Fatherhood

Trouble with the stairs again. Patrick was following me down the stairs. I had already gotten downstairs and was sitting in front of the computer when I heard him heading down the steps. I issued a gentle reminder for him to be careful when I heard the thumping start. Knowing I was too far from the steps, there was nothing I could do but watch. As I described it to Jen ... "Think of the gingerbread man pose. Put it upside down and on the bottom step and that's what I saw rolling down our stairs." Patrick landed with a remarkably gentle thump and stared at the ceiling for a few seconds before the screaming started. By that time, I had gotten to him and held him close until Mama arrived to take over. Amazingly, there didn't even seem to be a bump on his head ... No damage done ... but, what a scare!

As a parent ... raised in the days of voice contact, seeing children converse in the same room via cell phones and fingers ... I feel like a throw-back, a relic of some lost age. Even today, I find myself cringing when I call and get an automated system. What happened to our conversational skills. The question today is, who needs a voice when our children can tap on a touch screen faster and more efficiently than any of us ever though possible. Hung up on inflection and tone, can't we just hop on Skype for those important conversations (yes, you can connect Skype directly to the television). Parents are important in this new age of technology ... someone has to buy the phone, maintain the plan, and replace damaged devices. We even have to tell our children to stop texting at the dinner table, as well as to turn the phone off before going to bed. Being a parent and watching my child's fascination ... and, eventually becoming an extension of the phone, I sometimes wonde...

The tractor ... we can always climb on, but not when it is turned on ... that would be scary. The car ... steering and moving all the buttons and levers ... nothing scary here. The big-wheel ... only the original; the new ones are cool, but only the original is the best. Swedish-Fish ... how many can we shove in at one time ... The broom ... so we can sweep up the mess we just made. The computer ... how many times has he turned this one off while I was working on something?

Today was a good day ... other than the computer dying. Patrick had a wonderful day ... playing with Mama in the morning, then church with family in the afternoon ... lunch with Grandma and Papap, then a nap while we waited for Best Buy to change out the power supply on the computer (I know, with my expertise, why pay? ... sometimes, the last thing I want to do is work on a machine in my time off) ... two hours later, they told me they couldn't do anything. I took the computer home and swapped out the video card and we are back up and running. I know ... a power supply is not a video card, but it was pretty obvious to me that there was something wrong when the video card fan and heat sink fell off. Patrick helped a bit ... distracted me while I waited. What a wonderful son. We just got back from Grandma and Papap's, playing the the tree covered back yard ... swing, sand, water fountain ... all the things a young boy would love!

... and Connecting Learned Skills Well, I do not know if it is official, but his learning curve has definitely gone through the roof. Patrick has been off for a few days (not feeling well). I got home to a rather upset (in pain) son ... once we got things under control, I was playing with him around the computers (yes, watching that the glowing power switch did not catch his attention) ... when he decided to climb the step-ladder. He has done this many times, but this time he got up both steps with no assistance and was definitely proud of what he could do. Then, I upped the ante ... I took Patrick and the ladder in the kitchen and set it up in front of the microwave and watched him climb up ... then realize where he was. Skills so far (all separate skills): Climbing the step-ladder Opening and closing the microwave door Setting the time and clicking start on the microwave (OK, some assistance here) Getting food from the cupboard and taking it to the microwav...

Revenge ... that state we get to when things do not go the way we want. With my son, I am learning that this is almost a daily event. Yesterday, I got upset when he turned the computer off while I was working on it. I was more upset that the work got lost than anything else, and I am learning to manage how I respond when upset. Patrick, on the other hand responded as you would expect a sixteen month old child to. He headed to the bookshelf and started ripping books off the shelves (I've got to move the First Edition and Signed books onto higher shelves). Today, when I took the clicker back, another book got tossed across the room ... the one I was reading at the time (John Carter in flight) ... I have got so much to learn.

Most of this week, on vacation in Tennessee, we've been without cell service and barely have Internet service (it's really not all that bad ... frustrating at times would be a good way to phrase it).  This trip really got me thinking about our reliance on technology. Finding time as a family ... minus all electronics (this one was handed to us). What a concept I have to look forward to ... Patrick who could care less and Jen who is lucky to check her email and phone once a week. I know ... what a surprise that this one scares me. Working with computers and electronics since the age of ten, I would like to think that electronics do not control my life. I'd like to think I am in control of them ... yet, here I am writing a blog about the concept of integrating time off from electronics into the concept of family. I was (and am) the one that people call when they cannot figure out their electronics ... phone, TV, DVD, computer, and so on (it is my job). Quality time .....

I work on computers for a living.  I've been working on computers since I was ten years old ... 34 years, at this point.  And, even though it seems like I started only yesterday, I have found that my 14 month old son can teach me a thing or two ... Recently, he was playing on the mouse (in particular, with the wheel) and the icons on my screen started getting smaller.  Never having seen this type of a change with the mouse, I tried to duplicate what he was doing ... to no avail.  After some research (HOURS), I found out that with Windows Vista, you can hold down the Control Key and spin the wheel to change the icon size on the screen ... way to keep your father on his toes, Patrick! I realize that children today are getting more and more savvy with technology, but I truly never imagined being taught basic functionality by him before he at least reached the age of three.

Here is a task I think I was meant to take on. I used to be a computer nerd ... pretty much in every way you can imagine one defined in the late 70s and early 80s.  Then, one day, my sister walked in and saw me managing three machines: one online, one being cleaned up, and one rendering a 3d modeled video I was creating.  Realize that this was sometime around 1986 when personal computers were really just coming into existence with some regularity. She made a comment that stuck with me ... "you're not a computer nerd, you're a computer squid." Computer Squid  ... it stuck.  Over the years, I've joked about that comment with a brother's fondness ... Now, I'm a father ... and being a computer squid has taken on a whole new meaning.  Working on projects that I used to just warn Jen about is now a thing of the past.  Projects are now assembling toys that take not just a Masters in Engineering, but a fluency in any one of a half dozen languages beyond ...