Year 4, Day 173

It takes approximately nine and a half hours to drive from our home to Princeton, NJ. At least that's what Google Maps says, but it's worth noting that they don't have an "adjust time for toddler" button. If they did, that number would swell to somewhere around 15 hours. Spending hours on end confined to … Continue reading Year 4, Day 173 →

Year 4, Day 159

I'm not sure if you've been able to discern this from the multitude of blog posts I've produced on the matter, but raising a toddler is really f***ing hard. When Miles is happy, he's usually running around screaming. When he's upset, he's STILL screaming. Our attention is demanded by him at all times, and about … Continue reading Year 4, Day 159 →

Year 3, Day 336

Being a parent is regularly overwhelming, and there is absolutely no question that I need frequent breaks from my family (if only to cower in a corner and rock back and forth in silence for a few minutes). But this morning as I was dropping Miles off at daycare, he clung to my leg and … Continue reading Year 3, Day 336 →

Year 3, Day 244

Tonight was...not great. Mommy had work to be doing, daddy just wanted to finish his dinner, and Miles was trapped in that hellish point in the day where he's too tired to stay up but too unwilling to go to sleep, resulting in crying fits where nothing we did, regardless of how explicitly we conformed … Continue reading Year 3, Day 244 →

Year 3, Day 98

"Oh, he's mad at you."I heard Jaclyn's voice just a second before I heard Miles slam his bedroom door. My first thought: "What did I do?"As it turned out, Miles had been collecting his Duplo blocks in the middle of the living room floor and asking me to sit down and build "choo-choo train" out … Continue reading Year 3, Day 98 →

Year 2, Day 356

With today bringing more lousy weather, we decided to take Miles to Monkey Joe's in north Charlotte this evening to run off some energy and, hopefully, go to bed at a reasonable hour. Commanding his attention with a variety of games and inflatables, Monkey Joe's kept Miles more than occupied for a couple hours. While … Continue reading Year 2, Day 356 →

Year 2, Day 284: The Mandalorian is a Model for the Modern Parent

A little over a month ago, I sat waiting with bated breath to see the first episode of Disney+'s original Star Wars series The Mandalorian. Free of the shackles of characters named (or implied to be) Skywalker, I hoped the show would present an all-in look at different unscrupulous characters occupying the far corners of … Continue reading Year 2, Day 284: The Mandalorian is a Model for the Modern Parent →

Year 2, Day 116

The most revelatory things about being a parent are often the smaller quirks and details that seem so trivial that you never really gave it much thought beforehand. Example: You might think you'll never be okay with someone wiping their nose with their hand then putting that hand directly into your mouth, but then you … Continue reading Year 2, Day 116 →

Day 309

In a lot of ways, 2018 has been a pretty lousy year. To elucidate, in mostly chronological order: My teacher, friend, and mentor of over 20 years passed away My hometown was hit by two hurricanes and my parents' neighborhood flooded, destroying a number of homes I went into septic shock and spent three days … Continue reading Day 309 →

Day 202

Following up on yesterday's post, something I've been very conscious of, and Jaclyn and I have had conversations about, is limiting the amount of time we spend on our phones in front of Miles. While this wasn't something I was thinking about in February or March, this changed as Miles demonstrated increased awareness of his … Continue reading Day 202 →