No Off Season...for dads

There's another adult in my house now.  A couple of days ago, there were only two, my wife and I.  Now there's been a third added. You guessed it:  my oldest son turned 18.  He's officially an adult.  Wow.  Our lives are about to change. There's so much that is now involved in this scenario.  He's an adult now.  That means responsibility.  That wretched word.  Responsibility.  Don't get me wrong:  this young man is relatively responsible for his age.  He's a great provider and model for his brother (in most cases).  He's working.  He took the initiative to get his driver's license.  And he's cooki...well we're still working on that.  He can make a mean bowl of cereal though! Responsibility.  The transition between being a teenager to an adult is huge, but should be more of a gentle transition.  Todd Kestin, a licensed social worker, wrote in the Huffington Post. Basing a point from the book, The Case Against Adolescence:  Rediscovering th

I would go to the basement to wash clothes and often smell this weird odor, like something had been burning, but could never figure out what it was.  Each time I used the washer I would smell it.  I thought it was the dryer.  Well, that wasn't it. My son went to go wash clothes and noticed that the washer stopped working in the middle of the cycle.  I went down to see and saw the plug had COMPLETELY burned out in the socket, underneath some fabric. Praise God it didn't spark and cause damage to the house.  So my next thought was, 'How am I going to fix this?' The youngest screwing in the washer panel. I took a picture of the serial number, called Sears, put in an order for a new power cord, and waited for the arrival.  I'm not too sure why I thought I could put in a new power cord.  I've never done that before.  I figured I better figure it out; the laundromat was getting expensive. I got some great advice from a friend at church.  He told me to m

It was a violently cold night.   I parked about a block away in Adams Morgan and briskly walked to Bourbon, a restaurant/ bar that specializes in (you guessed it), bourbons.  I was enjoying a birthday celebration with some incredible men that I've known for years.  All of us were fathers, some of young kids and some who are clearly in their twenties.  Since I arrived there last, I had to sit next to the door. People walked in and out, neglectfully leaving the door open.  Ummm, did they not realize that it was -216 degrees?!? I digress.  We talked about different things, such as football, whiskeys, and of coarse, our kids. It was inevitable.  As I mentioned, some of these fathers were already empty-nesters.  As the conversation continued, one of the men said something that completely stuck with me. Photo by Life Yomi "You have to parent for departure.", he said.  Profound.  I don't remember anything else from the night.  It was if Charlie Brown was listening to