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Summer Reading List: 6 Books I've Read Recently and Recommend

To date, I've read 25 books so far in 2024. Here are five of my favorites to add to your summer reading list, from vengeful turtles to delightful doves.

At the risk of sounding cliche, reading is fundamental. Whether it’s a paperback, hardcover, audiobook, or ebook, reading is reading. This is true at any age, but I would emphasize that it’s longer-form reading that is most beneficial for adults. In a world where we’re bombarded with pithy observations and rage bait in 280 characters or less, it pays to slow down sometimes. Reading books is…

[beyondtherhetoric]

Mexican Riviera Cruise Aboard the Carnival Miracle

Thinking about taking a cruise vacation? Here are some highlights from our recent sailing aboard the Carnival Miracle to Cabo San Lucas and Ensenada.

After basically not leaving our province for four years (for obvious reasons), we finally took a proper family vacation during spring break back in March. This was my son’s first flight (he did really well both ways!) and the first cruise for both of our kids. We opted for the five-night Mexican Riviera itinerary aboard the Carnival Miracle. It set sail from Long Beach, California with ports of…

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Top 16 TV Sitcom Dads From the 1990s (As Voted By You!)

Growing up in the ’80s and ’90s, I watched a lot of sitcoms. The TGIF lineup on ABC was a mainstay. As I watched those 1990s TV shows, I naturally identified more with the children. I’d see little pieces of me when Stephanie Tanner got bullied at school or Robbie Sinclair questioned the meaning of life. Now, I’ve been a dad for almost a decade. And the role of father plays such a central part of…

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Five Dads Go Wild 2024: Sooke Edition

The 2024 edition of Five Dads Go Wild took four dad bloggers to Sooke, British Columbia on Vancouver Island. Here's what we got up to.

Last month, we embarked on a Five Dads Go Wild adventure on Vancouver Island. Except, two of the dads injured themselves just before the trip and we called in a local sub. So, it was just four dads on this #5DadsGoWild excursion. And maybe it wasn’t all that wild, because we stayed at a resort? Maybe we’re just getting older. In any event, I thought I’d take a moment to recap a few highlights…

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A Return to Guiding Words for 2024

To point me down the path toward improved mental health and happiness, I've decided on three sets of guiding words for 2024. These are my new year's resolutions for 2024.

For the last few years, I’ve been setting “goals” of varying specificity for my “new year’s resolutions.” You might remember when I recently reflected on my goals for 2023. After taking some time to think about it — as I am often apt to do, to overthink it, really — I’ve decided to return to a different approach for my 2024 new year’s resolutions instead. I’m going back to using “guiding words”…

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A Year By the Numbers (2023 Review)

Let's tally up the blogs and articles I wrote, online videos I shared, books I read, and movies I watched in 2023. Here are some of my favorites from this past year.

What gets measured gets done. Or is that what gets measured get managed? In any case, I’m a big proponent of gamifying a lot of what I do. As nerdy as it may sound, I actually enjoy tracking things and playing around with the metrics of it all. To that end, just as I did with the year in review last year, I’m doing it again as I look back at 2023. Let’s take a look. Content I Created in 2023 In…

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Gifted With Mediocrity

Perhaps there's a danger to telling kids that they are gifted or special. Because it could lead them down a path of self-hating mediocrity.

It will never be enough, will it? As a child, I experienced several instances where I was made to feel “special” or “gifted” in some way. This inevitably (over)inflated my ego and I built up these big dreams for what I’d accomplish with my life. I’d be rich and famous and renowned and respected. None of that has really panned out, of course, which has constantly left me in a state of feeling…

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My Report Card: 2023 Goals and How They Went

I know. We’ve still got a whole month and a bit to go in 2023. There’s still, like, 10 percent of the year left. Even so, I feel like we’re far enough along that I have some perspective on how I did with my goals for 2023. It’s like getting your report card in the middle of June when there are still two weeks of school left. I set these back in January as new year’s resolutions, so to speak.…

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Childhood Unplugged: How Katherine Martinko Gets Kids Off Screens (And How You Can Too)

Struggling to get your kids to reduce their screen time and off their devices? You're not alone. Author Katherine Johnson Martinko offers insight and advice in her new book, Childhood Unplugged. Here is our interview.

Among all the other things we have to deal with these days, screen time has quickly become a big issue for today’s parents. It can feel really hard to get our kids off our screens. We can feel like bad parents for letting them indulge in YouTube rabbit roles and prolonged Minecraft sessions. There has to be a better way, right? Katherine Johnson Martinko certainly thinks so. And she thinks you…

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A Big Problem With Social Comparison

We all do it. We scroll through the perfectly curated lives on Instagram and admonish ourselves for not living up to this filtered ideal. This social comparison runs deep and it's just not fair.

Okay. So, there is definitely more than one big problem with social comparison. Especially in this digital age of instant gratification, overstimulation and social media, we’re constantly comparing our lives with the other people we see online. Believe me, I get it. And it’s a very hard habit to drop. I’m right there with you. Even so, I wanted to take a few minutes to explore one particular…

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What This Dad Wants For Father's Day

Dad's extra special day is right around the corner, so what does he want for Father's Day? I can't speak for all the dads, so here's my unique take on the question. It may not be what you expected to hear from me.

All some dads want for Father’s Day is to spend all day with their kids. Other dads would prefer a day all to themselves, away from their kids. And both of these wishes are equally valid. While I’d be perfectly happy with either outcome, if we’re being honest, that’s not the Father’s Day present at the top of my wish list. Sure, I’d be happy with a handmade card, a family photo session, or a…

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#5DadsGoWild on the Oregon Coast

Recapping some highlights from our recent #5DadsGoWild road trip down to the Oregon Coast!

Well, this is a bit of a far cry from the original Five Dads Go Wild trip, huh? We started out with roughing it in the middle of the woods, some of us (read: me) trying to figure out how to set up a tent and sleeping bag for the first time. For the 2023 edition of #5DadsGoWild, we hopped in a couple of electric vehicles and made a road trip down to the Oregon Coast. Different, sure. But, also…

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TFW Too Much Is Still Not Enough (A Paradox)

We brought this upon ourselves. Or maybe it's this societal culture of endless consumption and insatiable desire for more. So much more. Too much more. And yet, it's still not enough.

Are you feeling overwhelmed by everything you have to do? And yet it still feels like you’re coming up short? Like you’re letting everyone down, yourself included? It can often feel like it’s all too much to handle. I’ve been there. I am there. It’s something I’ve been thinking about a lot lately. Maybe too much. So, rather than let those thoughts continue to live rent-free in my brain, I thought…

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Am I the Mad Hatter?

Is it unreasonable to wear so many hats at the same time? Or am I just a Mad Hatter for expecting nothing short of perfection out of all of them?

In Alice in Wonderland, author Lewis Carroll depicts the Hatter as strange, erratic and unpredictable. (Fun fact: Carroll never calls the character the Mad Hatter. That’s on us.) The inspiration for the Mad Hatter’s eccentric personality is perhaps rooted in the behavior of Carroll’s contemporary hat matters. Because of the process used to make hats at the time, people in this professional were…

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Revisiting My 2023 Goals: One Month Later

As much as 80 percent of new year's resolutions fail in the first month. I have three 2023 goals on my plate. How am I doing? Well....

New year’s resolutions can be a bit of a mixed bag. They can motivate you with the promise of a fresh start or clean slate. “Let’s do this thing.” That said, the joke about empty gyms in February? That’s definitely rooted in some truth. Anywhere from about two-thirds to 80 percent of people give up on their new year’s resolutions within the first month. And then, only 8 percent make it all the…

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The Terrible Twos Ain't All That Bad, Y'Know

Believe when I say that I know the terrible twos can be a very challenging time. But, through the right lens, they can be pretty terrific too.

Whether or not you have kids of your own, you’ve surely heard about the terrible twos. Society has taught us all that those two-year-old toddlers can be absolute tyrants. That particular age is the bane of every parent’s existence, because you simply cannot negotiate with these little terrors and their ceaseless tantrums. Here’s the thing, though. Despite the tantrums and big emotions of the…

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My Goals for 2023 (New Year's Resolutions?)

Like last year, I've set three goals for myself for 2023. Yeah, they're a little more vague and a little less S.M.A.R.T., but I'm okay with that. Do you have any new year's resolutions?

Let’s be honest. New year’s resolutions have, let’s say, a bit of a troubled reputation. There’s a reason why the local gyms are packed in January, only to see many of those patrons head to their local Tim’s in February. People head into the new year with an (overly?) optimistic outlook, viewing the calendar flip as the opportunity for a fresh start. I know that feeling. All the same, I’ve got…