This was really beautiful -- thanks for sharing. Have you read/watched the Life of Chuck? It's a Stephen King short story that was recently made into a film. (As per usual, the book was better, but I thought the film was pretty well done.) Anyway...I recommend giving it a read if you haven't already done so. It reflects a similar sense of life as your post, I think, and it might resonate with you. Thanks as always for writing these!
Great post. My kids are 27 and 24. It goes faster than you’d think.
A million affirmations for trying to instill a life of reading. It “took” with one of my two… honestly, the one 20 years ago that I thought was much less likely. It has served her very well.
The interviews were great. I love how you were asked how things make you “feel.” Most kids that age don’t do that. They ask purely fact based, action based questions. “What do you do at work?” “Where do you go when you run?” Things that are very concrete and that’s normal and fine. But to have 6 and 9 year olds (especially a 6 year old!) reflecting on the world in the way they are is amazing. I actually an expert in child development, so you and your wife are killing it! Good genetics. Good communication with them to get them thinking that way.
Also great that their best days didn’t just include TV and video games. Those aren’t evil in themselves but it says a lot about their priorities and personalities.
Also loved the rambles about money and wandering the neighborhood and egging cop cars. Actual LOL. Find the good trouble.
Anyway, you are living the best life. Blessings to you all.
Enjoy the puppy. I wanted to give back my best boy ever about 100 times between 6 and 18 months for what it’s worth.
Thanks Mike, this was a great note. I also loved (and was surprised) that Jonas asked me how I feel about things. With two kids around, and the older one steering the conversation most of the time, it was nice to have time to talk one-on-one with Jonas. Also, yeah, I almost gave the dog back yesterday when it knocked over my monstera and chewed on the leaves. Sigh.
This was very cool. Kids are the best - hands down! It is so fun and refreshing to just listen to talk and say stuff - you can sense how clever they are while also picking up the hint of innocence - just being kids talking about stuff. Now you need to find some good trouble to get them into - a little mischief with a hint of danger but nobody gets hurt.
Best advice I received when my pup was small (she just turned 1 and is the best girl but we definitely went through a stage where we were sure we’d made the biggest mistake) is to get a coffee wood chew. From 10 weeks old she was a monster chewer and this was the only thing that lasted more than a few minutes while continuing to hold her interest.
This was really beautiful -- thanks for sharing. Have you read/watched the Life of Chuck? It's a Stephen King short story that was recently made into a film. (As per usual, the book was better, but I thought the film was pretty well done.) Anyway...I recommend giving it a read if you haven't already done so. It reflects a similar sense of life as your post, I think, and it might resonate with you. Thanks as always for writing these!
I haven't seen it or read it yet, but I will for sure check it out!
Great post. My kids are 27 and 24. It goes faster than you’d think.
A million affirmations for trying to instill a life of reading. It “took” with one of my two… honestly, the one 20 years ago that I thought was much less likely. It has served her very well.
The interviews were great. I love how you were asked how things make you “feel.” Most kids that age don’t do that. They ask purely fact based, action based questions. “What do you do at work?” “Where do you go when you run?” Things that are very concrete and that’s normal and fine. But to have 6 and 9 year olds (especially a 6 year old!) reflecting on the world in the way they are is amazing. I actually an expert in child development, so you and your wife are killing it! Good genetics. Good communication with them to get them thinking that way.
Also great that their best days didn’t just include TV and video games. Those aren’t evil in themselves but it says a lot about their priorities and personalities.
Also loved the rambles about money and wandering the neighborhood and egging cop cars. Actual LOL. Find the good trouble.
Anyway, you are living the best life. Blessings to you all.
Enjoy the puppy. I wanted to give back my best boy ever about 100 times between 6 and 18 months for what it’s worth.
Thanks Mike, this was a great note. I also loved (and was surprised) that Jonas asked me how I feel about things. With two kids around, and the older one steering the conversation most of the time, it was nice to have time to talk one-on-one with Jonas. Also, yeah, I almost gave the dog back yesterday when it knocked over my monstera and chewed on the leaves. Sigh.
This was very cool. Kids are the best - hands down! It is so fun and refreshing to just listen to talk and say stuff - you can sense how clever they are while also picking up the hint of innocence - just being kids talking about stuff. Now you need to find some good trouble to get them into - a little mischief with a hint of danger but nobody gets hurt.
A little bit of trouble never hurt anybody (maybe just a few burned fingers from Black Cat firecrackers).
Best advice I received when my pup was small (she just turned 1 and is the best girl but we definitely went through a stage where we were sure we’d made the biggest mistake) is to get a coffee wood chew. From 10 weeks old she was a monster chewer and this was the only thing that lasted more than a few minutes while continuing to hold her interest.
Good to know, thank you!
Richest man on earth right here
"New York, it’s crowded, there’s Yankees fans." THE WORST. 😂
My work is done here 😂