Archive for the 'parenting' Category
Flying Low in Downsville
I spoke for about an hour last night with Sam’s mom about his upcoming visit. I think it’s the inordinately long period between Labor Day and Thanksgiving that has me feeling so down: I’m worried about everything regarding Sam, especially his refusal to speak to me on the phone and the presence of her [...]
Read More..>>The Price of Fatherhood, II
I woke up this morning at about 6:30 AM with bowel-twisting gas pains that sent me rushing to the toilet lest I shit myself. Usually when I wake up like this, it’s pretty easy to fall back asleep, but for some reason, my mind decided that 6:30 was an excellent time to begin looping [...]
Read More..>>My Ex Has a Good Idea
Bet you never thought you’d see a headline like that here at Brendan Calling, but it’s true: Melissa had an excellent idea to bridge the geography while Sam is in Canada.
It’s so difficult, for obvious reasons, to parent when Sam is away, but the two worst obstacles are his understandable difficulty carrying on a phone [...]
Sore Spot
My friend Jeremy called me the other night to make sure I was coming to see his band The Dixie BeeLiners next week: given that I’d put in a good word for Jeremy with the Beeliner’s bandleader Buddy Woodward, I was delighted to see them. When Buddy and co moved south last year, I [...]
Read More..>>Sam Goes for a Spin
I think this shot is hilarious.
Read More..>>The High Price of Fatherhood
As I wrote a few weeks ago, I’ve found a way to smooth some of the rough edges off the two-month separation from Sam by mailing him things that remind him of our time together, including photos, games he likes to play, books, and the like.
“You tell him that you’re sending him a surprise in [...]
Boundaries
My sister and I haven’t really spoken since March 2005. She was visiting Philadelphia around the same time Sam was paying a visit, while Melissa and I were still together. I was still unemployed for the most part, accepting any temp job that came my way. As it happened, I was working [...]
Read More..>>“You Could Just Send the Money”
There’s a pretty long period of time between the end of Sam’s last visit (he went home September 9) and his next arrival (November 15 or November 17). I’m supposed to have him every other month because his mom claims she can’t afford to bring him to me every month, and unfortunately that next visit [...]
Read More..>>How to Tick Me Off
When I pointed out to my ex last night that this year I had my son for less than 70 days the entire year, including the return trip, she told me “You have him for 1/5 of the year.”
Playing with numbers like that really makes me angry. She’s right: I have him for 1/5 [...]
Sam Goes to Lodi!
I finally got a chance to upload some pictures. These were taken at Pickin’ in the Pasture, an annual bluegrass festival in Lodi New York. If you’d like to read about the festival itself, which is fantastic, I suggest you go here, because when I go to festivals with Sam, I miss a [...]
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