Stories for Dads and Moms who Need a Laugh

S eptember is in its waning days. October is not far. The children are in school and at work and the entire family is back in the routine of buses and books. Our miserable little darlings have even dusted off the tried and true complaints and grievances, complete with the reasons why school is a waste of time and totally unnecessary. Work, Work, Work Our family is not only dealing with school, but also with two children going to work. One on them, God bless her, is working retail. I've been there and done that. It's fun to trade stories when I pick her up after her shift. Slugger is working at an ice cream shop. This drive is a little longer and gives us time to discuss the night at work and whatever else is happening in his life. He seems to like it so far. Like all jobs that deal with customer service, some days are better than others. The Oppressed and the boy aren't working yet. The Oppressed has taken an interest in babysitting. The Boy? Well, unless there's a good

As much as we would like a break sometimes, a parent's job is never done. Some things get easier and some things get harder. It's nice for me to have toilet-trained children who don't need a clean diaper every few hours. Then again, that money we have saved by not needing diapers has gone toward our grocery shopping. Growing boys like Slugger like to eat. Our children are in elementary school, middle school, high school, and college. It is an Academic Exacta in our family where every level of education is being represented by one of the Miracles of Christ. The Boy, who is in elementary school, is giving us a chance to get reacquainted with teachers who had The Oppressed a few years ago. Having children in middle school and high school give us the chance to see friends in different environments and circumstances. Kids in College Lovie is in college and this is different for us. It's been years since Wife and I had anything to do with college. We remember what it was like

It's hard to get rid of something, especially when it's been in your life for so long. Sometimes it's a relief when you're able to purge and make room, but do you really want to part with it? Getting Rid of Your Old Clothes As a life-long pack rat, I keep a lot of things. I have boxes in my basement and behind my chair in my bedroom. There are scraps of paper on my nightstand. Nothing important, just old receipts and used up notes I think I'm going to need in the future. One specific thing I have an overabundance of is t-shirts. I have a LOT of them. My shirt drawer is crammed with them and the shelf above the drawer has so many shirts the piles are about to topple over. (Think about the scene in "Tangled" when Rapunzel tries to get an unconscious Flynn Rider into the cabinet.) I'm not sure how this started. I've never been one to collect clothes. This could be from the fact that I just don't like to throw things away because I'll need i

Sometimes plans fall through. If plans don't work, parents need to figure out something new. New plans can even be made on the fly. Wife took a week off. Summer Vacation is winding down and she wanted to have a little more time with the family before the children go back to school. We're Going on a Whale Watch We planned to go on a whale watch. I was excited to do this. I hadn't been on a whale watch in over 30 years and the kids have never been on one. It's been a hot summer, so some time on a boat would be a great way to cool off. I also liked this because watching the whales reminded me of my time at the Whaling Museum in New Bedford . As usual, there was the usual hustle and bustle that involved getting our children out of bed and on the road in the morning. Wife and I worked together, especially when it came to the teens, to make sure everyone was up and ready to go. We hit the road rather close to our scheduled time. This is an accomplishment for our family. Tr