Meet Hunter. He is my wife’s dog. I’m not really a dog lover. See, I’m more of a dog liker. I always had a cat growing up so I’m a cat person. I don’t have a cat anymore — my last one ran away while I was in Mexico. I blamed Hunter for running him off, but who knows what really happened. Anyway, Hunter might be the best dog in the world. He lets me kick him when I’m angry. He won’t leave my side when I’m sick. He can detect a slice of cheese being removed from the refrigerator from three rooms away — while sleeping. I find that amazing. If I come home for lunch and my wife isn’t home, Hunter will not wake up or leave my daughter’s bed where he is sleeping. Unless I open cheese. He will let my kids do anything to him with no regard for his own safety. The baby bites his nose. My four year old will ride him. We’ve dressed him up before. What a sport. Come to think of it, Hunter makes being a dog liker difficult. He’s growing on me. He’s a good ole’ dog.– steve
My oldest son turned 4 a couple weeks ago. It’s hard to believe just how quickly the time passes. His passion lately is camping in the woods and riding 4-wheelers. Mom turned a crummy looking Publix cake into the ATV & mud cake of Carter’s dreams. She called me in a mild panic from the bakery where she describe the cake as green with turds on it. After some modifications to the frosting and some toy decorations, she made it work very well I think. We did the whole Chucky Cheese party this year. They’ve remodeled the one in north Lakeland and it’s nice now. (we went on a Tuesday night, beware of the weekend chaos) I’m a little late to share, but better late than never.– steve
We bought my daughter a Disney princess phone when she was four. It was pink and heart shaped and on clearance for about $
Fast-forward four years to present.
I’m in the office, attempting to assist my beloved wife with a “this computer is slow” service request. When I run a DSL speed test at Internet Frog everything comes out fine. Connection is good. Speed seems right. Enter my daughter. She summons my attention to a pressing matter in her room – it seems something is not working.
She’s identified that the phone cord connects nicely in this square plug-in on the wall. I’ve got this phone working she declares! It’s just that it keeps on making a noise. I pick up the half-heart receiver to diagnose the situation. Sounds like a bunch of static on the line.
I think I can solve two requests for service with one quick fix here. I located an unused DSL filter from a junk drawer (you know, the ones we all have). A quick install and voila. No more static (Internet DSL broadband noise) on the phone line and no more intermittent disconnects and crappy connection speeds at the computer.
I guess she’s old enough to have a phone in her room now. We’ll see how it goes. In the mean time, her quotes below can best sum up a new phone in the mind of a present day
“Hey what’s my phone number on this phone so someone can call me?”
“I need someone to call me so I can hear what my ringtone is.”
– steve
I think I’m a good parent. I’m certainly not without faults though. My language could be better. I could be more patient at times. The list could go on I’m sure. Every once in a while however, I’m brilliant. This weekend I had one of those moments buried in an ordinary weekend that was full of dull, ordinary ones. I led my daughter through a carefully crafted conversation in which I had a hidden motive.
The discussion began in the garage in the midst of chores. Very casually, I asked if she knew the difference between a thermostat and a thermometer. Sure I do, she began as she started to explain the difference to me. She gave me an 8 year old’s scientific explanation which was good I thought. I added to her answer, “so a thermostat sets the temperature in the room and a thermometer reflects the temperature of a room.” She agreed. Then, out of nowhere I switched to “do you know the difference between a leader and a follower?” Again, she knows and explains it to me as an 8 year old would. I’m satisfied with her answers to both questions so I move on to talking about her birthday party.
The party is still a few months away, but it is the premier event for a girl of her age and she has no problem talking about it. In fact, plans are already underway - and have been for some time now. You see, there’s a problem with the invite list. She wants to invite a friend from her class but won’t because another friend doesn’t want her to. I ask her about the situation and she seems truly conflicted. She even asks if we can have the uninvited friend over on a different weekend to smooth the whole thing over. Nice try, I tell her. I offer up that there is another way to solve this problem.
Like a traffic light, I switch again. There are two types of people in the world, I tell her. Thermostats and thermometers. The thermostats are setting the temperature in the room and being a leader. The thermometers are followers, reflecting the temperature around them. What do you think a leader would do in this situation? Would she invite her friend and show that everyone can get along or be pressured into a choice that is someone else’s?
Which type of person do you want to be, a leader or a follower? Thermostat or thermometer?
At the last update from Mom, the uninvited girl is in. She’s made the cut. I’m proud of my daughter for coming to this conclusion on her own.
– steve
p.s. - thank you Travis for allowing me to steal your analogy. You are open source.
This post is contributed by my daughter, Abbi — her first ever. — steve
Hi, my name is Abbi and these are all of my Webkins. My yorkie’s name is Maddy. The cow’s name is Mooville. The chocolate lab is named Choco. My white terrier’s name is Curly. My leopard’s name is Kitty-Cat. The reindeer’s name is Cupid. My collie’s name is Colleen. The black lab’s name is Hunter. My horse’s name is Flika. My cat’s name is Annalisse. My yellow lab’s name is bananas. My pug’s name in Einstein. Last but not least, my husky’s name is Snowball. There is also an animal pictured that is not a Webkinz named Gracie. Can you figure out which one?
– by Abbi