Just Me and The Lil' Man

Just Me and The Lil' Man: 10 Things I Have Learned From My Dad's Life and Death

    My Dad should be turning 79 today.  I can see the backyard party at my parent's house now.  Hot dogs, Mum's homemade potato salad and a huge cake lit up with a ton of candles for the old fella.  Unfortunately though, my Dad passed away 16 years ago and we won't be celebrating his day today.  The thing that makes me saddest is that he will never meet his Grandchildren.  He would have been the best Grandpa a kid could ever ask for.  My son actually calls him "Papa" and talks as if he knows him, but that is a whole different post!  I figure today is a great day to spend some time reflecting on how my Dad and his death shaped who I am today.  He was so many things to everyone in our family.  I know that there are many, many more things I learned from my Dad and his death then just ten, just get me started.... 1. Family is #1:   My Dad used to call home on his lunch break everyday, just to see what we were all up to.  He took pride in his work for sure but we all

I was sitting at the playground watching my son play on the playground.  I saw her coming, before she saw me.  A cute, little gal with pink hearts on her t-shirt.  She was confidently using the concrete curb I was sitting on, as a balancing beam.  The minute I saw her I knew she was headed my way and would want past me.  I wondered how this was going to go down.  "Excuse me", her sweet little voice said.  I grunted, and stood up to let her pass, the whole time annoyed at myself that I was annoyed at a young person using manners.  I am big on manners!  My son has been forced to say "Please" and "Thank you" since before he could talk (Ok, that might be a slight exaggeration but I am really into manners!). And here I am pissed that this little girl felt entitled to move the adults from their sitting wall, just because she used her manners!  What is wrong with me?  Am I that miserable?! She balanced along, totally unaware that she was pushing me toward a m

  I am going to be really honest and admit that I am hesitant to start this blog.  I really know very little about the world of blogging and all the lingo that goes along with it.  There are so many reasons that it may not be a good idea; overexposing my son online, offending my peeps, my students reading it and learning more then I am comfortable having them know about me, adding one more guilt inducing task to my already busy schedule....but I feel like the universe has led me down this path and I figure it is worth giving a try.  This is a bit of an experiment for me!  Besides the fact that no one will likely even read my blog!!  I know, all the "serious bloggers" would be rolling their eyes right now.  I would be too, if I were them !    I don't have a firm topic that I will be writing about.  My plan is to write when I feel inspired to share something.  It may be a do-it-yourself home project, a funny parenting story, a cool new product I have come across....who k