It’s really, really tiny, but you can see a picture of me in an advertisement on page 7 of the February 2007 edition of Parenting Magazine. Sure, it’s just part of an ad and all, but I’ve never been in a magazine before, so I’m kind of excited. Parenting is a good magazine too, so check it out.
Archive Page 2
Last year, Sirius Satellite Radio had an ad campaign on TV that featured listeners who were amazed at their radio’s near-clairvoyant ability to provide the perfect soundtrack for their lives, all on its own. I had a similar experience today.
My wife got me a kitchen mandoline for my birthday. I was preparing lunch for the kids today when I realized that I hadn’t yet played with it. As the rigatoni boiled, I got it out and set it up. Much like a person staring at a rented wood chipper in his yard, I started scanning my area for anything to put into it.
Ok, so. Last weekend I simultaneously turned 36 and re-evaluated just about everything in my life. To make a long and uninteresting story short, I’ve come to this conclusion: 2007 will be the Year of Good Choices.
You know you want to know.
So last weekend I took the kids to get haircuts. As the hairdressers were finishing up, and the kids were enduring their final snips and brushings, I was stunned by their new appearance. They looked so different, so much older and so…grown up. "Wow," I thought. "My kids aren’t babies anymore," and it actually made me kind sad.
I recently posted about the lack of impact I seem to be having in life. Maybe it’s because I turn 36 on Saturday. That’s right, the 6th my birthday.*
It’s a biggie, because it will mean that I no longer matter to marketing professionals. Don’t they target 18-35 year old males? Looks like is History Channel for me from here on out.
*Want to get me a birthday present? This will do nicely (Or this. Either one, really).
Have you ever had the feeling that you’ve got nothing worthwhile to contribute? Every day I visit all of the sites in my "Daily" bookmark folder in Firefox. Inside, there are sites about parenting, productivity, technology, media and so on. I’m sure that you can name some of the biggies in each of these categories.
I’ve thought, "I could make a site this good. I can provide equally meaningful and useful content." I mean, why not? I’m reasonably intelligent. I can be disciplined, driven and insightful. Why not me indeed?
Today, I’m sitting in front of my computer with a completely blank mind and several mediocre to less-than-mediocre websites to my credit. It makes me believe that I have nothing useful to share with the world at large, and that I should just toss this whole fantasy into the compost heap. I’ll never be Dooce, or Loobylu, or 43Folders, or Daring Fireball, or Office Tally, Life Hacker or Darren Rowse.
So, I either give it all up, or accept my role as the smallest fish in an enormous pond. I’m going to think about it this week.*
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I’m sure you’re wondering why I’m posting this to Daddy Daze. It’s because this is the only one of my sites that anyone actually reads.
*I just re-read this and it makes me sound like a whiny baby. I know that I don’t have to gain national recognition to consider myself successful, that’s not my complaint. I just know that I do have the where-withall to produce something valuable to a great many people…or at least, sometimes I think I do. That’s what I’m debating.
Today we took our first trip to the playground of the new year. I brought my camera along, too…
Last night I was visiting my favorite parenting blogs, when I came to Damomma’s place. The post at the top of the page had me stunned and numb by the 2nd paragraph. While the story reminded me of my own terrifying day with Grace and the hospital, it also reinforced for me the fact that a tight group of people who love each other can get through anything. Read for yourself, and see just how powerful a family can be.
