The Fan

EPISODE #10. LFG!! The empty nest is the greatest thing ever. It's also the most challenging transition ever. 18 years and then the monkeys are ready to leave. Such an amazing journey that I will forever be grateful for. But, yes I enjoy Mom & Dad time after all these years...

I was raised in a dictatorship. My wife was raised in a benevolent monarchy. Our children were raised in a democracy. Times are a changing. As a Dad, all I ever wanted was complete control. Yet my wife was the true boss and she ran our home with love and kindness. Our kids are the direct result of a democracy rather than a dictatorship. And for that I am forever grateful.

Taking young children skiing is a bold and very courageous thing to do. It's also crazy expensive and insanely frustrating a times. And yet that's what ski parents do. Why don't you need a license to be a parent? Im serious, why? Enjoy the mountain and the IPA at 11;47am

Four and Six, the first rest stop on the long journey of parenting. It's the most amazing feeling to have gotten through the "early" years. Early mornings now start later, kids can carry their own crap and it's fun to spend more than 47 minutes together. Every stage of parenting is awesome but 4 and 6 is really when the magic begins. Driving with Dad, Enjoy the ride!

Do you prefer watching paint dry or non-stop fast paced excitement? Lacrosse is more popular than ever and offers kids something other than picking daises in the outfield. I will always love baseball but lacrosse is so damn fun to watch. Go Dodgers!!

Raising sports fans is awesome at every stage....until it isn't. I never knew I was creating a monster. Fans are not rationale in any sense. Fans are fanatical which is not really the best thing. And yet if I had to do it all over, I wouldn't change a thing. The 2017 Rose Bowl was worth all the pain and suffering!!

The late seventies were a gold rush of trophies. 1st place, 4th place or 7th place it didn't matter, we always got a trophy. Kids still get trophies. It's just today's parents suggesting that "their" trophies were earned and not given back in the day. BS. Complete BS.

Get a dog before birthing children. The best test drive ever. Dogs are easy. Dogs eat dog food twice a day. Dogs don't go to school. Dogs don't need braces. Dogs don't go to college. Kids are 1,000 times more difficult. Kids are extremely expensive. Best mulligan ever!!

My 11 year-old daughter went to bed one night and woke up the next morning as 14 year-old. She talked like a 17 year-old and seemingly dressed like Forever 21. The entire ball game was over. Daddy had long been replaced by this new guy....Dad

This is where it all started. My 16 year-old son had just gotten his driver's license. He was loose on the streets of Portland without mom and dad. . Little did we know at the time that our world had changed for ever. His music now played in his car. While I hated the music it was 100% his. Soon I reflect on my teenage years, my stellar driving record as a 16 year old and my musical interests in 1983. The hypocrisy was everywhere.