This semester is already a whirlwind! Having our son at home during the day and trying to prepare for my qualifying exams has been a mighty task indeed. Hopefully I will succeed at both of these tasks (something to be proven in the short term by passing marks from teachers and in the long term by the presense of a happy, healthy, well-adjusted adult in the future). I wish sometimes that I were able to put off the long term for the short term but I find myself unable to abandon our son while I read another book or article … Continue reading →

Yesterday, I started talking about dealing with death with your children. We experienced this first hand this week when one of our beloved turtles died. You can read the first part of this story here. I left off, with my son trying to ‘revive’ the turtles by warming up the water. . . In response to his idea about the larger turtle needing more warm water, I told him that we could try it, and that I hoped that it would work, but that I suspected that his turtle may have died. He accepted this as reasonable, (I think deep … Continue reading →

My children had to deal with a new, difficult experience this week. We had all gone out together on a family trip, and when we returned home, my son made a discovery that was going to be very disturbing to our children. He came out from his room, and told my wife and I that one of his turtles looked funny. My wife and I exchanged concerned glances. He has been the proud owner of two red eared slider turtles, but ever since we had bought them, one turtle had never eaten very much, nor had it grown at all. … Continue reading →

My family took a trip to the zoo this week, and my son was really excited that we got the chance to see a scorpion. The scorpion was in a glass tank, filled with sand, rocks, logs and other things from its natural environment. Immediately underneath the scorpion’s tank was a glowing red square, which you were obviously meant to push. My six year old son looked into the scorpion’s tank as he pushed the button, wondering what was going to happen. When he pushed the button, the light in the scorpion’s tank went out and was replaced by a … Continue reading →

It seems like a simple enough question, but for many dads, these two little words can be really nerve racking. I imagine that answering this question will only get harder and harder as my kids get older. I am still a relatively new father, in that my oldest is only eight years old. However, my practical experience is quickly adding up. The way I see it, I have an 8 year old, 6 year old, 4 year old, and 2 year old twins. That’s like 22 years of fatherhood experience right there! On the other hand, I’m sure that there … Continue reading →