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by Bruce Sallan
The journey from child, to teen, to young adult to parent seems to have similar stops along the way for most everyone. My college years were during the “age of stupidity,” as a man I greatly respect refers to the ‘60s and early ‘70s. As a love-child and soon-to-be yuppie, I was thoroughly convinced that I would be a different parent to any children I might have than my parents were to me.
Naturally, I had all the answers. My parents’ tastes in music, fashion, and politics, my Mom’s helmet style hair-do which required weekly visits to the hair salon, were all stupid, old-fashioned, and ugly. It was inconceivable to me that they didn’t dig or see how groovy The Doors, Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, or The Stones were. The fact that most of them died of drug overdoses escaped me at the time (e.g. Brian Jones of The Stones in case you think I’ve missed something). So what if Mick Jagger and his remaining crew still perform, in the their 60s, when our generation famously said not to trust anyone over thirty. It seems a lost irony on most of my AARP-aged contemporaries now.
So, when I became a parent, I was sure I’d appreciate and respect my children’s tastes because they’d probably just be the same as mine. I’d enjoy their music, their hairstyles, their fashions, etc. Of course, my brilliance and confidence about how I’d parent turned out differently. In essence, my parenting was just a repeat of my own parents’ experiences with me! As with most expectations, they disappoint.
First, there was rap. Then, tattoos and piercings. And, my favorite, wearing pants that fall down to the bottom of their butts. While my teen is not allowed to have tattoos, or piercings, he makes up for it by coming home with tattoo sleeves penned at school, in class, by various of his friends (bet you don’t know what that term means Okay, I won’t make you search on Google, as it won’t be in your dictionary…hmmm, when’s the last time your kid looked up a word in a dictionary or you did, for that matter? A tattoo sleeve, as the word sleeve implies, is a tattoo that covers the entire arm, up to the shoulder). Now, as a parent we all know that we have to pick our battles and my teen son knows that tattoos and piercings are not going to happen in our house. In spite of it being against our religion, he’d love to have a tongue piercing, a death skull tattoo or, at the very least huge pierced earrings, as many of his teen friends have at ages as young as 14.
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by A Dude's Guide on Jul 3rd
The aliens have arrived. We’ve found a signal in the static. It’s a countdown. I’m sure it’s nothing, though. They’d never have a saucer hovering over the White House if they meant us harm. Right?
Oops.
Well, I guess it’s a good thing I’m not talking about the movie, Independence Day, but rather about the holiday of the same name.
Yes, I love July 4th and not just because it’s a good day to blow stuff up. Well, a particularly good day to blow stuff up. I mean, let’s face it: every day is a good day to blow stuff up.
Quick question: Do they have July 4th in England? Not-so-quick answer: Yes, of course. It comes right between July 3rd and July 5th. They just don’t celebrate American independence day on July 4th. Heh. Trick question.
Anyway, I do love Independence Day. I’m not one of those “‘Murica, love it or leave it” types, but I do love this country. Despite all the flaws, it’s a great place to be. Let me paraphrase an old saying: America is the worst country in the world, excpet for all the others. Yes, our country’s face is full of warts, but it’s a nice face anyway. Especially now that we’re not actively torturing people. Sorry. Politics just slipped out.
Moving on. I love this country so much I’m willing to sacrafice any kind of important content so I can go out, cook on the grill, blow stuff up with the little dudes and eat Fresca Floats, which really are better than they sound.
You need to get out there as well. Go. Have fun.
– Richard
Tags: A Dude's Guide to Life, Aliens, American Independence Day, better, Blow, cook, Countdown, dude, Dude's, eat, England, Face, house, Independence Day, July 3rd, July 4th, lie, little dude, little dudes, love, movie, People, politics, richard, Sacrafice, Stuff, Trick Question, Warts, White House
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A Dude's Guide is a supposed to be a funny and insightful look into what it takes for a Dude to be a better person. We are not saying that we are exceptional, insightful or funny people; but we try. We will use our experiences and adventures and misadventures to try to help other Dude's learn and contribute to this blog. Subscribe to A Dude's Guide blog for fatherhood advice and topics from Daddy Dudes!
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