adulting
-
Stepping on Shit in the Middle of the Night: A Discourse on Parenting Little Children
I’d like to be one of those parents who can say that my kids have never heard me use profanity. But I can’t do that. In fact, if you live within a mile of my house, it is highly likely that if you have kids, they’ve heard me use profanity. Stepping on shit my kids…
-
I Used to Reject Therapy. Now I Embrace It Wholeheartedly
My relationship with therapy is, to say the least, old and complicated. When I was a young child, my public-school teachers sent me to therapy. According to my mama, I was acting like a “damn fool” and they thought I was adversely impacted by my parents’ divorce. I don’t remember much about it except the…
-
I Just Discovered the Container Store and I Think My Life Has Been Changed Forever
Perhaps this is a Pittsburgh thing, or maybe this is just a me thing, but I have a habit of first discovering and/or learning—either through rap music or a thing said by a standup comic—about things that everyone already knows. For instance, although I knew of the Cheesecake Factory, I didn’t know they sold things…
-
As a Kid, I Thought Huntsville, Ala., Sucked. As an Adult, It Looks Pretty Alright
In the summer of 1993, my family relocated from the major international metropolis of Frankfurt (really Bad Homburg), Germany, to the not-a-major-international-metropolis of Huntsville (really Madison), Ala. My father was in the Army at the time and was stationed at Ft. Campbell, Ky. Since my dad had a year left until his military retirement, my…
-
5 Things It’s Nearly Impossible to Do While Working From Home With Little Kids Around
The Washington, D.C., area is under a high-wind warning. There are winds gusting at up to 60 miles per hour. In the alley behind my house, trash cans are littered about, making it entirely impassable. A neighbor’s trash can hit my SECOND-floor window while bouncing into my neighbor’s yard. Let that marinate for a minute.…
-
Don’t ‘Fix’ My Problem. Acknowledge That It Exists
I’m in a real, grown-up relationship. We’re engaged, but it already involves kids, a mortgage, car payments, bills, blended families, vacations and real-life decisions. It also involves fun, but it’s less of the boozy-brunch variety and more of the adult-with-kid fun that occurs when you hang with the other homies with kids at each other’s…