Oftentimes, I wonder exactly who I am. That question was easy to answer when I was younger, but today my identity is not so easily determined. It used to be simply about how I viewed myself, but now my identity is also determined by how well I meet my responsibilities to my family. Do I do enough as a parent? Am I living up to the oaths I made to my significant other? Can I, with confidence, call myself a role model to those who look up to me?  These aren't easy questions to answer in the shared-role, dual-income society we now live in. In days past we had our roles, and for the most part, …

My family was fortunate enough to welcome a new member into our household over the holidays. A member whose presence was made known immediately upon arrival and has changed our lives considerably since entering the equation. I’m talking about, of course, Let’s Rock Elmo. He’s loud, he’s demanding, and his songs are downright catchy. With a simple squeeze of the foot, Elmo will either immediately launch into song or first request an instrument in which to perform with. “Ehhmo” is also being constantly shoved in my face by the little one as he requests these songs to be played over and over and…

It seems like every time I turn around there is a new new development going on in our house. My two kids are growing up by leaps and bounds right in front of my eyes and my brain is just barely able to keep up and process accordingly. The “problem” lies in the fact that every once in a while, a real show stopper of a development comes along and blows my mind; it forces me to take a step back and re-analyze everything I think I know about parenting. Examples of this range from the first step, first word, and first solid food, but this time it is my 4-year-old starting to read. Does this look …

My family is embarking on a journey. I feel that it’s time to rein “it” back in.  Things are a little wild right now in the world, and “keeping it simple” is anything but.  There is just too much of everything and everyone is too far apart.  It’s tempting to opine on the state of affairs in society as I watch everyone buried in their Smart Phones instead of talking to their fellow man or taking in the world around them, but I’m just as guilty, so to do such would be fraudulent.  But what I will do is attempt to grab the rudder of my ship and angle it in a slightly different direction. My …

To my beautiful boys: The greatest gift I can ever give you is knowledge, and the greatest gift given to all of us as Americans, is freedom. Freedom means many different things to many different people, and while I won't even try to define exactly what freedom means, I will tell you what freedom means to me. As I write this, we are currently celebrating Veterans Day on 11/11/11.  The unique date has everyone buzzing with excitement, but for me it means very little aside from being neat.  If anything, the very fact that we as a society can get giddy over a bunch of 1's, underscores the type of…

I'm big on attempting sassy article titles in case you haven't noticed. Attempting being the key word.   Something that makes me laugh is the "this is the new that" speak people have become so fond of lately.  "Brown is the new black," or, "40 is the new 30," and very popular these days, "Saving is the new spending."  My all-time favorite still comes from my grandmother when she proclaimed during family picture time that, "Three is the new two," after already taking the standard two pictures and angling for a third.  You don't mess with Gram to begin with, but when she breaks out a line that …

To my loyal readers; this unfortunately is the end. We all knew it was only a matter of time, and squeezed our eyes shut in denial of the inevitable outcome, but we are finally here and it's time to face the music. My 3-year-old is now 4. The whole thing is simply too shocking for me to comprehend.  Parents going back to the beginning of time must have been faced with this same level of astonishment, and again, I'm a tad perplexed that I wasn't warned by my elders of this forthcoming event. 4?  Really? It's just so, well, bigger than 3. 1-2-3 are very commonplace numbers.  They are often used…

Yes, my wife is a teacher. No, I'm not doing this to score points. I recently had some extra time on my hands to reflect on teachers this past week as I sat behind school buses that stopped every half mile on my commute to work, and instead of fuming in rage, I tried to steer my brain toward the positive.  I tried to banish the seemingly more frequent "old man thoughts" I have like, "In my day, we used to walk to school.  No, not up hill both ways in the rain/sleet/snow like my father used to brag about, just regular, old-fashioned walking." Along with other ones like, "Do they really need …

Do I have OCD issues, or do other dads - and parents in general - have a nightly, mental checklist they complete before bed? I literally make a circuit around the house and check that the lights are off in each room, windows are locked, computer is off, dog is inside, foot maiming toys are off the floor, doors are locked, heat is lowered (winter checklist), cell phone is plugged into the charger, TV is off, formula is made (I said check that it's made), coffee is ready to brew (pre single serve cup days), banish all thoughts that I'd be on my way out for the night at this time many years …

"The family who eats together, stays together." I tried to find the origin of this quote, but it seems to be one of those anonymous proverbs of yore that only gets brought up whenever someone decides to opine on the declining state of today's family unit. It's no secret that longer work hours, the necessity of dual incomes, and 24/7 connectivity have ravaged the 1960s image of mom in an apron and dad in a suit both sitting down together with their children for a nice family dinner.  It's a nice image, and one you might see again at 1am while watching classic TV reruns, but I can assure you I …

I'm working my way through if I think the title of this article is a good thing or not.   I think I have the skills to figure it out, and bet you I will have the answer by the end of this piece. Let’s boil it down to basics - the Cookie Monster is certifiable, Tom & Jerry should both be in jail for life on aggravated assault (along with Wile E Coyote), and Scooby-Doo and friends were trespassing vigilantes. Re-watching these childhood shows as an adult is quite the eye opener.  Did I raise the question as a kid as to who Phyllis Diller was and why was she riding in the Mystery Mobile with a …

As dawn breaks over another beautiful weekday, our seasoned explorer barely notices as he begins his new daily routine.  Load, pack, haul.  Normally out in the wilderness fighting for survival with his trusty sidekick, today's challenge is a bit more commonplace then the veteran is used to.  Load, pack, and haul; not the most glamorous mission, but a necessary one. But, behind even the most glamorous of missions, there is some level of preparation and planning.  Today though, it feels like all preparation, too much planning, and adventure feels like just a word in the dictionary. Only a few …

"Very well.  If that is the way the winds are blowing, let no one say I don't also blow." -Mayor "Diamond" Joe Quimby, The Simpsons As much as I'd like to see this Selectmen recall situation go away, and hopefully it will on Aug. 3, the gravitational pull of this thing is too strong and I have to put my two cents in. To my global audience:  Run away, run away now and never look back, you want no part of this. (Okay, come back after Tuesday.  Please.) To my fellow Chelmsford residents: Young, middle aged, and old; longtime residents, newbies, and everyone in between; volunteers, elected …

This is a selfish article. I'm awfully proud of myself right now and I feel like bragging.  Two children were left in my care for exactly 43 hours, and all three of us lived to talk about it.  Not just any two children, two children who you might describe as “Pinky and The Brain.”   Once the title of a popular children's cartoon about a genius mouse trying to take over the world (nightly) with his mentally challenged side kick, now regulated to a descriptive about two crazy boys from Massachusetts.  But, unlike the pair from the popular children's program, mine are both smart, they are both …

As my first son starts to get older, and we advance our play time together from stacking blocks and crashing cars into more complex games like hide and seek and tag, I’ve noticed something pretty interesting – the rules I knew as a kid are out the window and instead replaced by his own. I’ve tried to explain to him the right way, but whether it’s a mental block, or a carryover of daycare’s free-for-all rules, I’ve found that certain classic games have their own hilarious twist in the eyes of a 3-year-old. Hide and Go Seek This can probably be renamed – "Hide in the Same Spot and Yell 'Daddy …

"Put your book away buddy, it's time for bed." "But I can't get up because my legs hurt," whines the three-year-old from his bedroom floor as we finish the last story before bedtime. "Let's look out the window and see if we can find our dog," requests the shrewd father who is eager to see how his new parenting trick will work. "Okay," says the three-year-old as he pops up off of the floor and runs to the window completely unaware his legs have miraculously healed. Veteran parents might be nodding their heads in agreement, or even chuckling at the fact I just learned a trick they mastered …

Another local restaurant has made The List.  The criteria for said list?  Kid friendly.  Upscale.  Chelmsford. My family has been to Tango Grill Cafe before, and I’m sure many of you are familiar with their famous breakfast menu, but this time we were on location for a charity event hosted by Patch and Table of Plenty, with all proceeds going to Table of Plenty.  The event was billed around an open house so residents could meet the new owner, Aric Beck, and sample some of his new additions to the menu.  Add in wine tasting from his new wine menu, a great atmosphere, a TV so I could keep one …

I'm awake but my eyes are not open.  There is no need to look; I already know what is out there.   Bars. Every morning for eight months now my eyes open to the ever watchful gaze of my vertical guardians.  Freedom is just a word to me.  I leave these four walls only by choice of others. I am a prisoner. Of the few periods a day I am granted release from my cell, "free time" is one of my favorites.  When it's raining we have to stay indoors, but when the sun is out they give me a reasonable area to roam about and allow me to pass the days under blue skies rather then the dimly lit confines of …

I honestly have a place in my heart for those who claim,  "I'm not a dog person." If the reasons are allergy related, I truly feel bad for you, but if your dislike for dogs is simply a matter of preference, I wish there was a way I could make you reconsider. There is really nothing quite like a dog. All other pets put their own interests ahead of everything else except for dogs.  I've owned cats and I like cats, but there is no doubt that they think they run the show.  Your cat tolerates you because it wants its ears scratched and hasn't figured out to open the pull top on its food yet.  …

All too often these days we put our kids first.  That's not a bad thing, but it's something that shouldn't be left unchecked.  I’m a big fan of the show The Biggest Loser, and one of the messages repeated over and over by the trainers each week is that you can't take care of those you love if you can't even take care of yourself.  When contestants first start out on the show they always say they are losing weight for their families, for their significant others, for their parents, but by the end of the show, they all say they are losing weight for themselves. Initially, the competitors feel a…