Case,
Consider this a cyber I.O.U. I will give you $20 (or $1 million depending on the rate of inflation) at a date to be determined if you sleep through the night and allow your mom to do the same.
Love,
Dad
Tuesday, August 30, 2011
Monday, August 29, 2011
I don't want to
Case, if you grow up to be intimidated by instruction manuals and break into a sweat at the sight of a toolbox, I'm sorry.
As I type, there's a box full of rocking chair parts sitting in your nursery with my name on it. But I don't want to attempt construction because I know what awaits.
Your Uncle Billy and Uncle Kenny got the "putting things together" genes. I did not. Instead, I got the "good with words" genes, which allow me the luxury of expressing myself in constructive ways like this blog, but also cause me to express myself in what could be considered socially unacceptable ways whenever I'm faced with any diagram consisting of more than a hammer and a nail.
I've been given a four-day reprieve by a power outage that won't go away, but your Grandma Pallister will be here in three days, and that rocking chair won't put itself together. Really, it won't. I've been checking every day and the parts just sit there.
Ultimately, fatherhoood means sacrifice, so with you and your peaceful slumber in mind, I'll do my best to put things together this weekend without coming apart. Just do Dad a favor, Magoo: Cover those oversized ears. :)
As I type, there's a box full of rocking chair parts sitting in your nursery with my name on it. But I don't want to attempt construction because I know what awaits.
Your Uncle Billy and Uncle Kenny got the "putting things together" genes. I did not. Instead, I got the "good with words" genes, which allow me the luxury of expressing myself in constructive ways like this blog, but also cause me to express myself in what could be considered socially unacceptable ways whenever I'm faced with any diagram consisting of more than a hammer and a nail.
I've been given a four-day reprieve by a power outage that won't go away, but your Grandma Pallister will be here in three days, and that rocking chair won't put itself together. Really, it won't. I've been checking every day and the parts just sit there.
Ultimately, fatherhoood means sacrifice, so with you and your peaceful slumber in mind, I'll do my best to put things together this weekend without coming apart. Just do Dad a favor, Magoo: Cover those oversized ears. :)
Sunday, August 28, 2011
Passion
OK, Case, your first 10 days have not been dull.
We've felt the aftershock of a nearby earthquake, dealt with the effects of a passing hurricane, and, as I type this, your first day alone with Mom is being spent amid a power outage. Add in two losses by the Bears, including an embarrassing one on national television, and that's a whole lot of disaster packed into a life that has yet to encompass a fortnight.
Granted, those are preseason losses, but unlike earthquakes and hurricanes, Bears defeats are regularly occuring disasters you will have to learn to deal with. Unless you follow your mom's lead and become a Broncos fan, a disaster in its own right. (Potentially true trivia note: As you grow older, you may hear the name Tim Tebow. Just so you know, Mr. Tebow was a legendary college football player who was unfairly placed in an impossible situation after being drafted in the first round by the evil dark lord Josh McDaniels. He kicked around the NFL for a number of years, enjoying a cup of coffee with several teams, before he found work as the guy in charge of upkeep for Kyle Orton's beard-trimming kit. But, disillusioned with the lack of work that entails, he eventually faded from public view, until resurfacing as media adviser to Ryan Leaf during his unsuccessful bid for governor of California; he lost to former Raiders owner Al Davis, who won despite being dead since 2017.)
It may be, Case, that you find sports is not your thing. If so, that's cool. All joking aside, it's important you discover various passions and find the time to indulge them. If you're very lucky, like your Grandpa Pallister, your work and your passion (for him it was fighting fires) will be the same. But for most of us, work is work and play is play. And keeping them separate is healthy, for mind and body.
Whether it's sports, music, reading, cooking, health and fitness or jumping out of airplanes, find what you like and do it a lot. That sounds simple, but as you grow into adulthood and the life of responsibility -- for yourself and others who make up your universe -- takes precedent, it becomes increasingly difficult to stop and smell the roses. As I mentioned previously, enjoy the moment, of which you will be presented with many. If spending Sundays watching NFL games fills you with joy (and other assorted emotions we'll not get into right now), as it has for me since childhood, then dive in. Whatever it is, be passionate. I guess that's my point here. Be passionate about life. Humans are prone to regret, but the best way to avoid the what-ifs is to find joy in the everyday, the little things that make up the majority of our lives.
I will dream a thousand dreams regarding what might be in store for you, Case. But all I really want is for you to be happy. Find what makes that so.
We've felt the aftershock of a nearby earthquake, dealt with the effects of a passing hurricane, and, as I type this, your first day alone with Mom is being spent amid a power outage. Add in two losses by the Bears, including an embarrassing one on national television, and that's a whole lot of disaster packed into a life that has yet to encompass a fortnight.
Granted, those are preseason losses, but unlike earthquakes and hurricanes, Bears defeats are regularly occuring disasters you will have to learn to deal with. Unless you follow your mom's lead and become a Broncos fan, a disaster in its own right. (Potentially true trivia note: As you grow older, you may hear the name Tim Tebow. Just so you know, Mr. Tebow was a legendary college football player who was unfairly placed in an impossible situation after being drafted in the first round by the evil dark lord Josh McDaniels. He kicked around the NFL for a number of years, enjoying a cup of coffee with several teams, before he found work as the guy in charge of upkeep for Kyle Orton's beard-trimming kit. But, disillusioned with the lack of work that entails, he eventually faded from public view, until resurfacing as media adviser to Ryan Leaf during his unsuccessful bid for governor of California; he lost to former Raiders owner Al Davis, who won despite being dead since 2017.)
It may be, Case, that you find sports is not your thing. If so, that's cool. All joking aside, it's important you discover various passions and find the time to indulge them. If you're very lucky, like your Grandpa Pallister, your work and your passion (for him it was fighting fires) will be the same. But for most of us, work is work and play is play. And keeping them separate is healthy, for mind and body.
Whether it's sports, music, reading, cooking, health and fitness or jumping out of airplanes, find what you like and do it a lot. That sounds simple, but as you grow into adulthood and the life of responsibility -- for yourself and others who make up your universe -- takes precedent, it becomes increasingly difficult to stop and smell the roses. As I mentioned previously, enjoy the moment, of which you will be presented with many. If spending Sundays watching NFL games fills you with joy (and other assorted emotions we'll not get into right now), as it has for me since childhood, then dive in. Whatever it is, be passionate. I guess that's my point here. Be passionate about life. Humans are prone to regret, but the best way to avoid the what-ifs is to find joy in the everyday, the little things that make up the majority of our lives.
I will dream a thousand dreams regarding what might be in store for you, Case. But all I really want is for you to be happy. Find what makes that so.
Thursday, August 25, 2011
Be there
Case, your Grandpa Pallister summed up parenting's big picture in five words: "You're there for your kids." Through all the ins and outs and ups and downs of rasiing you, that advice will be the foundation. When it comes to making a point, your grandpa is more Hemingway, I'm more Poe (or perhaps Dr, Suess). Here's my take on being there for you:
Hello, Case, it's nice to meet ya
On my face, a smile to greet ya
Welcome, son, I promise you
I'll be the dad you need me to
I'll be there for those tiny hands
that grow with you into a man
I'll be there for those tiny feet,
provide the ground you soon will meet
I'll be there for those bright blue eyes
that widen with each life's surprise
I'll be there in a moment's time,
through late-night tears and nurs'ry rhymes
I'll be there, never fear,
I'll be there for you
I'll be there, no matter where,
'cause that's what dads are born to do
I'll be there for those scrapes and falls;
the love I have, you'll have it all
I'll be there for that first big game,
to cheer you on and shout your name
I'll be there for those little scars
that dot the maps of who we are
I'll be there for the bigger hurts,
to give advice but listen first
I'll be there, never fear,
I'll be there for you
I'll be there, no matter where,
'cause that's what dads are born to do
I'll be there for those little things,
and take you underneath my wings
I'll be there with each passing day,
to watch you soar, then fly away
I'll be there when you're on your own
And know, my son, you're not alone
I'll be there for my little boy;
you'll always be my pride and joy
Wednesday, August 24, 2011
Welcome
At 7:18 p.m. on Aug. 17, Case Austin Pallister, with an unquantifiably courageous assist from his mom, made me a dad. I never, in my wildest dreams (and believe me, I've had some wild ones) ever imagined something this amazing would happen to me (more on that later). But it has, and I couldn't be happier. And this journey is one I will take seriously -- as I am wont to do when I put my mind to a thing -- but not so serious that I will not take the time, through example and instruction, to teach our son to laugh, to cry, to wonder why, and to enjoy the moment while sucking a little marrow out of life along the way.
I plan to use this (cyber)space to document my thoughts on fatherhood. I suspect the process of writing it will be much like the process of living it -- a mixture of fear, doubt, laughter, tears, happiness and surprise. So sit back and enjoy the read.
Dad
I plan to use this (cyber)space to document my thoughts on fatherhood. I suspect the process of writing it will be much like the process of living it -- a mixture of fear, doubt, laughter, tears, happiness and surprise. So sit back and enjoy the read.
Dad
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