A while back I heard a neat talk about the separation in cultures. It pertained to the way church was done and it was so apparent to me – and I considered myself in the tech savvy group, not BC. The talk had to do with those who were born BC and those that were born later. Not “Before Christ” but “Before Computers”.

It made since to me. There were, and still are people that I talk to all the time that just don’t get it. Computers and technology freak them out. To me, they seem to refuse to learn – and I don’t understand it.

I’m good with computers; I grew up with them, programmed them, built them, and for a time was paid well to fix them. Computers have been and still are a hobby. I wasn’t born before the first computers, but I am certainly “Before PCs.” I was sure that I was not BC; my son is showing me otherwise.

For the last year, he’s had his own computer. We started with toddler programs on our laptops and eventually moved to preschool programs on desktop of his own. He’s even started school on the computer. We’ve been using Jump Start World – Kindergarten, and he’s more than half way finished. (If you’re looking for Kindergarten materials – or even something for your kids to do on the computer – check our Jump Start World.) The program gives him various learning activities that he needs to master before moving on to the next level…and all I hear on some days is, “I’m mastered it!” over and over again.

It’s not just that program either. He has no problems getting to sites that he enjoys, pulling up other programs, or pretty much doing whatever he wishes. Nor is it just computers.

I received a Wii for Christmas. He’s only four so strategy skills haven’t developed, but he’s almost better than me in tennis and can hold his own in boxing and bowling – and there’s other games that he has very little problems playing.

The kicker, that really showed me that he’s going to be leaps ahead of me soon, was at the Apple story Friday night. I asked him if he wanted to see the iPhone and he was delighted to be able to play with one. In seconds of handing him the phone he was looking at photos (without anyone showing him how) and soon after was taking pictures.

I don’t have long left before he’s considering me BC so I’m going to have to make sure I help him with technology now - while I still can.

* After writing this, I saw a video for Microsoft Surface - essentially a smart table....I’m simply amazed at what our children will be able to do. And not just do, for them, it will be like these things have always existed.

I don’t know about you guys, but the big Mattel-Fisher-Price-China recall has caught me off guard. I’m so use to buying products made elsewhere that I don’t even pay attention to where the items were made. Until recently, I didn’t care if the toys I bought were made in China, Taiwan, Mexico, and other places where labor is relatively cheap. My thinking was, they are just toys. It wasn’t like I was buying cheap drugs overseas. How wrong could I be.

When I buy toys, I ask myself questions like: are there any small parts my toddler might swallow, will my kid poke someone in eye with the toy, and of course, how much does the toy cost? It didn’t really occur to me that a toy might be coated with lead and result in lead poisoning. It also didn’t occur to me small magnets could kill. In the past, when I looked at toys with tiny magnets, I figure they could fall out and might get swallowed. I thought that since the magnets are so small, they would just come out the other end. It didn’t occur to me that if two magnets were swallowed, they could pinch something inside the body and cause death.

There’s also the issue of price. In general, I equate price with quality. A cheap toy was just that — a cheap toy. It probably wasn’t made as well as a higher priced toy, but it was just a toy. I don’t need a toy to last forever. With my kids, they are just as likely to break an expensive toy as a cheap toy. So why pay double for the same toy just because it was made in America? But as we all know now, price comes at a cost.

Before I had kids, I use to be relatively carefree. Now that I am a father of three, I worry all the time about people and things that can harm my kids. Now I have to worry about toys too? As I hinted at previously, my main toy concerns in the past were about parts that could be swallowed and pointed toys that could poke an eye. Now I have to worry about lead paint, small magnets, and who knows what else. It’s hard to believe toys can be so dangerous to our children. Is this insane or what?

More info: Mattel Recall | Recalls.gov

Thursday night we attended my wife’s White Coat Ceremony for Pharmacy school at UIC.  A month ago, hell a couple of weeks ago, I had no idea what that was.  It was described to students as the “commencement” of their professional school lives.  They spoke of what the Pharmacist’s coat symbolized, and how hard these 4 years will be for them.  For friends and family, it’s a chance to celebrate the achievement of starting down this path.

I am proud of what my wife has done to get here...working full time, going to school, studying, applying, interviewing, and take care of us.  I’m taken a back a bit because that’s a lot.  I’m a handful for my wife of on my own, nothing bad I suppose I’m a big kid in a way.  But add in our toddler and that would seem enough...it would be for some people.  But she’s tackled it all with flying colors.  I honestly don’t know where she finds the energy.

I am proud of her for making it this far, for being brave enough to go after what she wants.  She says she is doing this for all of us, not just for her.  Sure these next 4 years will be long and rough at times...but it will be an experience to remember.  One we’ll share as a family.

I thought I’d share a few photos from last night.  My father-in-law had the “real” camera, and as the proud Papa...he should.  I had my cell phone...so I apologize for the pics now.Click here to see them.

Like I said, I had no idea what this ceremony was all about until Thursday night while sitting there holding my daughter watching “momma”; clapping for her and her new clasmates as they each received their coats.  It now feels real...this part of our life has begun, and it’s sure to be interesting.

Four months ago, I was not a happy camper.  I was constantly struggling with one need over another, and I felt myself getting sucked into a rut.  Not enough time with the kids, not enough time with the wife, no motivation to exercise, guilt over work, stress over work.  The list of problems went on and on.  And to make matters worse, Dear Wife was in a serious “I want a baby” kind of mood.  I was in no mood to hear it.  That would mean 4 more years of diapers.  It could be a girl, how could I deal with dating?  I would need a shotgun.  How are we going to get around? Man, we’d need a mini-van.  There were far more entries on the ‘con’ side of the sheet than the ‘pro’ side.

But then I really started to think about it.  I really would like to have a larger family.  And yes, it would be crazy, especially for the first few months, but it would be a good crazy.  And we have all kinds of help close by, Dear Wife is a great mother and stays at home with the kids.  If anyone would be able to handle a third, it should really be us.  What it all came down to was that I was not happy with my job, and it was clouding everything else.  So when I realized that, all the problems seem small and stupid.

I got a new job.  It has stress, but it’s fun.  It’s challenging.  I am enjoying myself again.  My outlook is different.  And my wife is pregnant with our third.  I couldn’t be happier.

I grew up in the Lutheran church. And even though I haven’t been in a liturgical church for ages, I still really enjoy the formality and quiet reverence that many of our contemporary churches lack. One of my favorite parts of the service was the benediction: the Aaronic blessing from Numbers 6:24:

May the Lord bless you and keep you.
May the Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you.
May the Lord look upon you with favor and give you peace.
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit,
Amen.

The church we attend when we’re in Dallas features a unique blessing at the end of the service (which I believe was written by the pastor, built off of different Scriptures). I realized when receiving this blessing week after week that I really like it. I don’t believe there’s any special power in it, nor do I think that God is necessarily obligated to bless me more in the next week simply because the pastor “blessed” me. However, the blessing is special. I feel a sense of belonging and purpose, and a personal connection with the pastor even though I am only 1 of 500 or something like that.

So when I read a book last year about saying a blessing over your children daily, something in that resonated with me, and I started to practice it. So every night, the last thing I do before leaving my kids’ room is to say the blessing (the Aaronic one above) over each of them. Sometimes I speak the blessing, and sometimes I sing it (to the tune of Michael Card’s Barocha). I make a cross on their forehead during the last line to add an additional physical touch to the blessing.

I really enjoy that moment of the day with each of my kids. Does it impart some sort of magical favor upon them from God that would not have been given otherwise? I doubt it. But does it impart something to them? I believe it certainly does.