"Murphy was an optimist!"
From the mouths of babes January 23, 2012 11:13 am
Posted by Doug McCaughan in : Daily Life, Evan, From the mouths of babesMe: "It’s time to wake up."
Evan, 6 years old, stumbles from bed, stomps down the hall: "Argh. Why does this happen every night‽"
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To Live, To Love, To Learn, To Leave a Legacy January 6, 2012 4:14 pm
Posted by Doug McCaughan in : Daily Life, Deep Thoughts, Evan, Family, Of Being Dad, PhilosophyI slowly explained, with long sentences and great clarity, "To Live, To Love, To Learn, To Leave a Legacy
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There are no girl Jedi! September 8, 2011 11:29 am
Posted by Doug McCaughan in : Daily Life, Evan, Family, From the mouths of babes, Of Being DadWhile having coffee one morning at Mojoe’s Trailside Coffeehouse, one of the customers mentions her girl will be attending Jedi camp. Oh! I have to get Evan into this and sure enough, he finds a slot just before the camp fills up. Camp is the last week of June 2011 and Evan had a blast!
Fast forward to today, September 8, 2011, and I’m having coffee in Mojoe’s and talking to the wonderful mother who turned me onto Jedi camp. In the grand scheme of Evan’s life, an enormous amount of time has passed between Jedi Camp and today. The mother says, "Your son is Evan right?" The gears start turning in my head as she continues, "Evan and my daughter had a fight." My heart sinks. The mother smiles, "Evan told my daughter that girls cannot be Jedi. And my daughter argued with him and told him about the women in the Clone Wars." After a chuckle, we talk about little minds, the funny things they produce, and amazement at the fact that the two are still talking about and remembering Jedi Camp. Good times!
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From the mouths of babes August 28, 2011 9:55 pm
Posted by Doug McCaughan in : Cathy, Daily Life, Evan, Family, From the mouths of babesEvan, 6 years old: "Can I go next door and go swimming?"
Mom: "Were you invited?"
Evan: "No, I’m going to ask."
Mom: "That would be inviting yourself and is wrong."
Evan: "So can I go see if they will invite me?"
Mom: "No. That would still be inviting yourself."
Evan, stomps off exasperated: "I’ll just go stick my head in the toilet!"
Evan, from the back of the house: "Quit laughing!"
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From the mouths of babes August 24, 2011 6:10 pm
Posted by Doug McCaughan in : Daily Life, Evan, Family, From the mouths of babesMe: "Evan, did you wake up on the wrong side of the bed?"
Evan, 6 years old: "Yeah, I woke up on the edge."
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Saturday Building Projects for Children August 13, 2011 1:16 pm
Posted by Doug McCaughan in : Amy, Daily Life, Evan, Family, Of Being Dad, Of InterestWe participate in Home Depot’s Kid’s Workshops on the first Saturday of each month.
Kids Workshop is an award-winning program that has been offered at The Home Depot stores since 1997. The workshops are free, how-to clinics designed for children ages 5-12, available on the first Saturday of each month between 9 a.m. and noon at all The Home Depot stores. Children, accompanied by an adult, use their skills to create objects that can be used in and around their homes or communities. …
- Since 1997, 17.5 million projects have been built at Kids Workshops
- More than 1 million children built their first toolbox at The Home Depot.
- More than 845,000 birdhouses have been constructed at Kids Workshops.
- 75 children per store attend a Kids Workshop on average while many stores have 200 kids attend regularly.
See also: Home Improver Club, Home Depot Blog, and Corporate Statement.
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Too tired? Too busy? Muster the energy and time. Read a book to your child. July 8, 2011 10:26 am
Posted by Doug McCaughan in : Amy, Daily Life, Education, Evan, Family, Health, Mental, Of Being DadTake a moment and read this story in The New York Times. In short, a doctor tells of a 74 year old patient who couldn’t get his medicines correct.
Mr. M was a typical new patient: 74, with diabetes, hypertension and elevated cholesterol. He had some prostate enlargement and back pain. His bag of pill bottles was depressingly bulky. I spilled the bottles out at our first visit, sorting them by disease. … Mr. M didn’t remember the names of all the medicines … Mr. M was clearly still confused about his medicines…
[Source, NYT, A Problem in Following Doctor’s Orders by DANIELLE OFRI, M.D.]
In the end, we learn that Mr. M is illiterate, unable to read either Spanish or English. The story would be similar to many other stories of illiteracy leaving us emphatic, but emotionally disconnected, had it not been for the last paragraph.
My kindergarten-age daughter is just beginning to read, and she is taken aback with delirious joy each time a few random letters suddenly form a word that matches real life. It’s a painstaking process for her, but as I watch her I think about how this skill has powerful ramifications for her health and longevity. It’s a gift, really, one that I’d long to transfer to Mr. M if I could.
[Source, NYT, A Problem in Following Doctor’s Orders by DANIELLE OFRI, M.D.]
I know that joy! My son has become quite the avid reader. He no longer wants to be the listener; he wants to be the one who reads aloud. And I too wish I could give that gift to Mr. M.
Remember, they are never too old to participate in reading with you; whether you are the listener or the reader, make time to sit with your child and a book.
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From the mouths of babes June 8, 2011 10:37 am
Posted by Doug McCaughan in : Daily Life, Evan, Family, From the mouths of babes, Of Being DadSo Evan, 6 years old, comes downstairs wearing a terrycloth robe and matching slippers.
Me: "What are you wearing?"
Evan: "A robe and robe shoes."
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From the mouths of babes May 29, 2011 10:02 pm
Posted by Doug McCaughan in : Daily Life, Evan, Family, From the mouths of babes, Of Being DadAfter poking and probing for a splinter in Evan’s foot, he teary eyed hugs his mother.
Me: "Can I get in on this hug?"
Evan, 6 years old: "No. You made it hurt."
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From the mouths of babes March 6, 2011 4:20 pm
Posted by Doug McCaughan in : Daily Life, Evan, From the mouths of babes, Religion / Spirituality, Touchy SubjectsEvan, 5 years old, has religious debate: "It’s kinda weird."
Amy, 8 years old: "What do you mean?"
Evan: "Well, Jesus. How did he create himself?"
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18 hours of ice January 13, 2011 1:15 pm
Posted by Doug McCaughan in : Cathy, Daily Life, Evan, Family, Of Being Dad, Sarah, Transportation, TravelSo in the past 18 hours:
- My wife couldn’t get off our street due to ice
- Our friend managed to get onto our cove returning our son 11pmish but couldn’t get out
- My neighbor had to use 4 wheel drive to escape the ice
- The postman slid into a neighbor’s yard
- My father-in-law had difficulty leaving the street
- My 17 year old daughter slid her car into our retaining wall and had to climb out the passenger side
- My 17 year old daughter took our van to pick the 5 year old up from school
Waiting with bated breath to hear that the 5 year old makes it home safely and that the van survives.
Oh, and btw, secondary roads in Knoxville are still precarious. This is why schools get canceled.
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From the mouths of babes – my Cats in the Cradle moment January 5, 2011 9:53 am
Posted by Doug McCaughan in : Daily Life, Evan, Family, From the mouths of babes, Of Being DadEvan, 5 years old: "Dad, you don’t play much. You work a lot."
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From the mouths of babes December 17, 2010 9:33 am
Posted by Doug McCaughan in : Daily Life, Evan, Family, From the mouths of babesEvan, 5 years old on the drive to pre-school: "beotch beotch beotch!"
Me, failing to contain shock and anger: "Who taught you that?!"
Evan: "No one."
Me, hypocrite, liar: "I get mad at lies not mistakes."
Evan, confessing and ratting out his friend: *he says his friend’s name. It starts with A but I won’t rat him out here*
Me: *relieved that he didn’t say my name, his mother’s name or any of his older siblings. I really expected it to be from Noah.*
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Snot, Wet Wipes and Frost December 8, 2010 9:27 am
Posted by Doug McCaughan in : Daily Life, Evan, Family, Of Being DadWhen you are pulling into the carpool line as your child is supposed to be entering the building to avoid a tardy, it is not a good time to look over your shoulder and discover that last night he invoked his super powers and is still wearing his secret identity of Booger Boy! It is a worse time to realize that leaving a package of wet wipes
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Of Being Dad December 2, 2010 8:20 am
Posted by Doug McCaughan in : Amy, Daily Life, Evan, Family, Of Being DadNo one said it would be easy. Being a father is a fantastic thing. One of my best friends once told me, "you’re not a real man until you have children" and I, childless at the time, thought he was being a little to narrow in his definition. I get what he was saying now. I could write a dissertation off his simple statement. However, for the moment, suffice it to say that children grow you as a person. Unfortunately, it seems this growth takes about 20 years which is probably part of why grandparents are so much better with children than parents; aside from the fact that "the kids go home."
Sometimes, your word choices don’t match your actions. You feel stupid as you lose your temper with a child and shout, "quit being so angry!" or something akin to that. But it happens. And you paint yourself into a corner. You start down a path and almost as the words roll off your tongue your argument with/discipline of the child becomes about "how do I back out of this?!" Words can be like knives. Word choices can inflict as much pain and damage as physical abuse. As parents, it is important that we truly think before we speak or act. And perhaps, before giving that child a timeout, we should give ourselves one first. This morning, overtired and with a head cold but without an excuse, I should have given myself a timeout and didn’t.
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