There were few things I was sure of as a small child growing up in Southern California. One, I loved dogs. I always knew I wanted one and after watching All Dogs Go To Heaven, I knew I had to have a German Shepherd when I grew up.
When I was a kid, one of the coolest sets of lyrics to be put to a dope beat was “jump up, jump up, and get down.” The song “Jump Around” by House of Pain included the word “jump” approximately 94 times which, coincidentally, is about how many jumps I have to do to get a full workout. Working up a sweat as an adult is SO much easier than it was when I was a kid, so our son’s trampoline birthday party recently doubled as my gym visit for the day and his celebration. Score!
Getting out and exploring the world is definitely something we identify with. We live for wide open spaces, trees, mountains and streams. It’s all part of our life plan. So much so, in fact, that Chelsea and I recently invested in something to keep us out in the wilds for longer than normal. After a few years of sleeping in a tent, then in the back of the truck, then in a tent on top of the truck (which is still fun), we gave each other permission and bought a 37-foot trailer RV. Specifically, we bought a “toy hauler,” so we have extra space in the back to make the boys a room and to tote toys around. First on our list of upgrades was a new RV mattress – and here’s why.
So, a few months back, Chelsea and I were perusing a blogging conference and ran in to some of the great people from Kidde. I was excited to speak with them and was stoked when they reached back out to us last month and asked if we could talk about Kidde carbon monoxide alarms. Despite the fact that we’ve been a Kidde family for…well…as long as I can remember, they still sent over a plug-in CO alarm. I’ll talk about that later, though.
Chelsea and I met at college in Los Angeles, but in our six years at UCLA we never made it to the epic Hollywood Sign hike. The internet wasn’t as flush with advice back then. Every time we tried asking around about how to get that epic picture, we were given conflicting instructions. We were told that the Hollywood Sign hike required a journey through private property, or it was closed, or it was painfully difficult. Thirteen years later, we decided to finally decipher this trek – with four kids along for the ride. Just like Indiana Jones and his lesser known tale, The Toddlers of Hollywood Hill.
They say being prepared is half the battle. Having what you need when you need it makes future issues a lot easier to get through. In my case, preparation is a REALLY important half. It allows to quick execution of my plans. After all, I’m a pragmatist and I’ve learned over time to buy, keep, and take care of the things I actually need.
Our imagination truly is one of the greatest driving forces in our lives. It conjures, creates, augments, stores, and helps us feel the intangible. All things past, present, and future can be toyed and tinkered through our imagination’s fancy. It can be born of nothing at all, almost suspended in the ether or rooted in something inspirational. Standing in the here and now, our imagination can take us to a whole other place and time. Oh a South Dakota road trip. All with just a little thought.
It’s almost impossible to imagine what it’s like to be a father before you become one. There’s an obvious understanding that it is a large responsibility. There’s even a sense of some type of stored up wisdom gathered over the years to be passed down. The role of being the rock, the hammer, the fixer, the teacher, and the source of reassurance all in one. It’s easy to assume that all these things happen innately once the first child comes.
Chelsea talks a lot about family health and well-being from both an individual and a group perspective. Self care is a top priority, as well as being mindful of our kids growing older. She tries to grasp onto every second of these precious days as they slip by, while also carving out time for herself. Multitasking to the max. I think those are traditionally thought of as “motherly” characteristics: being cognizant of personal needs while simultaneously bemoaning the passage of time.
What do you do when your wife is hurting? When she wants to say something but cannot find the words and doesn’t want to make a spectacle of how she truly feels and what emotionally eviscerates her? When she feels alone and cut off but desperately wants to reach out at the same time?
You do your best to do it for her.