Evee Logic

Happy New Year Everyone!

After a break due to all the stuff going on in life I think its time to get serious about this blog. I have a lot to say and a better drive to do it. With that said, lets ease into this with a fresh Evee Logic from the ride to school this morning.

Ephrym (in crotchety old man mode) Evee if I was a grenade I would blow you up.

Evee – Well I would turn into a road runner and out run you.

Ephrym – I would turn into a T-Rex and eat you.

Evee – I’d out run you.

Ephrym – I’d turn into a tank and run you over.

Evee – I’d out run you.

Ephrym – I’d turn into a T-Rex tank and…

Evee – That’s not real, and I’d out run you.

Ephrym – You can’t outrun everything

Evee – Yes I can.

And so this went on THE ENTIRE way to school.

 

Evee Logic

I present to you my final Evee Logic for 2014!

The kids both got a Nintendo DS for Christmas.

Evee – Ben, Ephrym wont give me his Pokemon game and I want it.

Me – Whats wrong with yours?

Evee – Too many words I don’t want to read, and I want his.

Me – Evee used ‘complain’ it was not effective.

Evee – … You don’t want me to have fun.

HAPPY NEW YEAR

 

Evee Logic

Dinner Time

Evee – We need to take the quadriceps out of the oven.

Me – WHAT?!

Evee – I meant garlic bread.

 

Dear other Dads, it is ok not to have any idea what you are doing.

If you read the title, understand this, it is completely true and that is ok brother. Welcome to the club man. We meet on Thursdays and have hot wings. Membership dues are on the first of every month, so just budget us like you do Netflix.

Man wouldn’t that be the dream, a group of other Dad’s just like us who are trying to figure it out in a community. If you have something like that, congratulations and tell me where you meet.

Often I think the “I dunno what to do” mentality takes over. When my wife (who is the incredible parent) is at work I have a moment where I am like, “How am I supposed to do this?” You know what, I think that is 100% better than ignoring your kids and expecting them to take care of themselves. Yes, there is an age where kids “figure it out” on their own, but for me I have at least 5 more years before that hits. So what should I do? Well, you know what, step up to the challenge. I think we live in an era where that we are too afraid to screw up, so we do nothing. Part of being a Dad/Parent is screwing up. In good news, your kids don’t know any better and there is always tomorrow. The attempt is what matters. My son is largely fascinated with Pokemon right now, I missed that boat. I had hyper religious parents (which by the way is no judgement on my parents) and so it was not a thing in my home. I blame 700 club saying Pokemon meant “pocket demon.” So, I am trying to wing it and show an interest in what he likes right now. My daughter loves anything pink and cutesy things. I’m a dude’s dude. I love hunting, call of duty, beer, and Alabama football. So there is some areas we just don’t see eye to eye on. I do know that if I find some common ground we have a place where I can get in her world and try to make a difference. That is what matters.

Guys, we can not be the generation that gave up on our kids because we thought we couldn’t relate. I/We are better than that. If you are like me then the idea of playing with Frozen dolls sounds like a nice tour of hell. For my kid, I will make the trip. I don’t do it often enough and I know I can be better. What gets me up in the morning isn’t my job, it isn’t the dog needing to pee (he’s an after thought really) it is the fact that I am a Dad and I want to show my kids what it looks like to take care of them. Do I do it well? HELLLLLLL NO. Do I try it again day in and day out. You betcha.

In case no one told you, being a parent is hard. You can react or you can measure your response (shameless plug for later this week) and praise God I have a wife to help me judge when I need to be one or the other.

My buddy Jonathan is having his first kid, so its really cool to see him coming into this area of life. I’m glad he is getting to join Team Dad. Here is a link the blog he wrote to his unborn child. Read it and think to yourself “When did I have that moment” where you said those EXACT same thing to your kids. I thought it long before I got engaged to Jessea. In truth I decided to be a Dad to her kids before I knew I wanted to be her husband for the rest of my time on this planet.

I believe in you.

I believe in Team Dad

We can always do better by our kids, we just have to be brave enough to try.

Go check out Jonathan’s blog, he is a much better writer than I.
VVVVVV
http://thisisnthighschool.com/2014/11/30/a-letter-to-the-baby-in-my-wifes-belly/

 

Step Dad – Lets go ahead and remove the bad guy stigma.

OK, this is a touch overwhelming already. I used to be good at this stuff. After all I grew up in the generation of Live Journal and Xanga. I haven’t written a blog in a long time, or wanted to for that matter. Yet, here I am feeling very compelled to start at it again.

In December of 2013 I got married to the first girl I ever had a crush on. Her name is Jessea and she is a certified hottie. Always has been, always will be in my eyes. Getting married to her meant growing up and taking on responsibility. And not just for the two of us. Jessea offered me an opportunity to do something I think is unique. I get to be a Step Dad to her two amazing kids from a previous marriage. It has been a scary, terrifying, confusing, fun, stressful, and ever so rewarding journey. And I am only a year in! Well, 11 months as of right now.

I think Step Dads have this negative image. I think some of us just assume he is the guy who floats around and is there and never wanted to be. He comes home and says things like “Why are your kids touching my stuff?” or “Woman, your kids your problem.” I hate that guy. Everyone does, he is like the evil villain of a lifetime movie. And I know, more than anything, I don’t wanna be that guy.  So I am setting out on a mission to be better. And as my first admission in Dadology it is this: I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT I AM DOING!

And that is ok.  Because I want to learn and need to be taught. And the first lesson I had to learn was “Listen to my wife.” And my God that was hard. Pride will get in the way so fast when you don’t or can’t ask how to do something.

I’ll give you an example: I love the image of the classic Dad; strong, capable, intelligent, and always knows how to help, fix, do, care and protect. So I try to match that archetype in my head – problem is, I kinda get in my own way. When my kids cry I want to jump in and be the repair man and just fix the problem. In that I fail to see my kid first. Jessea is the definition of a nurture. I am more like duct tape. In our first couple months as a family I saw a handful of scraped knees and tears. I wanted to fix the problem but what my kids needed was an arm around them to secure them. You can’t hug duct tape. It took time to learn to listen and stop to be the nurturer before the repair man. But, I think I’m getting there. Slower than I want but we are moving in that direction.

I know there is a long road ahead of me, but I want to be for my kids what they need from me, and sometimes that is the nurturer before the repair man.

To quote one of my favorite hardcore bands “Watch me rise.”