Will You Ever Sing With Me My Son? As I watched this morningFrom the humble pewThis father-son combo Belting out a tuneI felt a tearTrickling down my cheekAs I wondered, sonWill that someday be you and me? My boy, as you grow older and furtherAway from me into maturityWill you ever consider getting on stageTo … Continue reading My Monday Metrical Musings #250
Fathers Take The Hit! Yep that's what these recent years have beenAnd I know it doesn't seem fitBut no matter how far we've come in timeFather's simply aren't a hit! They're still ignored in crucial yearsWhen they need to feel they're seenBut bit by bit they fade awayUntil they're nothing but a dream Forgotten birthdaysAnd … Continue reading My Monday Metrical Musings #248
One man returns from burying his father in their homeland, yet is too busy now with caregiving his wife and three kids (including a five-month-old baby) to grief his recent loss. Another struggles with his decision to resign from work after less than a year, due to mental stress triggered by caregiving his special needs … Continue reading Ingredients For A Thriving Community — A Preamble
Yes indeed! Three days ago I finished recording a podcast episode that'll be publicly released close to Father's Day in June. I found myself amazed that over some 35 minutes, much ground on this topic of how to be a good father was covered. Because anytime the topic is on parenting, there's usually a million … Continue reading What It Takes To Be A Good Father (Part 2 of 2)
Acclaimed singer/songwriter and Nobel laureate Eric Clapton opened his famous song "Change The World", which he wrote for his son, with these lyrics: If I could reach the stars, pull one down for you, shine it on my heart, so you could see the truth. That this love I have inside, is everything it seems…” … Continue reading It’s Time Stay Home Dads Wax Lyrical About Fatherhood
Since the start of this year, I've increasingly found myself rethinking about the meaning of community. I think it began when I downloaded a Kindle version of David Brooks' latest book How To Know A Person: The Art Of Seeing Others Deeply And Being Deeply Seen (2023), in which he mentioned community and someone by … Continue reading One Dad’s Musings About The Power of Community
I promise not to cry. Or so I tell myself on a fairly regular basis. Yet what's wrong with crying? It reminds me of my frail humanity, doesn't it? Of how real the challenge of raising a kid, especially one with autism and special needs, is. Over the years, I've cried privately and openly enough. … Continue reading Daily Living With Autism #16 — Poor Balanced Scorecard
Tomorrow is Father's Day and I wanted to take this time to acknowledge a special group of fathers I got to know since March this year. These wonderful gentlemen have given me new hope that maybe, even at this stage of my now five-year-journey as a stay home dad, it's still not too late to … Continue reading A community of non-traditional fathers
Two mornings ago, my wife and I sent C -- our youngest with autism -- to a three-day church camp. He was kicking and screaming in protest as usual. It's what he does every time there's a change in routine. After a while, I too felt like kicking and screaming, as my wife and I … Continue reading Fathering Softer #1 — “being” not “doing”
Yesterday I was sharing with a couple of friends how parenting is analogous to navigating open waters. For currents and weather are often unpredictable, even to the most seasoned of fishermen. The same goes for parenting. Babies don't stay babies. Neither do toddlers and prepubescent boys. They grow. They change. In ways not always predictable. … Continue reading Father-son bonding #3 — Investing emotionally in children pays the “best dividends”
