Blogger Dad

Scenes From This Weekend

Blogger Dad — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 05:31:38 +0000

I hope you don’t mind the format of this post. I wanted to write about a few different things which happened this weekend which aren’t necessarily connected, but also not worthy of entire posts devoted to them. Well, except the frog story. That will likely continue into another post this week.

After dinner on Saturday, my two year old son, E, was walking around the house pointing at us, saying, “You’re awesome!” while smiling and laughing, thoroughly entertained with his new phrase.

“You’re awesome!”

Future motivational speaker?

********

Woke up Sunday and the living room looked like two tornadoes just finished fighting one another. While my wife was taking a shower, E had dumped all 12 plastic bins of his storage organizer right in the middle of the living room. Cars, trains, books, coloring books, stuffed animals, basically everything he owns, was scattered from one end of the living room to the other.

Here’s the weird part. He likes cleaning. Yes, let me say that again, he likes cleaning. I think he makes messes just so he can be told to put things back in their places. If that isn’t a sign of OCD, I don’t know what is.

Of course, a mess that big, he can’t clean up alone – not the right way, anyway, as he can’t put the bins back in their places – so my wife and I were helping him pick up the mess later in the day.

********

On Sunday night we were watching the scene in Toy Story where Buzz Lightyear wants to fly. My son hopped off the couch and began to run around the living room with his arms outstretched as if he were flying.

“I’m gonna fly!”

Suddenly, he stopped, and said, with some concern as if he were just realizing it for the first time, “I can’t fly.”

****

Later in the night, I was microwaving some dish sponges because that’s how the experts say you’re supposed to get rid of the bacteria in them. However, the experts didn’t say I shouldn’t microwave the sponges with the scratchy backs.

About six minutes in, an awful smell filled the kitchen, the backs of the sponges were black and burning and probably releasing all sorts of toxins into my house.

I opened all the windows and the back door, leaving the screen part closed so the cats didn’t get out and wildlife didn’t get in.

Well, the screen did one of the jobs correctly.

A small frog sneaked into our house. My wife was freaking out and my son was hopping up and down excitedly while I was searching for something to catch it. The closest thing I could find was a big blue plastic pasta strainer.

So there I was, in all my 6’4’’, 340 pound glory, holding a big blue strainer, trying to corner the frog.

Let’s just say, if I were suddenly in charge of hunting frogs to feed my family, my family would likely need to find a new patriarch.

The frog hopped right past me. Wow, these little bastards are fast! My son burst out laughing, jumping up and down as the frog escaped into the storage organizer which we’d just finished sorting out a few hours earlier.

I let fly with a few curse words as I started yanking plastic bins out, looking for the little bastard frog.

The bastard frog vanished!

I looked everywhere in the immediate area and couldn’t find him anywhere. I’m assuming he’s a guy frog because female frogs wouldn’t be so reckless as to jump into a house with two cats and a toddler.

Meanwhile, the cats, who love to chase their own shadows and act all tough and howl and hiss whenever there’s another cat or bizard (lizard) OUTSIDE the back door, were nowhere to be found during the frog crisis!

Not my cats, but rather two cats who seem to actually notice when a frog is in their house!

So now we play the waiting game, hoping to find the frog before either the cats kill it, we step on it, or E find it and puts it in his mouth.

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Swine Flu Madness – Make Your Own Choice

Blogger Dad — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 05:41:05 +0000

I’ve been wanting to write about the swine flu before my entire family got it two weeks ago. You see, there’s lots of misinformation about the H1N1 vaccine that’s being thrown out there. And it seems that more than half the people I know have some pretty wild theories about the vaccine. None of which are based in fact, but that’s not surprising as the vaccine discussion has taken on a tone not of public safety, but rather a political one.

Pundits are not your friends

Yes, the talking heads on both the extreme right and oddly enough, some on the extreme left, are out there spreading fear. The extreme right thinks the swine flu is a secret plan by the Obama administration to somehow inject something into your body which will, I don’t know, make you liberal?

Truth is, the extreme right wingers don’t like anything which comes from this administration. If tomorrow, President Obama announced that all Americans have been given the gift of immortality by some alien race, Rush and his ilk would be playing clips of “To Serve Man” and warning you that immortality is somehow a sure path to communism while Lou Dobbs would ask “just what kinda dirty aliens are they?”

On the other side, you have the extreme left wingers, who don’t trust the government with anything, even when their guy is in the White House! They’re also out there questioning the validity of the vaccine and spouting some weird conspiracy theories, some of which seem influenced by a bit too much partying.

And while it’s usually fun to watch the political machinations of the Right v. Left and how the misinformation trickles down to the misinformed, who clench their talk show deities’ rhetoric as their own; this time it’s not so fun. You see, this illness is real.

As in can kill you real.

The REAL dangers of the swine flu

Too many extremists in the media are manipulating a health care issue to advance their own causes. They either don’t think about or don’t care about how the crazy things they are saying actually influence the average person’s decision making.

Let’s use Joe as an example. Joe isn’t a political guy. He votes sometimes, but for the most part, he doesn’t listen to the rhetoric from the right or the left. It’s all he can do to work and support his family.

While Joe doesn’t pay much attention to the left and right media, many of his friends and his family are. And they’ve been talking about this swine flu virus. They’ve been telling him horror stories they heard on TV, radio or read on the web.

Even though Joe doesn’t put a whole lot of stock into what someone like Glenn Beck says, Joe does put stock into what his family and friends say. Joe begins to suspect that maybe all the people opposed to the vaccine are onto something. He’s not sure, but there’s enough doubt (or fear) in his mind to keep him from acting.

Not acting, of course, is acting. He’s making a choice not to get the vaccine.

He then persuades the rest of his family not to get the vaccines. Maybe Joe doesn’t get sick. Or maybe he gets sick and dies. The point is, Joe was indirectly persuaded by politics to not get vaccinated.

Should you get the vaccine?

I’m not telling you to go out and get the vaccine – that’s your choice. I’m simply saying to recognize that some of the people who claim to have your interests in mind, do not. They don’t know you. They don’t care about you. Much of what the talking heads say is either to cause dissension or to play to their audiences’ fears and prejudices and drive ratings (and earnings) up.

All they care about is propagating their political and financial causes. They should be ashamed of themselves and the unknown damage they are wreaking.

Educate yourself on the vaccine and make your own decision. Don’t take your medical advice from pundits – or overweight daddy bloggers. Consult someone who actually knows something about the issue – like your family doctor.

Question: Have you gotten the vaccine? How much of your decision is based on what you’ve heard in the media?

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Whine Time

Blogger Dad — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 06:54:07 +0000

Thanks to everybody who wished my family well in the comments and via email. I’m glad to say, we’ve recovered from the swine flu. I’ve got a lingering cough and am still a bit tired, but otherwise, I’m feeling 100 times better than I was.

Now, on with today’s post.

My two year old son, E, is going through a whiney phase. When he doesn’t get his way, he goes from zero to 60 on the Tantrum Express in two seconds flat.

It begins as an “eh” followed by a louder “eh”

Followed by a constant barrage of increasingly louder “eh”s while pointing at what he wants (or wants to do) repeating:

EH EH EH EH EH EH EH EH!!!!

Over and over and over and over until my head feels like rabid monkeys are cage fighting with ladles and aluminum trash can lids.

And it drives me nuts like few things on this planet can.

My wife defends E, saying that he’s going through a developmental phase, where he’s learning a lot and sometimes it’s too much to process and he reverts back to more infantile ways to express himself or to cope. She could be right, I know I sometimes feel like regressing to cope.

I don’t know what the hell to do when the whining begins. Because my instinct is to do whatever it takes to shut him up as quickly as possible. Since I won’t hit him, I try to reason with him.

Note: Reasoning with a two year old is like trying to reason with your average political talk show caller. It can’t be done. They already have their minds made up and there is NOTHING you can do short of giving them what they want to pacify them.

I try to ignore him but that doesn’t work at all. A two year old WILL NOT be ignored. Not as long as you have ears and he has a voice.

Ignoring him would be a bit easier if he didn’t get so easily upset. His cry is on a hair trigger alert. Not all the time, but a lot recently. And if he gets upset, he is likely to start breathing fast, snorting and then, all of a sudden he is puking all over the place.

Like a big giant puke sprinkler.

(note to readers: You’re welcome for that lovely image)

And since I don’t like whining and I REALLY don’t like cleaning puke, I probably give in too often. Even though I thought I would be the ultra tough disciplinarian.

So, any of you parent vets in the whining war have any tips or advice? Feel free to leave a comment.

For those who have not yet had kids, I leave you with this wonderful Public Service Announcement.

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Caution: This Post May Give You Swine Flu

Blogger Dad — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 02:33:04 +0000

I’m wearing a full body biological suit while typing this, as I may have swine flu and I don’t want you to get it, too.

My son was diagnosed with the swine flu on Sunday and while he is getting better (thankfully) I have a fever and am feeling like crap. I went to the doc today and got tested, though their test is taking a few days since I didn’t want to pay for the express version. However, I am being treated with Tamiflu and some other medicines. I’m hoping my wife doesn’t get it.

So, in short, no real post today. Once I’m feeling better, I have two posts practically writing themselves right now re: the swine flu.

If you’ve got a minute to spare, please check out Sean Platt’s video and help him make his dream come true. If you’re helping him, you’re also helping me since we have so many joint projects which could become a reality even more quickly with this job. So thank you in advance.

Also, don’t forget the big Halloween scary product contest over at Tracy’s site. You want a cheeseburger in a can, don’t you?

Scary Product: Daddy and Me Book

Blogger Dad — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 15:01:03 +0000

So a few of us are having a scary product contest in honor of Halloween (and stupid products) and while I am a judge and not eligible to win, that can’t stop me from playing along.

Here’s my scary find from this week. A book from 1986 called Daddy and Me which apparently is one of the line of Super Chubby (go ahead, insert your own joke there) books.

I bought this gem at the local dollar store, where oddly enough, not everything in the store is a dollar, but that’s another post for another time. Rather than simply post photos from the book, I decided to have some fun with the pictures, and insert some dialogue.

On with the fun.

Got a scary product to show off? It can be freaky food, dangerous looking toys, funky food or inappropriately named items, whatever you find, post it on your blog and enter the contest here and you could win a scary prize.

A favor to ask

Before you go, my friend Sean Platt (WriterDad) is entering a contest and trying to win a job blogging about happiness. I was going to enter the contest myself but one look through my archives would give me away. Sean, however, is an almost always happy guy. He practically farts sunshine. If you enjoy Sean’s work please consider voting for him here. Two other friends are also entering the contest, Tracy OConnor and George Angus. And even though both of them are registered felons for their attempted plot to blow up a bus full of puppies, I suppose you could also vote for them. You know, if puppy killing is your thing. No, seriously, you should vote for them, as I think the top 10 or 20 vote getters will then be considered for the job. They didn’t really attempt to blow up a bus full of puppies… At least, not so anybody can prove.

Yeah, I should totally have entered that contest.

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This One Goes Out To the Ones I Love

Blogger Dad — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 05:20:11 +0000

Recently, I was packing my two year old son’s lunch for daycare. In addition to his food, I sent a note along.

The note, which I wrote in crayon, said, “Mommy and Daddy Love You, E”

It’s sad to think that one day he will likely reject such notes. Sadder still, how hard it is for me to accept or write such notes to anyone other than my son.

As men, we’re taught to bury such blatant expressions of love. Taught that such expressions are feminine and in some cases, a sign of weakness. This is probably genetically passed down through the ages, the whole ’survival of the fittest’ thing. Need proof? Notice that you never hear about the metrosexual cavemen, who were quickly Darwined out of existence.

As men, we’ve become conditioned to never reveal our softer, vulnerable sides.

In fact, most men fear that even after 10 years of marriage, if they were to suddenly reveal a softer side to their wives, she will throw her head back and laugh maniacally, and explain how the whole 10 year marriage was a ruse designed to get him to expose his weakness, at which time 12 macho guys will jump out from the bushes and laugh, point, and call him a wuss.

While I’ve never prescribed to such notions of what it means to be a man, I could not completely escape those lessons in life which harden your heart and make it difficult to be as open as I’d like.

So, most times, while I may think loving thoughts about both my wife and child, it’s never as easy to express as it should be. And while I recognize that not all men are like this, and many have no problem whatsoever wearing their emotions on their sleeves, I’m not one of those guys.

So, I’m taking a moment now to write a very public note to those that I love, even though every instinct in me is screaming that this is too personal and too … I don’t know, something uncomfortable … I’m forcing myself to do it.

This goes out to the ones I love

To my wife: Happy Anniversary. You’re the kindest woman I’ve ever known. I could not ask for a better companion or mother to my child. I look forward to growing old with you. Okay, maybe not growing old – that scares the crap out of me – but I look forward to being with you always and learning more about you and from you as the calendars’ pages fall away. I should tell you this far more than I do, but know that I love you; even if I suck at expressing it. In fact, I know when you read this, you will likely think that this is a guest post by another, more sensitive blogger.

To my son: You are the sweetest, funniest two year old I know. Granted, you’re the only two year old I know, but still, I have enjoyed watching you grow from an infant to a toddler and watching as your personality emerges. There’s nothing quite so heartwarming as when you ask me to do something with you. “Daddy come play on the floor with me?” with those big innocent blue eyes, waiting for a response as you shake your head yes, in anticipation. It’s hard to believe that I am such an important part of anyone’s world when I feel rather dispensable most days. And while you had no choice in who you were born to, I hope that you will always be proud of who your dad is. I’ve never felt so close to anyone than in the moments we spend together. It’s a feeling I want to remember forever and hope that whatever cold seasons that settles over most father/son relationships doesn’t ever rain on ours. I love you.

To my dad: You sacrificed everything to give our family so much. You’re the strongest and most honest person I’ve ever known, without exception. Your actions and words have shaped my definitions of integrity and to always do the right thing no matter the personal cost. Thank you. I’m sorry I didn’t always understand the messages when I was younger and for any difficulty or doubt I’ve ever caused you. Now, being on this side of fatherhood, I have an even deeper appreciation for all you’ve done. If there were a universal definition of Father, you should serve as the best example. I love you.

To my mom: Thank you for helping to raise me. While I don’t remember everything of my youth, I do recall fondly spending lots of time with you. I remember as a child, I would watch you draw and spend hours looking at your sketch book and then try to duplicate what you did. And you were always, and still are, very encouraging to my artistic pursuits. Your sense of humor and kindness helped shape me in ways that I am still discovering. Thank you, I love you.

To my brother: Talk about uncomfortable. It’s hard to say I love you without following it with a quick insult or something to prove I’m still masculine enough to trash talk. I’m proud of you for having lost a ton of weight and wish nothing but the best for you. While we’ve not always been close as we’d like, I’ve always, and will always, love you.

So back to that note I packed in my son’s lunch bag…

The teacher explained that he opened up the note at lunch and recognized the smiley face I drew. He smiled a huge smile and yelled, “daddy!” He then held it all through lunch and clutched it tightly as he took his nap. He then carried it in his front pocket the rest of the day. The thought of him carrying something in his pocket to remind him of me makes me all gushy.

I should write more letters.

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Scary Product Contest

Blogger Dad — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 20:29:34 +0000

Halloween has always been my favorite time of year. From the crisp autumn air, to the costumes, to the Halloween specials and all-night scary movie marathons to the Halloween-themed commercials, I love everything about the holiday. Last year I tried a costume contest which fizzled. This year, I decided to team up with Tracy and a few other bloggers for The First Annual I Hate My Messageboard Scary Product Contest. All the rules and information can be found by clicking the image below.

In Which I Tie Thomas The Train to Poopie Time

Blogger Dad — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 02:26:52 +0000

(or Thomas Really IS a Useful Engine)

My son’s new love is Thomas the Train. Apparently this is a phase which all children are required by law to go through, in accordance with Parental Annoyance legislation passed in the early 1980’s.

I didn’t see the harm the friendly little blue train posed when my two year old, E, started mentioning him in conversation a few months ago. My wife, though, was less than thrilled. It seems that her exposure to children over the years has resulted in a strong dislike for Thomas. Thanks to my wife, our house had remained a Thomas-free zone – until recently…when someone bought my son a Thomas the Train book.

It begins with a book

E was super excited and was already familiar with Thomas from daycare, or perhaps from the government brainwashing program which introduces Thomas to children. So, I was excited for him and was happy enough to indulge in his interests, even if the books are long and rather uninspired looking.

Then comes the DVD

I was at my “favorite” store, Target and saw a Thomas DVD for $5. What a bargain, right? I recalled from some distant memory that George Carlin narrated some of the episodes of Thomas and Friends, and I LOVE Carlin, so how bad can the DVD be? Right?

Apparently, Carlin doesn’t curse even once on these DVDs!

And, to make matters worse, the DVD I bought wasn’t even narrated by Carlin. From the lack of animated facial expressions to the cheesy dialogue, this might be the worst DVD I’ve ever watched. And this is coming from someone who has sat through Elmo in Grouchland more times than he can recall (through extensive therapy). Apparently, every episode revolves around Thomas or another train crashing or getting into some other trouble. For a “useful engine” he sure does screw up a lot. In the real world, he’d be sold for scrap. I could suddenly see why my wife didn’t care for Thomas. And now I was going to pay for not listening to her. E insists on watching Thomas morning, noon and night.

The Invasion Begins…

And then one day, I woke to find that a Thomas the Train toy had made its way into our home. One lone train, a blue wooden Thomas engine that Nana bought E. He carried it around the house proudly wherever he went, including bed, where it sat next to the crib, keeping a watchful eye.

And then the floodgates open!

That was all it took. Two weeks later and my house is full of Thomas AND all his friends, Rusty, James, Percy, Henry, and Whiff (who names a train Whiff?) and some coal cars (which E seems to enjoy). And of course, tracks and tracks and a train house. Between Nana and myself, E has racked up a lot of Thomas loot in a short amount of time. All to my wife’s displeasure, though she seems to have accepted this new phase, or at least isn’t fighting it.

While Thomas doesn’t seem too useful in the books and DVDs, he did prove to be useful in one area, though – potty time.

Actually, it wasn’t Thomas, but rather E’s new favorite train (for this week, anyway), James.

While potty training has been very successful, there are times when E doesn’t want to go to the bathroom. This is usually when he has to go Number Two. So, as a parent, you need to get creative in attempts to get your child to the toilet. Last week, there was a day where E hadn’t gone Number Two in almost 24 hours. When I told him it was potty time, he shook his head no. However, when I suggested that he show his new train, James, how he goes poo, another story altogether. E raced into the bathroom, holding James, saying, “I’m gonna go potty, James.”

He carefully placed James on the sink next to the toilet and then sat on the potty and turned to James, so the train could watch him. He grabbed the sides of his toilet seat and tightened his stomach. Moments later, splash, splash. And then E exclaimed proudly,

“Look James, I made a turd!”

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HELP!

Blogger Dad — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 08:12:12 +0000

(Updated: Friday morning. I was able to reach a customer service rep at BRK Electronics, the maker of the alarm. She walked me through the process of unplugging the alarm (it didn’t appear to unplug last night and I certainly didn’t want to run the risk of shocking myself) and make sure it was in fact, free from dust. While it looked clean last night and I run a vacuum over it, when I took the unit down I was able to see a bit of dust in the sensor slots. I used pressurized air to clean it, and the rest – just in case and am hoping for the best. The good news is, she told me how to disengage the alarm from being interconnected and setting off the whole house – unplug it. Thank you for your comments and emails, I appreciate it!)

I am not going to sleep tonight.

My smoke alarms started going off at 9:45 p.m. tonight, just prior to E going to sleep. He gets VERY upset when he hears them, is very scared and breaks down into a crying jag that is almost equal in intensity to the LOUD and incessant alarms.

I raced around trying to figure out WHICH alarm was causing problems since they are all interconnected (awesome idea, by the way, let’s make ALL the alarms go off so you can’t tell which one has a problem) and when one goes off, almost all of them do. And of course, I didn’t get an owner’s manual with the alarms when I bought the house four years ago, so I have no idea how to silence the damned things. There is one button, to test, which only makes the alarm go off again … and even longer. Great idea to NOT have a silence feature, alarm manufacturers!

So I grabbed a chair and opened one alarm, making sure the battery is in there, etc… everything looked okay. Alarm stopped. For two minutes, then went off again. Repeat, same process x4. Finally, I went in my office, and discovered that when I changed batteries in all the alarms several months ago, I somehow missed the one in my office. I installed a new battery, snapped it in and went to bed after E calmed down.

12:20 a.m. ALARMS ARE GOING OFF AGAIN!! - I woke in a panic, racing from room to room, dizzy and tired and stumbling. Couldn’t find the problem, I’m racing against time before they wake E. Either the one in his room is NOT going off and not interconnected with the others or he is sleeping through it. If the former, then its only a matter of time till he hears all the rest, so I was racing. Found nothing wrong, but eventually, they stopped after I messed with the one in the hallway, which is also near an air conditioning intake vent. I went back to bed.

2:00 a.m. THE ALARM CHIRPS! Which usually occurs one more time prior to all the alarms going off. I raced into the hall, opened and closed the battery latch on the alarm next to the air conditioning intake vent. I looked online and saw that some alarms can go off from dust. While there’s some dust on the intake vent, it’s been much worse. Hell, I’ve allowed dust bunnies to graze at times, simply because I never to think to look up at the vent. At any rate, I vacuumed it. I opened the battery latch and checked the battery (again) and then closed it. I began to suspect this is the only way to prevent the alarms from going off, sort of a silence button.

2:20 a.m CHIRP! I raced into the hall, clicked open, and closed the battery chamber.

I feel like the guy in LOST who has to press reset every 108 minutes to prevent doomsday.

Only, I am trying to prevent my son from waking up frightened. And the clock is now resetting at random intervals.

2:40 a.m. climbed back into bed, hoping to get some sleep before dawn.

2:45 a.m. CHIRP! WTF?! I raced back into the hall, opened the latch, closed it. Waited. Nothing. I begin to suspect that my wife has secretly enrolled me on some hidden camera reality show in which the audience waits to see how long before I lose my mind. (Spoiler alert: Pretty damned quickly.)

3:05 a.m. climbed back into bed. My heart is pounding, I’m anxious as hell, my eyes are heavy. I’m waiting for the chirp to rob me of my sleep once again. I didn’t have to wait long this time.

3:07 a.m. CHIRP!

3:08 a.m. – Said “F it!” Looks like I’m going to stay up all night and play guardian of the smoke alarm. I will likely have to call someone, like an electrician, to come out here tomorrow and take all my money to help end this madness.

3:31 a.m. - nothing yet. knock on wood.

3:42 a.m. - CHIRP! Repeat process. Is that a tear in my eye?

So, if anyone has any advice, I would greatly appreciate it. The alarm is a BRK smoke alarm, four years old, though I can’t see the model number at the moment. I would try and take it apart again, but I don’t want to risk the alarm blasting. I’ll have to wait until my son wakes up and goes to daycare.

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How Open Are You on Your Blog?

Blogger Dad — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 04:20:51 +0000

An interview I recently did with writer and TV producer Joel Schwartzberg got me thinking, how open should my blog be?

Schwartzberg recently wrote the book The 40-Year-Old Version: Humoirs of a Divorced Dad, which contains a series of essays he wrote on the topics of divorce and fatherhood and how divorce made him a better dad. The book also includes a controversial Newsweek article he’d written earlier this year, in which he said he suffered from male postpartum depression after the birth of his son several years ago. To be certain this is a topic you don’t hear much about, or maybe never heard of. His honest recollection of panic and crying on the floor with his son earned him derision among some. At both Newsweek and the conservative site, Townhall.com, many readers had harsh words for Schwartzberg.

Really harsh words – questioning everything from his sexuality to his fitness as a father. He was also propped up as a poster child for what’s wrong with liberal men.

With so many people on the web quick to eviscerate a stranger in such a vicious manner, it makes you wonder why anybody would share their deepest thoughts and fears with the public. Perhaps there’s some wisdom in keeping some things personal.

Where do you draw the line between public and private?

In some cases, if not most, bloggers blog for attention (myself included). However, sometimes they blog for other reasons – from making people aware of issues (as was Schwartzberg’s case, though his medium was in a news magazine, not a blog, but you get the idea) and other times, people are simply looking to connect with others going through similar situations.

But with so many angry people looking to inflict their misery unto others, it makes you wonder – why bother?

Maybe we’re better off playing it safe, not writing anything that makes us look weak, shows us in a bad light or invites criticism.

While I have written several extremely honest and revealing things in both this blog and in a newspaper column I had, there is a line I draw. I don’t write anything that makes people in my life look bad and I don’t thrust anybody into the public spotlight that didn’t ask to be there. And I try not to write anything which might prevent me from future employment (bad news if I look for a job at Target, eh?)

But perhaps I should censor myself further? Maybe I should read my blog through the lens of someone who is my exact polar opposite and try to avoid saying anything which will invite scorn, ridicule or hate?

Hell, maybe this post is too introspective and just another horrifying example of what’s wrong with liberal men?!

Maybe I should censor myself a bit more. But I won’t.

Truth is, people will always find a reason to hate that which they fear, don’t understand, or secretly loathe within themselves.

True, people can’t hurl stones at you if you don’t put yourself out there. But living your life in fear of their stones only gives them more power over your life.

So, how open are you in your blog? What sorts of things do you feel people should keep personal?

(Notes: For a somewhat related story about someone dealing with haters, check out Writer Dad’s most recent post about his wife’s PTA problems. And the Thomas the Train post I keep teasing will appear on Wed.)

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