Happy Father's Day

As James's first Father's Day as a stay-at-home dad, I must admit that this Father's Day will stick in my memory as a pivotal point in our family's history. Thinking back to several months ago when we made the decision to have James stay at home with kids, I was a bit uneasy that maybe we had made a decision that he would later feel he had been pressured into making. We agreed we would keep an open mind and we would re-evaluate our decision if we needed to in six months. We knew we were making a big decision for our family, and we hoped it was the right one.

Well into James's first month at home with the kids, I cannot imagine doing a better job myself or our kids being any luckier than to get to stay home with their dad. Sadly, I have been working longer hours in June due to our system implementation, so my evenings with the kids have been short. On the other hand, I get a great sense of relief in knowing that they are with their dad. James is also kind enough to document their days at home with plenty of pictures and blog posts.

Any honest parent knows that both fathers and mothers play such an important role in child development. This year, James has done more than his half of the work, and I know our children are better for it. He is a patient teacher and disciplinarian. He knows how to engage and distract them. He is confident, loving, and nurturing. I could go on, but I already know that I am blessed. More importantly, my children could not have a better father.

Happy Father's Day, James, and to any of you fathers out there making a difference in your kids' lives.

Throwing Truman

I finally decided to do something with some of the videos from my camera that I had been keeping on disc for several months. This one dates back to January of this year, and we happened upon Truman's funny leg reflex when James was throwing him up in the air one day.

Endangered Insanity

No, insanity is not endangered, but sometimes I think common sense is. I rarely post anything political on my blog, but I heard about this issue and I could not help myself.

I graduated college with a degree in Environmental Geography, so I heard a lot about endangered species and environmental issues back in the day. Interestingly so, I came out of school as less of an environmentalist than I went in. I think at some point, I just took a step back and really began to think critically about these issues.



I am not against protecting endangered species when it's within reason, but the reality is that something like 99% of all species that have ever existed have gone extinct. I think bigger picture here is way more important than giving a minnow a few more years on the 'saved for now, but going extinct later' list.