Experiencing the Trials and Tribulations of being a Single Father One Day at a Time
It is that time of year again to receive candy from others… no, not Halloween… not Easter… we do seem to have a lot of these… it is Valentine’s Day! Which comes with the annual card exchange at Elaina and Gabriella’s schools. Elaina had to make a box at home to receive all her cards, and while none of us are particularly amazing at arts & crafts, we managed to get our projects completed on time and in style.
Prior to the winter break, Elaina’s class had a “gingerbread” house decorating activity, of which parents were invited. While Elaina begged me to go, it was all in vain; as I have stated before, I would not have missed it for the world.
Note: If you have not noticed, I am playing a little bit of catch-up on my writing. The girls are visiting their mother and great-grandmother over the holiday weekend, so it might finally give me a chance to get to some of the bigger events, such as their soccer season, Christmas, New Year’s.
After Elaina returned to Colonel Johnston Elementary School after the winter break, the fundraisers started back up again. And considering that these events are directly helping Elaina’s teacher purchase items for her classroom and that it was at the girls’ favorite pizza parlor, you know that we were going to be there.
Last week, Elaina received a flyer in her take-home folder about a project. To celebrate the 100th day of school, the students were to create a t-shirt using the number 100 and wear it to school on Tuesday. While I am not necessarily the best at DIY projects, after a visit to Pinterest and then Hobby Lobby, Elaina (and Gabby!) and I were ready to get to work.
One year ago, I started this blog for the following reasons:
“The first is to be a productive outlet for my family and myself by highlighting how much fun you can have when you put family first, regardless of your family structure. The second is to inspire and give hope to other single fathers out there, especially those that are the primary custodians of their children.”
While only other single fathers (or even single mothers, for that matter) can answer if I met my second goal, I can with absolute certainty say that this first goal was a success and it exceeded my expectations. From our amazing trip to Walt Disney World to our weekly adventures in the greater Sierra Vista metroplex to our lazy days around the house, we are showing day after day what a loving, caring, and fun family looks like. And if this was not enough, Elaina got recognized at school this week.
I put in a lot of hours at work. I am pretty good at time management (and work through lunch on most days), so I still get off by 5:15pm every day, but the time spent at the office definitely adds up. While anyone can tell you that breaks need to be taken, it is important to ensure that those breaks are effective, meaning that they replenish you and allow you to refocus once you return to work. I do not take as many breaks as I should, but they are almost always effective. The best break? Going to one of my daughters’ schools and surprising them for lunch.
Adventures in Single Dadding 