Archive for July, 2008

The Random Discomfort of Parenting

Thursday, July 10th, 2008

My job, my environment, and my life are a multitasker’s dream. I am working on 20 simultaneous projects. We’re still somewhat unpacked in our new home. And my kids are, well, kids. But when everything happens at once, a certain amount of embarassment is inevitable.

Body language. Oren is obsessed with making up words. One of his favorites, thanks to its rich consonant sounds, is a clear and present vulgarity. I haven’t decided if this is worse than his nude escapades on the lawn.

Prioritizing. Siena insists on wearing underwear without first potty-training. This morning I had to turn around to go home because she suddenly and tearfully demanded a diaper. For the rest of the day I had a tiny pair of panties on my passenger seat.

Reputation. I gave Siena a new business card and showed her the letters of my name. She was so excited that she put the card under her pillow and shrieked when Oren tried to take it. More of my clients should be like that.

Affection. Oren has perfected the art of making flatulence sounds by pushing his lips onto your skin and blowing. Now he does it all the time. To everyone.

Baby’s first argument. My three-year-old actually argued with me like an adult. She said it would be dark when she woke from her nap. I said it would be light. She said it would be dark. I said light. She said dark. I said light. She tantrumed. I raised my voice. She insisted. … Fewer of my clients should be like that.

The art of conversation. The kids are marvels with the telephone. Talking to no one but the dial tone, they hold one-sided conversations that sound amazingly real: “Hi Grandma. Yeah. Yeah. I’m going to school. Uh-huh. Yeah. Yesterday, I pooped in the toilet. Okay. Bye, Grandma.”

The Fourth of Julwhat?

Monday, July 7th, 2008

I’ve know I’ve heard of this holiday someplace. Let me think, let me think.

If anything can be said about being a work-at-home dad, it’s that the name ”Independence Day holiday” is as ironic as vacationing on “Labor Day.” In the Boston area, July 4th is even more exciting, thanks to the nationally broadcast fireworks display downtown. Three times I’ve been a part of millions-of-people-thick throngs at the Hatch Shell listening to the Boston Pops and its guest stars. On three other occasions I’ve been downtown but secluded from crowds, like in an office conference room or on the roof of a parking garage. I really like the Boston show.

On the afterMonday, however, it’s what everyone talks about, casually. Did you do anything special for the Fourth? Let me set the record straight. We did NOTHING. Here’s why.

  1. Little kids hate fireworks. Hate, hate, hate, hate. They prefer monsters.
  2. Being self-employed, holidays have no meaning to me.
  3. My wife takes Fridays off, so this one made no difference.
  4. You know those hateful little noisemakers people set off in their yards? The ones that sound like shrieking cats doing belly flops? They wake kids up. So,
  5. We’re tired. Really, really tired. Besides,
  6. Have you ever tried to watch fireworks on TV? All that cool explosion stuff is filtered out: size, color, sound, motion. It’s more fun to watch joggers.

So now you know. The evolution from affictionado to curmudgeon takes three years.