21T23:18:00.000-04:002009-05-20T14:29:05.747-04:00Blame Game
One thing I never understood about being a father, is how much you get to shoulder the blame...for everything.
In my limited experience of my own son, his friends and my neices and nephews, kids tend to blame Dad for all the wrongs that an unjust world occasionally inflicts upon them. For kids, it seems that Dads are the essential chaotic "messer-ups" of the universe, preventing Dean Hamiltonnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3554222.post-957381912003-06-16T22:28:00.000-04:002009-05-20T14:29:05.756-04:00 Night Hush
It is 9:55 pm and the boy is finally asleep.
My wife and I are just sitting on the couch conversing about the day; the television, a flickering blur on the other side of the room, offering a murmered accompainment to the only solitary hour we seem to manage during a normal day - after Zack has fallen quiescent, but before one of us heads off to the land of Nod...
This is the Dean Hamiltonnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3554222.post-954758382003-06-09T15:02:00.000-04:002009-05-20T14:29:05.760-04:00 One Year Old...
Well, The Dad Chronicles is now officially one year old. I thought I would share some snippets of information with you:
The site has had 7,360 visitors in the last year. Even discounting my daily visits to check and post and fuss, it seems that more than 3 people are actually reading the site, which is good news. Granted it's not Instapundit but then Zack's latest crisis Dean Hamiltonnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3554222.post-951981532003-06-02T12:55:00.000-04:002009-05-20T14:29:05.766-04:00Strange Days
Disney hates parents.
There is no other explanation. Otherwise, why do they do the things they do.
Saturday was a literal washout, with veritable torrents of rain cascading down. When you stir a busy five-year old into the mixture, tearing around the house with more pent-up energy than a hurricane, then the NEED TO GET OUT becomes a litany in your brain...so Zack and I set out Dean Hamiltonnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3554222.post-949998612003-05-28T14:37:00.000-04:002009-05-20T14:29:05.771-04:00Green Fields...
Summer is the time for outdoor fun and sports and, although the air is still tinged with spring coolness, our local parks are starting to fill up with screaming hellions, racing in all directions, chasing balls of different descriptions, hurling them, kicking them, throwing them (and themselves) with wild abandon...
Several weeks ago I signed up Zachery for "Blast-Ball", a Dean Hamiltonnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3554222.post-947515902003-05-22T15:52:00.000-04:002009-05-20T14:29:05.776-04:00Road Trip
School buses are painful.
In my brief sojorn in the world, I've ridden in cars, trucks, buses, airplaces, subways, trains; on a variety of boats, canoes and watercraft; on bicycles, mopeds and horses (and once on an elephant). The most painful ride by far (including a very grouchy horse named Bear that tried repeatedly to walk me into tree branches in the Canadian Rockies) was on myDean Hamiltonnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3554222.post-943404772003-05-14T14:10:00.000-04:002009-05-20T14:29:05.789-04:00Mother's Day Adventures
For Mother's Day, Zachery and I presented his mother with the garden bench we had made the previous week (well, I made it, while Zachery made helpful suggestions, some innocent observations about my skill with a hammer, tried to play with the power drill and helped with the staining).
With Zack's help, we affixed some decorative brass corner pieces on the bench and Dean Hamiltonnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3554222.post-939668682003-05-07T23:07:00.000-04:002009-05-20T14:29:05.793-04:00The Reassurance Dance
With extra time on my hands, and some semi-decent weather arriving, Zachery and I have been spending some time in our favorite playgrounds. I picked him up from school today and we trekked over to the elaborate "castle" playground in one of th larger city parks. This is one of his favorite spots, probably due to the fact that his dad invariably smacks his head on a low Dean Hamiltonnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3554222.post-936845742003-05-02T22:29:00.000-04:002009-05-20T14:29:05.798-04:00Silver Linings
It's May, but inside it still feels like April - wet and damp, smelling of green and distance.
I cleaned out my office on last Wednesday and headed for home. Job done. I suppose I could rename the blog the Unemployed Dad Chronicles, but when push comes to shove, this was just a job, not a calling, so mourning it for more than a brief period would be an exercise in Dean Hamiltonnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3554222.post-934088892003-04-28T13:04:00.000-04:002009-05-20T14:29:05.802-04:00The King of Shrimp
My apologies for the dearth of postings lately. I find myself in a situation whereby I am both fairly busy and monumentally uninspired - a dangerous combination...
The last week has been spent wrapping up things at my current job, which is coasting to a halt in a day or two. I find myself, more and more disconnected from my current position and trying to tune into being a "Dean Hamiltonnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3554222.post-931885682003-04-24T13:33:00.000-04:002009-05-20T14:29:05.806-04:00 Spoilage
People have asked me if I worry about spoiling my son...
Yes, yes indeed I do. Zachery is an only child, so I suspect that the twin factors of being the center of attention in our family, and in getting a ridiculous amount of presents on holidays and birthdays may combine to make him fit the definition of a spoiled child...
Yet....
Attention seems to be the chief demand. Not toysDean Hamiltonnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3554222.post-928020302003-04-17T17:54:00.000-04:002009-05-20T14:29:05.809-04:00Leaps and Bounds
Several weeks ago we signed Zachery up for gymnastics at a local gymnastics facility. Zack had the opportunity to try it out previously at a "gymnastics birthday party" one of his school friends invited him to attend.
I was impressed. The facilities were terrific, and Zack was tremendously excited to be able to bounce on trampolines, learn to do somersaults, swing from ropes,Dean Hamiltonnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3554222.post-926616342003-04-15T13:32:00.000-04:002009-05-20T14:29:05.824-04:00Meese II
So far the score is Dad 2, Cats 1.
Upon arriving home from work on Friday, I discovered that my wife had taken Zachery out for dinner and shopping, giving me a quiet house and no dinner company.
At times this is a good thing as it is nice to have the chance to unwind briefly before being flung pell-mell into the turmoil of Zachery's world, but tonight all the lack of family did was Dean Hamiltonnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3554222.post-923858402003-04-10T17:45:00.000-04:002009-05-20T14:29:05.829-04:00Meese
Dad's get the tough jobs (well not really, but it sound's good...)
Take out the garbage, clean up the really disgusting messes, tote this, move that....
It was midnight and, due to the lingering impact of the time change, my wife and I had just gone to bed when she remembered that she had forgotten to top up the cat food bowls. Naturally, as she was comfortably snug under the covers, Dean Hamiltonnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3554222.post-922450822003-04-08T17:12:00.000-04:002009-05-20T14:29:05.834-04:00Huh?
Daylight savings time always messes us up these days...
Sunday morning saw us lose an hour of our weekend in the spring "timeslip" (you know, "spring forward, fall back"). This never used to be a problem for me, but as Zachery is now a little older, getting him to bed can, at times, be a long and tiresome chore. Last night in particular, for some reason know only to him, Zack decided Dean Hamiltonnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3554222.post-918584872003-04-02T13:38:00.000-05:002009-05-20T14:29:05.837-04:00Down the Rabbit Hole...Again
It's funny how you can get used to living with sick anxiety.
Last week I had the unpleasant experience of finding out, for the third time in five years, that I was losing my job.
While this may be a minor event in a world convulsed with Iraq, SARs, and spring training, it has an enormous impact on me and mine. Last week the COO of my company dropped by my office Dean Hamiltonnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3554222.post-915714702003-03-28T17:39:00.000-05:002009-05-20T14:29:05.841-04:00 Experimentation continues...
I don't know if Zack has seen a few too many cartoons, or if he was simply inspired by the home-made vinegar and baking-powder volcano he saw on television the other week, but he is back in "experimental" mode.
Several nights ago that involved digging out two disposable plastic sandwich containers, a measuring cup, salad oil, water...oh, and several spoons. Zack Dean Hamiltonnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3554222.post-914400392003-03-26T17:54:00.000-05:002009-05-20T14:29:05.853-04:00Counting fingers, toes...I suppose..
Some of the most memorable conversations I've had with my son have been our morning drive, first thing in the A.M., enroute to his school. When Zack is in a perky mood (lots of good solid sleep the night before) he can make my day in the space of a five-minute drive.
This morning we were driving along the road, the radio tossing out ominous war news Dean Hamiltonnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3554222.post-913204142003-03-24T22:08:00.000-05:002009-05-20T14:29:05.858-04:00 Anchored
Sometimes you find yourself lost.
Lost for words, lost for ways to define how you feel.
I'm in one of those sudden states, for reasons I won't get into at present, but I find, in this somewhat formless fugue state, that the thing that keeps we whole, is my family.
My wife. My son. My family.
They keep me centered. My anchors. And Lord knows, in this day and time, we all need Dean Hamiltonnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3554222.post-911496542003-03-21T17:42:00.000-05:002009-05-20T14:29:05.862-04:00 Does Not Compute....
I arrived home from work last night to discover Zachery seated at our computer, tremendously excited.
Lately Zack has been very interested in playing on the computer, mainly on the www.PBSKids.com website, which has a good number of mini-games that are perfect for small kids and short attention-spans. Most of the time he has been spending solving Arthur puzzles and Dean Hamiltonnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3554222.post-908828022003-03-17T18:05:00.000-05:002009-05-20T14:29:05.867-04:00 Back to Work
Spring's first green is gold.
I don't recall who said it, but that phrase has always stuck in my mind. As I drove into work this sunny, lambent morning, it was with decidedly mixed feelings. I like my job, I like the challenge, the creativity it calls for, I like the people I work with...but I don't like the act of leaving my son for the day.
Weird as it sounds, having just Dean Hamiltonnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3554222.post-903248152003-03-07T17:22:00.000-05:002009-05-20T14:29:05.871-04:00Note - Off on Vacation
As March Break is upon us, I expect that for the next week I may not have the time for any posts (maybe - we'll see).
Bye!
Dean Hamiltonnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3554222.post-903142162003-03-07T13:41:00.000-05:002009-05-20T14:29:05.878-04:00 Growing Up
My wife was out late last night, so I put Zachery to bed. After he fell asleep, I sat on the bed and just spent a couple of minutes looking at him.
Sleeping is probably the only time you ever see his face relaxed, relatively immobile and at peace. During the day he is too busy running, laughing, scowling (he has a ferocious scowl), and smiling his way through all the emotions Dean Hamiltonnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3554222.post-902007162003-03-05T17:53:00.000-05:002009-05-20T14:29:05.883-04:00 Bathtime
Bathtime with Zachery has been getting progressively more difficult as he gets older. The reason is he is "experimenting".
When Zack was a baby, getting him the bath was, initially, a tricky business. First you had to subdue a wriggling, giggling toddler, strip off his clothes (whereupon he would race madly about the house shouting "Naked Baby! Naked baby!") and heft him into the Dean Hamiltonnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3554222.post-900763192003-03-03T18:26:00.000-05:002009-05-20T14:29:05.899-04:00All Those Parties...
On last Saturday evening I found myself, unusually, out of the house and roaming about town. An old friend who had purchased a small townhouse recently decided that he was now settled enough to hold a house-warming party and had invited my wife and myself.
So I found myself at a party, literally for the first time in the last two years.
Some couples with kids somehow seemDean Hamiltonnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3554222.post-898006352003-02-26T18:04:00.000-05:002009-05-20T14:29:05.904-04:00 Car Conversations (revisited)
"Daddy, what are guts?" came the querulous voice from the backseat, as I navigated fresh snowbanks, dodged a garbage truck and tried to avoid a jogger who had decided the street belonged to him, as the sidewalks were buried.
"What?" I replied.
"What does guts mean?"
"Uh, well guts usually refers to your stomach, you know, your tummy. The insides of your Dean Hamiltonnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3554222.post-897238202003-02-25T13:18:00.000-05:002009-05-20T14:29:05.909-04:00Tired, Exhausted,...Thud
The hallmark of a parent, seems to be one of exhaustion.
Raising a family is hard work. Everything is perpetual - there are always dishes to be cleaned, faces to be washed, cuts to be soothed, snacks and meals to be prepared, and the never-ending minutia of everyday life....on top of having to keep the kid entertained (and healthy and rested and...well, you get the Dean Hamiltonnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3554222.post-894547042003-02-20T16:14:00.000-05:002009-05-20T14:29:05.914-04:00 Fooked
While I was out last night running some errands, my wife and Zachery sat down to read several books.
Zack looked at the cover of the one book and said to his mother "Buh...oh...oh...kuh. Book.". Zack had read the word off of the cover. The Montessori method for learning the alphabet emphasiszes the sounds of the letters, rather then the proper names, a process that seems to work, Dean Hamiltonnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3554222.post-893174272003-02-18T12:59:00.000-05:002009-05-20T14:29:05.918-04:00 Melancholy Blues
Zachery's mother is away on a business retreat for the next few days, so Zack and I find ourselves walking around with a visible hole in our daily patterns.
She goes on these each year at this time, each time professing that she hates to go, and, on this occasion, threatening to pretend illness in lieu of attending...but go she does. Our little family, I think, is often a Dean Hamiltonnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3554222.post-890573862003-02-13T18:01:00.000-05:002009-05-20T14:29:05.924-04:00"Open the door, open the door....NOW"
Young kids, in my experience, have no respect for other people's privacy or property.
They will, by turns, barge into the bathroom at inopportune times, rummage through your work bag, remove all the cards and ID from your wallet, bang open bedroom doors like the local SWAT team on manuvers, steal the ham from your sandwich, the ring from your finger, hideDean Hamiltonnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3554222.post-889379062003-02-11T18:11:00.000-05:002009-05-20T14:29:05.939-04:00May the Force be with you
My wife took Zack out shopping last Friday, a task that inevitably ends with the purchase of some toy, book, game or craft, the result of her continued (and baffling) inability to say no to her son.
The result of Friday's shopping spree impacted my entire weekend. Out the window went the plans to go skating on Saturday, followed swiftly by suggestions about inviting Dean Hamiltonnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3554222.post-887297992003-02-07T18:07:00.000-05:002009-05-20T14:29:05.952-04:00 Defining a Dad
I am, by turns, horrified, flabbergasted, offended, and manifestly creeped out.
Zachery went to bed last night and, being a bit tired and on the receding edge of a cold, he fell asleep for once fairly promptly. I was reading on the couch while my wife was watching television beside me. She hopped up when the phone rang and then spent the next 45 minutes talking to her sister Dean Hamiltonnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3554222.post-886602032003-02-06T13:42:00.000-05:002009-05-20T14:29:05.959-04:00Food Follies
You are what you eat, as my wife is very fond of telling me, and I'm sure she is right. And Zachery likes to repeat her phrase for phrase, right down to the somewhat subtle accusatory tone her voice takes when she suspects I've been snagging some of the boy's chocolate chip cookies...
Zack is a pretty good eater, so as parents we don't have too many concerns on that end. He is, Dean Hamiltonnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3554222.post-884967502003-02-03T18:08:00.000-05:002009-05-20T14:29:05.967-04:00Blissfully Unaware...
There are times that I envy kids.
Not just the freedom from most responsibilities or from that old demon time, but for their clean distance and innocence from much of the ugliness of the world. I know that I'm lucky in that Zachery and I, my family and most of my friends and acquaintences, are fortunate enough to live in this time and place, relatively free of much of theDean Hamiltonnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3554222.post-883503322003-01-31T17:58:00.000-05:002009-05-20T14:29:05.973-04:00 Prince Albert in a can
While Zachery greatly enjoys playing with our telephone (mainly pushing buttons, hanging the phone up and entangling himself in the phone cords - preferably while you are on the phone), getting him to speak with anyone other then his mother on the phone is a difficult task.
My parents live on the western side of the continent. Their grandchildren live on the eastern Dean Hamiltonnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3554222.post-881814472003-01-28T18:17:00.000-05:002009-05-20T14:29:05.979-04:00Walking Among the Mines
Disciplining a child is not easy.
Actually it's a veritable minefield. If you worry about such things, you fuss over being too tight with the controls and about being too permissive. You walk a tightrope between safety and discovery, between growth and restrictions...It ends up being more about balance, consistency and understanding then about control, at least that's Dean Hamiltonnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3554222.post-879915332003-01-24T22:58:00.000-05:002009-05-20T14:29:05.986-04:00Boy's Night In
Zack's mother took a well-deserved evening out tonight, so Zachery and I planned what we like to call "Our boy's night in".
Dinner was courtesy of the local sub shop (for such a small fella, Zack likes a big sandwich), followed by some DVD movies, namely a handful of Arthur cartoons followed by the main feature, Sindbad and the Eye of the Tiger. The main feature lasted about Dean Hamiltonnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3554222.post-878661692003-01-22T18:15:00.000-05:002009-05-20T14:29:05.991-04:00An Early Valentine
Zachery is in love.
Well, puppy love... maybe just friendship, it's hard to tell with four-and-a-half year old, particularly one that belts you when you ask him questions he doesn't like.
Zachery has made a friend at school. Her name is Alex. She is smaller then him, a little older and for him, the sun does not set on her. He talks about her every day, when he arrives Dean Hamiltonnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3554222.post-877513882003-01-20T18:17:00.000-05:002009-05-20T14:29:06.007-04:00 Prank you. Prank you very much.
Monday mornings are routinely tough one's in our house.
The weekend is over, and Zachery is back to school, something that, despite being much better adjusted to school as a daily routine, he still resists. It manifests itself in pickiness ("But I don't want tuna for lunch, I WANT SOMETHING ELSE!" "what would you like?" "I DON'T KNOW!!") , lack of Dean Hamiltonnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3554222.post-875005522003-01-15T18:08:00.000-05:002009-05-20T14:29:06.014-04:00 New Horizons
Zachery grows daily and it is a wonder to behold.
I'm not talking about his size (Although he was 9 lbs, 9 ounces on arrival. All I can do is repeat that oft-repeated mantra "Thank God I'm a guy."...), but it is marvelous to watch how his mind grows as his world expands. He makes thoughtful, intelligent connections between events and ideas now that, a year ago - just didn't Dean Hamiltonnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3554222.post-873633012003-01-13T13:22:00.000-05:002009-05-20T14:29:06.022-04:00
Eye Eye
Last week Zachery and I snuck out on Sunday afternoon for some sledding.
We drove five minutes to a small bowl-like park north of his school, parked the car at the curb and we able to, quite literally, step onto the sidewalk and then onto the top of the hill. We elected not to go down the very large toboggan hill on the far side of the park, as it was full of careening teenagers, Dean Hamiltonnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3554222.post-871349642003-01-08T18:17:00.000-05:002009-05-20T14:29:06.036-04:00 Siblings
Sometimes I think we made a mistake, only having one child.
Zachery is a wonderful boy, but I sense that sometimes he could use someone to play with and socialize on a more regular basis, someone more in his size and age range, rather then his parents. Granted, he spends much of his day at school and has play-dates with his friends on the weekends, but he is missing one complete Dean Hamiltonnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3554222.post-870279912003-01-06T17:50:00.000-05:002009-05-20T14:29:06.044-04:00Winter Wonderland
Time off work for the holidays coupled with two large snowfalls has given me the opportunity to introduce Zack to some new winter fun - skating.
One of Zack's Christmas gifts (actually a post-Christmas gift) was a set of ice skates and a hockey helmet (for those times the ice is less than friendly). On New Year's Day Zack, my wife and myself set out to the public outdoor Dean Hamiltonnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3554222.post-867151722002-12-30T17:51:00.000-05:002009-05-20T14:29:06.050-04:00 Holidaze
Christmas season always passes in a blur, a welter of confusion. It approaches with such tremendous noise and storm and commercial fury, that often purpose and meaning of the holiday are lost, adrift in the never-ending shopping haze and endless charging about on errands. But every once in a while you are lucky enough to capture one of those bright sparks of memory that stick with Dean Hamiltonnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3554222.post-864536312002-12-23T18:06:00.000-05:002009-05-20T14:29:06.091-04:00Christmas is Coming....
Zachery is getting steadily more excited as the days pass. He keeps asking me if today is Christmas and his crestfallen, woebegone face when I tell him he has several more days to wait is heart-breaking...or rather it would be heart-breaking if would he stop asking for more toys and stop behaving obnoxiously. I keep telling him that Santa will have a special sack of Dean Hamiltonnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3554222.post-862401172002-12-18T17:47:00.000-05:002009-05-20T14:29:06.097-04:00 The Tedium of the Everyday
Parenting magazines tend to paint a fairly optimistic image of parenthood, tending to concentrate on the events and stages - first tooth, illnesses, potty-training etc. This is understandable as children tend to grow in a fairly predictable progression, but the focus on "stages" and "events" tends to gloss over the day-to-day humdrum, the mind-numbing routineness ofDean Hamiltonnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3554222.post-861335052002-12-16T17:53:00.000-05:002009-05-20T14:29:06.102-04:00 Chicken Pox Blues...
Sick kids are not fun.
I repeat, sick kids are not fun. In case you are taking notes (this may be on the exam....), write it down "Sick kids are not fun".
Zachery is back in school, speckled but hale, mostly recovered from his bout with the chicken pox that reared it's ugly feathered head last week.
As almost any parent can readily attest, there are few things in Dean Hamiltonnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3554222.post-858626632002-12-11T18:25:00.000-05:002009-05-20T14:29:06.107-04:00 Paying the Piper
One of the hard, invariable, and maddening unofficial rules of parenting, is that you pay for what you get. Always.
Last night our management team was invited by one of our vendors out to dinner. This is apparently an annual event, but it marks the first time I've been included in the invitation, doubtlessly because in my role as Marketing Manager, I've thrown some businessDean Hamiltonnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3554222.post-858043672002-12-10T17:30:00.000-05:002009-05-20T14:29:06.113-04:00 Oh Christmas Tree.....
I arrived home from work last night to find Zachery climbing the walls (well, the green couch anyway) in anticipation. I had promised him that we would head out to buy our Christmas tree when I got home from work and Zack was bound and determined that was what we were going to do.
I had hoped this year to get organized for once and drag the family out into the "booniesDean Hamiltonnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3554222.post-856007752002-12-06T12:47:00.000-05:002009-05-20T14:29:06.118-04:00 Catch-Phrases...
Zachery trotted out a new catch-phrase a few days ago which he repeats ad nauseum when we try to get him to do something he doesn't want to do. At this age, kids tend to pick up phrases, words, off-color remarks, snippets of songs and weird terminology all over the place, like Winona shopping in Saks. By way of example, this week Zachery has refused to eat certain foods Dean Hamiltonnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3554222.post-855507742002-12-05T14:15:00.000-05:002009-05-20T14:29:06.134-04:00 A year ago...
A year ago, I did something stupid and took a bad fall.
My garage roof has been leaking in several places for the last couple of years but, money being what it is, we have been putting off repairing it until we can afford it. In the interest of preserving it from expensive repairs for as long as possible, last year, at the beginning of December I determined that I would tarp theDean Hamiltonnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3554222.post-853871052002-12-02T13:20:00.000-05:002009-05-20T14:29:06.139-04:00 'Toons, Toons, Toons...
Zachery, his mother and I went and saw the new animated Disney film "Treasure Planet" yesterday. Aside from the usual criminal ticket prices and ridiculous cost of snacks, it was great fun. Treasure Planet is, as the name suggests, a reworked version of Robert Louis Stevenson's classic book Treasure Island, which, if you ever have the opportunity to read it, is full ofDean Hamiltonnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3554222.post-852383862002-11-28T23:12:00.000-05:002009-05-20T14:29:06.146-04:00 Punch-Drunk Love
Last night I had a very big blow-up with Zachery.
He was playing with his Ker-Plunk game after dinner (you know, the same one you had growing up, with the plastic tube, the sticks and the marbles..you pull out the sticks and "Ker-plunk" - down come the marbles.), when I suggested it was time to put it away and get his pyjamas on. Zack refused. A tantrum (his, not mine) Dean Hamiltonnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3554222.post-851715102002-11-27T13:08:00.000-05:002009-05-20T14:29:06.150-04:00 Sing, Sing-a-Song, Sing out loud, Sing out Strong....
We headed out to the local Wal-mart the other night to return a broken toy (some SpyKids thing that my wife bought, which promptly stopped working after ten minutes) and pick up some household items. Realistically all three of us were not needed for this errand, but my wife decided that she wanted all of us to go, as a family, as her busy Dean Hamiltonnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3554222.post-849443682002-11-22T17:26:00.000-05:002009-05-20T14:29:06.154-04:00 Lying....
I was more than a bit shocked this week to find Zachery actually deliberately lying to me. As with all kids, the art of obfuscation is on that kids master fairly early. They learn what type of response generates action, so often, they will exaggerate a particular response in order to generate a faster or better response. For example, when Zack wants to, he can pretend that the Dean Hamiltonnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3554222.post-848380832002-11-20T18:00:00.000-05:002009-05-20T14:29:06.158-04:00 Snow
I've wanted to post about the first real snowfall of the winter for several days, but real life has a way of intervening...so here it is.
Late last Saturday afternoon, Zachery got very excited when he spotted the thin coating of white that had begun to drift down from the dul sky. He insisted that we needed to rush out and play snowballs. I resisted at first, as the snow was barely a Dean Hamiltonnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3554222.post-847303602002-11-18T18:14:00.000-05:002009-05-20T14:29:06.164-04:00 Fear
As a parent, every once in a while, you have one of those fatal, chilling bolts of fear for your child that overwhelms reason.
Friday morning Zack woke up at the same time as usual, grumpy, asking for his mother and inexplicably complaining of pain in his left leg. His mother and I exchanged puzzled glances and began asking him "Where does it hurt?" Being sleepy, the responses were Dean Hamiltonnoreply@blogger.com0