Tag: The Dad Speaks

On December 7th, I got a new iPad 10th Generation. The one I had was a hand-me-down iPad 7th Generation from Nina and Niko. Nina had it first, and then she gave it to Niko when she got a new one a few years ago. Before I go on, let me tell you about my…

Last Friday through last Monday, Nina was out of town. It was Niko and I alone with a loud cat, all day on Friday, Saturday, Sunday, and Monday. I wasn’t at all worried or concerned about it. In fact, I was really looking forward to it. Nina did buy some extra quick meals from the…

On Wednesday, and for the first time, I had a lunch date with Niko at his school. I didn’t tell him in the morning just in case something came up at work during that time, but it didn’t. When he was a first grader last year, I had work obligations during his lunch and couldn’t…

Niko was off all week, and goes back to school tomorrow. Nina was off Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. I was off Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday. Last Saturday, Niko and I went to our neighborhood market at the clubhouse, and we shared a cheeseburger, a sausage wrap, and brownies. Afterwards, he played in the playground and…

Every morning, I make Niko breakfast. On the weekends, we eat together, but during the weekdays, I am doing 65,876 things for him in the mornings, so I usually don’t eat with him. Just a few of those 65,876 things are: dad, I want Orange Juice, hot cocoa from the Keurig, greasy eggs (I will…

This is going to be a short post as last Tuesday, my Aunt Bobi passed away (my mother’s older sister) and on Wednesday, my best friend, William, passed away.  My Aunt was 84 years old and she lived a wonderful life (the last few years were a struggle with Alzheimer’s). I did get the chance…

Last Saturday and Sunday, and since it was finally cooler outside, Niko and I played soccer, splashed each other with the hose, and blew bubbles. We had a lot of fun and I enjoyed his laughs. Even though it didn’t happen, I kept waiting for Niko to fall down in the grass while he was…

When Niko and I do something together I try my best to make it an “epic dad success,” but sometimes they turn into an “epic dad fail.” I will say, I have a lot more successes than failures! So, with that being said, I do want to share something that was both a success and…

My interest in the Jesse Stone books was spearheaded by James Patterson and Mike Lupica, who co-authored three books (of which I have read The House of Wolves and 12 Months to Live). Well, Mike Lupica has written some of the later Jesse Stone books, so I was intrigued and after I read the first…

Last Monday, I started a new job at Health Equity as a Treasury Manager, Unclaimed Property. Everybody I have met so far, has been absolutely amazing and welcoming. All is good in my world, and I am excited to start this new chapter in my life. Last Sunday, and on a whim, since it was…

On Tuesday, Nina and I will celebrate our 13th anniversary, and I am so lucky to have her in my life. Every day, I tell her at least once, but sometimes multiple times, how much I love her. We are planning on celebrating with food next Saturday, but after the “ring of fire” solar eclipse!…

Last Saturday morning, I mowed the backyard. I enjoy mowing the yard, and always take great pride in my work! We don’t have a huge yard, as the front takes me about 15 minutes and the back is a bit longer, as I do have to move some stuff around. Even though it wasn’t hot…

Niko’s school is less than a mile from our house, but we still drive and park across the street from the school in the mornings. It’s been so hot (like over 100 degrees for the first few weeks of school), that when Nina and I come home, we are both drenched in sweat and have…

I have written many many many many many many many many many many many many many many many many many many ODES TO THE WIFE, as Nina is an amazing mother and an awesome wife. But up till now, I have only written a single ODE TO THE DAD. So, that is why this one…

I stopped watching television when Niko was born in 2016. I was a frequent watcher of The Simpsons, CSI, Criminal Minds, and The Walking Dead. And to be honest, I don’t miss them, and I don’t care what happened to the characters. I also stopped paying attention to sports (ESPN) and couldn’t even tell you…

Well, Niko’s second first week of school went very well. His favorite subject so far, is Language Arts. On Monday, the first day, my alarm was set for 6:15 am, and when it went off, I woke up and walked to Niko’s room where I opened his door quietly, then jumped into his bed and…

I promise I won’t dive into the movie, Back to School, starring Rodney Dangerfield, Sam Kinison, Salley Kellerman, and a very young Robert Downey Jr. So, at what age is it appropriate to show Niko this movie? Tomorrow, Niko goes back to school. It feels like just yesterday we were picking him from his last…

Yesterday, Nina and I took Niko to a kid’s cooking class at Maggiano’s. My parents emailed me about this on July 6th, so we have had this planned for several weeks. As the date kept coming closer, I reminded Niko about it as sometimes it’s hard to do planned things with him, and this one…

On Friday night, I stared at a blank screen for a few minutes. On Saturday night, I again stared at a blank screen for a few minutes. I was really hoping something would strike me to write, but that didn’t happen. Usually, I can get something written even if it makes no sense to anybody….

Last Friday, I had a colonoscopy, and everything turned out fine. I won’t bore you with the details, although I did write some stuff down, but I won’t be publishing it. If you do have questions, contact me and I will be glad to answer them. If you look at the weather for Texas, you…