As you may have heard (or read, seen personally, etc.), the Chicago Blackhawks won the Stanley Cup earlier this week. I mentioned that they were in the final in my last post, focusing there on the idea of the way our superstitions affect – or, more likely, don’t affect – sports games.[1] My extremely generous wife agreed to stay home with our sleeping son while I went to a bar with my brother[2] so that we could watch together. Sports are always more fun when they’re shared so we went out, we drank, we ate, we watched and most importantly, the Blackhawks won. Continue reading “Celebrating a Championship”
Tag: parenting
Lesson #1: The Chicago Cubs
Baseball is stupid.
I know, you’re confused. “What do you mean? You said this is a blog about sports and I know you’re a baseball fan! How can you say baseball is stupid?” Just bear with me.
I repeat: baseball is stupid. One guy throws a ball, another guy tries to hit it, and eight other guys run around throwing the ball to each other. Some of the position names make sense (pitcher, catcher, baseman) but some definitely do not (what’s a shortstop?). The managers and coaches never play in the games but they wear the same uniforms as the players.[1] Some teams don’t even put their players’ names on the backs of the uniforms so unless you follow the team closely or you’re watching on television, you don’t know who you’re watching.[2] And the game is so freaking slow. Continue reading “Lesson #1: The Chicago Cubs”
What I Didn’t Expect
(Sorry for the delay in posts. Work and preparations for E’s birthday party have kind of dominated the last two weeks.)
Parenting is a weird business.
Weird may not be the best word for it; I just chose it because there are so many different ways of looking at being a parent and so many different things to experience that “weird” seems like a catch-all word. Parenting is the one job[1] I can think of that can make a person laugh, cry and want to punch a hole in the wall all in the span of five minutes. It’s exhilarating and heart-wrenching, amazing and overwhelming, all at once. The biggest thing about being a parent, though, is this:
You have no idea what you’re getting yourself into. Continue reading “What I Didn’t Expect”
Earning My Stripes
Yesterday, my wife went to the gym for some much needed (and deserved) time to herself. Before she left, she prepared some food for our son’s breakfast so all I really had to do was feed him and clean him up afterwards.* Once he was finished, I took him out of his high chair and put him down with his toys. I knew there were some things that needed to be done that morning – laundry, cleaning, etc. -and I was able to do some of it with my son (for instance, E is great at sitting on my lap while I separate laundry). Continue reading “Earning My Stripes”
The Four Lessons: An Introduction
A few weeks after my son was born, I was sitting with him in my living room watching television and decided it was time to begin his education.
There’s been all kinds of research about how reading to your kids even while they’re still in the womb benefits their intellectual development.* You’re supposed to read to them, sing to them, play music for them and basically do anything that would annoy you if you were trying to sleep as a way to stimulate their tiny little neurons and synapses. By encouraging brain development, you’re preparing your baby for more conventional learning later on. All that being said, the education I had in mind had nothing to do with any of this.
It was time to teach him about Chicago sports. Continue reading “The Four Lessons: An Introduction”
