I find myself struggling with the day to day; going to work, rushing the kids here, picking them up from there, unplugging the occasional toilet or drain, working on my new businesses, DIY projects, time with my wife and kids, and trying to fit in some sleep.
How does everyone else do it? I find myself getting frustrated here and there and need ways to alleviate my frustrations and stress.
How, you might ask?? Well, in our house, laughter is the best cure-all for a lot of life’s struggles. If you can’t laugh at something, or especially at yourself, then life can sometimes weigh you down.
Even when I get frustrated or angry with my kids, my comments (when tired), don’t always come out making sense…of course my wife or one of my kids will repeat my comment then start chuckling. I’m not always in the mood for their sense of humor, but when my comments are mocked and their dad-gestures follow suit, I can’t help but laugh along.
We are definitely not the average family. For starters, we have 4 kids. Life was very busy when they were little, but life got even busier the older they got… but in a different way. In earlier years, we were chasing toddlers, changing diapers, cleaning up spills, dealing with messes, and prepping bottles and food. Now we are running kids to all their activities, friends houses, and picking them up from wherever. Now we are cooking for an army and dealing with clogged toilets and drains (when you find a half of an orange was flushed down the toilet and spend your whole Saturday taking the toilet apart…Or when you find a piece of jumbo chalk has fallen down the bathroom drain and you spend the evening taking apart a sink). Now we are cleaning up bigger messes, listening to arguments, doors slamming, hormones, and the occasional “I hate you!”.
Ahhh…hormones. Gotta love em.
One great thing about my family is we still do a lot of things as a whole. We hike, camp, play sports, game nights, fire nights, and just a typical hang out in our back yard or living room (depending on the season). I’m fortunate that we are all pretty close and all have a great sense of humor.
If one of us is lacking a sense of humor on a particular day…watch out! We DO have 3 girls and my wife living in this house. My son and I give each other the ‘look’ –we need to watch what we say, because you never know what kind of mood they’ll be in.
Sometimes I just do things to entertain myself. I’ve been told that my sense of humor is unique and many people don’t “get” me. Since you’re still reading this you may be some of the rare few that do.
One Saturday afternoon the wife, kids, and I got talking about Tv shows. There was an episode of the Office where they were planking. Of course, the kids thought it was funny, and the next thing I know they are giving me ideas of where to plank. Here’s a video of a handful of my best ones:
If you don’t know what planking is…it’s where you lay across something perfectly flat and the challenge often gets a little ridiculous. I do not recommend anyone trying this at home.
We are the kind of family that loves to laugh…except when I make a “dad” joke. “Dad” jokes are hysterical to dad, but often lead to silence from others. The response I get, is referred by the kids as ‘crickets’. The sound of crickets:
All I know is our family has a lot of fun and we aren’t always understood by others. Maybe others lack a sense of humor or they just don’t understand where we’re coming from. It doesn’t matter what others think because we’re having a good time in life and that’s all that matters.
My wife and I have always made it a point to do a lot as a family and always make sure we share the importance of why we do what we do with our kids. When one of us is missing, the evening/day is not the same.
One of our favorite things to do as a family is hang out while I’m grilling. I get to do something I enjoy, and the wife and kids get to eat great tasting foods that I prepare. 
When I’m not preparing food on the grill, I’m cooking up something up over our campfire. Gatherings around the campfire is a great way to have great conversations with the kids, and the opportunity to play games too.
I might be old-fashion, but that’s what makes me classic, my sense of humor and my take on life. I try and take one day at a time and try to be the best me that I can be. Me– might not be what others want or expect, but it’s the me that makes me happy and the me that my wife and kids like spending time with.
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