My boys are like NY and California pizzas

We were in the Bronx this past weekend. My wife and her family was celebrating the life and death of their grandmother; she would have celebrated her 100th birthday this year. Well, the Bronx for me is always a treat. I love the constant activity, the smell of the streets, the racket of the 4 and 5 trains, and the people. So many cultures wrapped into one place. New York is a great place.

As I usually do, I go to White Plains Road and order some slices of pizza. Throw some garlic and oregano on and I am good to go! Since the whole family was with me and everyone was hungry, I ordered a whole pie. While waiting, I watched my two boys in the pizza shop. They reminded me of NY and Cali pizzas. My oldest sat in the front of the shop watching the college football game, oblivious to the other people and commotion of the streets. My youngest stood in the back of the pizza shop in the open window facing the street watching the people go by and listening for the trains, oblivious to the fact the my wife and I were watching him. It is safe to say that the oldest is an introvert (like his dad). He is fine with reading a book or watching the latest scores on ESPN. The youngest is the opposite- he loves to be in the mix and usually asks if we can stay out a little while longer instead of going home. Both are fine in their own way.

It was reminded how I truly have to be conscience of each of their own needs. I also need to take them out of their comfort zone so that they can know how to function. It's a delicate process, but I, with God's help, am going to make it work.

I wanna know what you do. Any secrets on how you meet those needs? I would love to know how other fathers do this (moms, you know I am not excluding you here!) How do you make and juggle the time to do this? School me -- I have no off season for learning...

Comments

Before you go, I have to tell you this...

My wife and oldest son had been feverishly preparing for this for over two years. A sojourn to Egypt is what monopolized the attention of this house for about the past week. We've been packing, buying last minute items, and anticipating an almost 24-hour travel. As my wife was packing at the gorgeous time of 4:15 am, I was writing some thoughts to my son. I was giving him advice-technical, moral, physical, and spiritual advice. Even while cutting his hair last night, I was advising him. At the end of the letter, I gave him my blessing. I wrote a letter to Paula as well. And just like the one to my son, I gave her the same type of advice, just more seasoned for her needs. And at the end of the letter, I gave her my blessing. I packed the letters away in their suitcases. They won't see them until they reach their hotel in Egypt. I learned and was reminded of a couple of things from their upcoming experience. First, perseverance has its rewards. They stuck this program out fo

But I Need My Car!

It turned out to be a day of running around the city. I took care of my minivan; the 'check engine' light was on for the last two days. So, I dropped the kids off at school, drove to 7-11 to get my coffee and donut, and went to the auto repair shop. The repair man checks the car and begins giving me an oil change. He comes back in with the bolt that seals the oil pan and says its damaged. "You need to get it replaced." he said. "Okay", I responded as I am sipping my coffee. About three minutes later, he returns and says, "We have to replace the entire oil pan because it is damaged. I cannot let you drive off with it in this condition. What are you gonna do?" I'm thinking to myself, "What do you mean, 'What am I gonna do? I have no car!'" I begin calling my wife only to remember that she was in an all day conference-I could only text her. Meanwhile, the repairmen comes back in the room and says to me in his

Running with the pack

53:45 unofficial. That was my time for the Veterans Day 10K race I ran. 53:45 unofficial. My goal was to knock off some minutes from my 10K last year. I knocked off about 5 minutes; I am happy about that. Yet my time was 53:45 unofficial. I had a very good pace starting out. I actually changed my running style some months ago to conserve a bit of energy. It worked. But during the race, I stopped...three times to be exact. Once for water, the second time I am clueless about, and the third was because I really was tired (next time, I will stay off the late night movies and donuts before race day!) But that was not my lesson. My lesson was that I needed to stay in a pack, run with other people to keep a constant pace. Why is that so important? Well, I, The Bassman, am a very successful introvert (at least I can be). I know how to be alone and be comfortable. I have noticed in the last couple of years that I work best when I work with others. That's just me. Tryin

No Off Season...for dads

Search This Blog