While I write many blogs and other types of content throughout the week, the Weekly Column is my weekly feature topic, which will also be the basis of my weekly radio show and #dadchat. Posted on Sunday night or Monday morning, they are a great way to start off your week with something to think about, as well as something to talk about.
Weekly Columns are available for syndication in your publication. Contact Us for more information!
A recent study reflected a remarkable change in parents’ expectations for their children’s future. For the first time in memory, the majority of parents did NOT expect their children to exceed their parent’s fiscal success. And, in my opinion, this is the reality we are currently facing. I had it easier than my boys’ do and will. I was lucky. They may not be so lucky.
It’s time our Moral Question of the Week took on something hard! The other day my wife threw out, what appeared to me, perfectly good bananas. She said because they were covered with brown spots she believed that they were no longer good. She said doctors say there’s too much sugar in them at that point. I always thought that the slightly brown-patched bananas were actually better and tastier. What do you think?
Today I had lunch with my older son and dinner with my younger one. They are about to turn 18 and 21. Each meal was different because they are unique individuals but there was one similarity. Our interchanges were not a whole lot different than if I’d had a meal with a friend or peer. Amazing!
Okay, I’m kidding. Well, sort of. Of course my dogs and my wife are not the same in ANY way but their differences are sort of striking. I love my dogs but I have NEVER equated the love of my pets with my love of human beings. Nonetheless, there’s a reason people are fanatical about their pets. Mostly, I think it’s the unconditional love. In our human relationships, we actually tend to expect something from one another.
We all think or speak about wanting to “Start over” with dreams of what we might do differently if we could. Whenever I declare such a thing, I am clear that I’d like to start over with the knowledge I’ve learned living as long as I have. Sort of an oxymoron, I suppose.
Anyone who has a family member or friend in AA has heard of The Serenity Prayer. You don’t have to be part of AA to either agree with it (or not). It says, “God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.” This week’s Moral Question is: Do you believe (in it)? Or do you believe we have more control than the prayer implies?
I used to think I knew my boys well. We were especially close after their mother left, when they were six and nine. I was a stay-at-home-dad and involved in everything in their lives when we were married and then after their mother virtually disappeared. For a while, shortly after she left, we all slept together in my bed with both our dogs, too. I was jammed in so I barely could move but it was still very comforting and I treasure that memory. Now, as they’re young adults, I’m wondering if I really know them (at all)?
