Moving: The Millennial Dad Changes Digs
Moving happens to us all, and it is so much harder for families. It is that moment when the cold, infinite dark of the cosmic abyss takes you away from that earthly presence you once called home. Believe it not, moving is actually ranked fifth in most stressful events in one’s life (and one day […]
Learning to Let Go: The Millennial Dad’s Tips on Preschool
It was a typical hot July afternoon, so I decided to take my son Hank to the ocean. We met a friend of mine and his 3-year-old boy at Glen Alla Park in Marina Del Rey, which has a great maritime-themed playground. My friend, an intense academic but also a suitably sensitive millennial, spoke severely […]
Millennial Dad: Mother’s Day, Kate’s Way
Every Saturday morning, yard sales generously pepper neighborhoods across the Southland. From the colonial fences of San Marino to the drought-resistant gardens of Venice, Angelenos will eagerly haggle over your refuse. And as a card-carrying member of the minimalist movement, my wife, Kate, likes to host the occasional yard sale to get rid of our […]
Millennial Dad in Los Angeles: Hairy Situations, Toddler Style
This column is about style. I know it exists – even after we enter parenthood. Plenty of Millennials have it. All one has to do is walk around the Silver Lake Reservoir on a Sunday morning and watch the hipster daddies somehow make mustaches, macchiatos and mastiffs work with their perfectly quaffed hair. But me? […]
Millennial Dad in Los Angeles: Suds with my Bud: Kid-Friendly Craft Breweries
On a December afternoon, while the rest of the country was freezing its collective butt off, mine was planted on a picnic bench at Rock & Brews, a kid-friendly biergarten in El Segundo. I sipped craft beers and noshed on fries while my son Hank romped around in the kids zone. There are moments in […]
He’s Making a List: The Millennial Dad’s Holiday Wishes
What’s the holiday season without the optimistic spirit of a child’s wish list? As a youngish dad, I sometimes envy the little ones because they get to unabashedly make materialistic demands on their caretakers during this time of year. We parents must stay strong, careful not to spoil our spawn. Oh, never mind … this […]
Our Millennial Dad Talks About Father’s Day
Father’s Day. When is that? Oh yeah, in June. Papas, pops, padres, daddies, daddios and plain old dads don’t get a holiday with the same play as Mother’s Day – or even the Feast of St. Joseph. (That’s a Catholic holiday in March honoring Jesus’ more-terrestrial father.) This talk of Jesus and his dads reminds […]
The Millennial Dad Takes on Alternative Transportation
I am sitting with Hank in a Nippon Sharyo (which literally means Japanese vehicle) cab, model P865. This pantographed workhorse – a Los Angeles Metro train with a electric-current-collector on top – is here because of years of painstaking negotiations and political savvy, an effort by L.A. officials to create a more attractive cityscape while […]
Millennial Dad: A Voyage of Selfie Discovery
What’s wrong with me? What am I doing clutching my 2-year-old in this chokehold as I attempt to aim my phone at our two duck-lipped faces? Can’t he have a normal “mirror” phase like any other pre-Kardashian child? Profound parental – no, human – guilt confronts me. I know this is wrong, base, tacky. But […]
The Millennial Dad’s Guide to Valentine’s Day
There is a war going on out there, a cold war between loving couples with kids and loving couples without kids. And it heats up on Feb. 14. Officially named Saint Valentine’s Day, I call it S-V Day, after the iconic V-E Day and V-J Day from World War II. Childless couples meander carefree throughout […]