When I speak to friends who don’t have children yet, they often ask if I have any advice on being a parent. Being only a few years into the experience, I don’t know how any of our decisions will pan out into teenage years or beyond. However, the question isn’t usually about that: usually the […]
I intended to write a post about the Olympics, but on the day of the closing ceremony, one of my children tested positive for COVID. And in a few days, we all had it. Thankfully, we are all previously vaccinated and have no other notable risk factors. We were never actually worried and didn’t have […]
With two young children, we couldn’t be bothered to figure out the logistics of actually traveling, so we took three days of work to stay at home. To make it an actual vacation, we took the children in to daycare to spend the time how we wanted to. To make the most of it, I […]
Last year, Julie and I had our second child. Although everything is always changing in the life of a young child, we had mostly developed routines and rhythms to life. That consistency was a secondary sign that we were ready to have everything change again. Life with two children is different from life with one […]
One of favorite conversation starters is to ask someone how they got their name or how they chose the names for their children. Sometimes people really don’t know, but often, there’s a decent story behind the name. It’s taboo to ask expecting parents what the baby name is, but it’s certainly fair game to ask […]
With a handful of vacation days to use, we wanted to take a short, local family vacation. After evaluating the options, we decided to make the short drive down to Monterey to see the Monterey Bay Aquarium and see the beach. We haven’t had many family vacations. In fact, we have only done overnights away […]
Currently, the only game that I’m running is at the local teen community center. It’s an after-school drop-in space for teens to play games, do homework, have a snack, and otherwise hang out. Although I have mostly been running for a consistent set of players, I always have to be ready for a teen to […]
I have had a difficult time explaining to my coworkers and friends without children how becoming a parent changed my life. In most ways, I’m the same person: I still like the same foods, have the same day job, and dress the same way. On the other hand, I now take a lot more photos, […]
This post is a followup to Part 1 where I reflect specifically on cases where I have learned, grown up, or adapted to new circumstances. Physical Books This one is a cop-out because I still actually prefer reading ebooks for myself. However, I have a new reason to want to have physical books around. I […]
Author’s Note: If you’re wondering why I say “My,” my intent with this blog is not to go into too much detail about either my daughter (for the parenting parts) or my players (for the TTRPG parts). Neither have given their consent per se to be discussed in this blog, so it’s just my side […]