Summer Parenting Is Often a Winding and Bumpy Road
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My family discovered a new outdoor activity that helped us ward off the mid-summer malaise but after just a few days, bruises, bumps, and a broken-down car ended our fun.
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I started writing down my life goals and it turned out to be a list of places where I want to nap, but haven’t yet
— Andrew Knott (@aknott21) February 12, 2018
Writing about parenting, fatherhood, life, and all things ambiguous
I Had the Weirdest Job Interview Ever
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I’ve been a stay-at-home dad for more than a decade, and I have to admit that trying to reenter the job market after so long has been even more daunting than I expected.
Read MoreHow My Poor Eyesight Entertains the Masses and Mortifies an Optical Store Clerk
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I left my eyeglasses at a La Quinta Inn in Fort Lauderdale.
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I Never Expected I’d Become a Plastic Straw Kleptomaniac
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A slippery slope to a surprising compulsion
Read MoreFor Better or Worse Another Summer Slips and Slides Away
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If you’re a parent who spends a lot of time online, it’s hard to escape the meme about making the most of the 18 summers you have with your children before they leave home.
Read MoreAre You a Leaf or a Dead Bat?
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My 10-year-old son and I were playing two-square in our driveway after I picked him up from school. It was one of those hot, muggy Florida afternoons where it seems like everything is melting at least a little. Even the bright yellow chalk we used to outline the court felt a little squishy.
Read MoreWhat This Messed Up Start to the School Year Needed Was a Little Hoppiness
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The past few weeks around these parts have been rough. Just a couple of months ago, there was hope that this school year would be better than last. Nope. It’s remarkably worse.
Read MoreWe’re Going to Have to Slow Down and Take This School Year One Day (or Hour) at a Time
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My oldest son who is nine years old and just starting fourth grade entered quarantine four days after school started back.
Read MoreHow a Tiny Dog Helped Me Find My Way
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Before there was a wife and three kids and everything else in this life that I type about on the blank white space of my laptop late at night and lay bare on the pages of the internet, there was a dog.
Read MoreMy Little Flock Flies in Formation
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It was a strange winter break in the Knott household for several reasons I can’t really get into on the internet. There was the pandemic, of course, that limited our normal holiday festivities, but more unexpected events made the two weeks off school even more unusual.
Read MoreA Pandemic Mother's Day
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Perhaps it’s our destiny that many Mother’s Days for my family will be highly fraught. Of course, I suppose Mother’s Day and Father’s Day and, really, pretty much all holidays bring with them tons of emotional baggage. For me and almost everyone else.
Read MoreEmpty Birdcages and Oddly Profound Homework Sessions
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“The birds from the empty cages probably died,” my five-year-old said to me without a hint of emotion.
Our homework sessions can be challenging at times, but they aren’t typically quite so morbid.
Read MoreChasing One Last Rocket Launch with My Dad
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As I slowed to a walk, I was a bit more out of breath than I might’ve expected after a very short jog.
There was no two ways about it, I needed to get in better shape if I was going to be able to keep up with my dad and his walker.
Read MoreIt’s Impossible to Freeze Moments in Time, Even If You’re Practically Living in the Frozen Movie
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My life has been very Frozen-centric lately. My three-year-old’s obsession with the movie started a couple months ago and is still going strong. Her passion seems to be carrying as much momentum as Kristoff’s sled trying to escape from the wolves. Incidentally, some might argue her love for Frozen is as frightening as a hungry pack of wolves.
Read MoreI'm a Parent but I Still Do Interesting Things
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I recently went to the dentist for the first time in several years. I have no excuse for my prolonged absence. Well, I have several, but I'm not sure any are particularly persuasive. Dental health is important (at least that's what Big Dentist wants us to believe) so I should get over my fear of making appointment phone calls and the sheer annoyance of having to physically go somewhere that's outside my normal routine.
Read MoreThe Tree and the Honeysuckle Vine
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“Hey, daddy! Look! There’s a turtle sitting by our front door,” one of my children announced excitedly on a hot afternoon in May.
Florida is wild. You can hardly set foot outside your front door without stepping on something squirmy or slithery. And while most people probably know about the alligators, the turtles, the humidity, and the Florida Man, if you don’t live here, you’re probably not as familiar with our vegetation.
Read MoreStepping Back in Time and Reflecting on Life’s Different Chapters
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I’ve been a parent for more than seven years and it has really messed with my sense of time and age. On one hand, my children change so rapidly from week to week and year to year that it’s impossible to go long without thinking about the passage of time. On the other hand, I feel almost ageless. Certainly not in a narcissistic or boastful way. Quite the opposite really. My body feels the years, but my sense of self sometimes feels stuck in the past.
Read MoreThe Importance of Finding a Park Beside a Railroad Track
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I’m sure things like having an important job and fancy cars and a lot of money are nice, but they certainly pale in comparison to finding a park that is right next to a railroad track.
Read MoreThe Art of Making My Son’s Bed Without Being Found Out
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Well, sure, there are many things you have to hide from your children, but making beds isn’t one of them, right? Wrong.
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