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Fatherhood is a Lifelong Journey
If you ask me, the road to dadhood is like when I assembled an eight-drawer Ikea dresser for my daughter last year. The finished product looked really appealing in the store. The directions sucked....
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Double-Play
If there’s one thing my 14-year-old son is, it’s blunt. He reminds me of my great-great-aunt, Dot, who had a habit of simply saying what she was thinking. And, as unflattering as it might have been,...
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The Mustang Mom
My mom is joining us for a Mother’s Day celebration. It’s an unplanned thing. But unplanned has become status quo for my mom in the 36 years since she died at an age when most moms are serving out a...
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In the Blink of an Eye
“…but what I do today is important, because I am exchanging a day of my life for it.” ♦◊♦ Step One: Take a close look at the little boy in the photo. Step Two: Blink Step Three: Well, you don’t get...
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Of Love, Travel, and Soap
‘I had a drawer full of soap from faraway places. And each one was carried home specifically for me from my dad.’ I’ve been traveling a little bit these days. Nothing fun. Just travel. As any road...
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Dad, What’s a CD?
Ah, the good old days of burning a new mix to share. Does anybody do that anymore? It’s that time of the year when the sun shows its ugly early-morning head. That glaring, blinding,...
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Brotherly Love (and Hate)
Good old-fashioned sibling rivalry waxes and wanes at a mind-boggling pace. Can a father keep up? So the new Transformers 3 movie is out. Everyone in Chicago seems pretty excited because a big part of...
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Living Life With a Sense of Awe
Teaching gratitude, not “thank you”. Every so often, just when I think I’m doing an okay job with this parenting thing, something or someone comes along and shines a light on it all in a brand new...
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Does This Suit Make My Butt Look Big?
Can you imagine the guys on Mad Men sitting around the office talking about feeling bloated? I met a buddy for lunch yesterday. I’ll call him Greg even though that’s not his real name. I like him too...
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I Was Just Trying to Help
Does doing good deeds mean you have to think nice thoughts? What’s up with people? I’m sorry, but I’m miffed. I was walking into my health club the other day to squeeze in a quick swim. It was early...
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What I Know About Being a Dad
You know, Jim Higley writes, sometimes it’s OK to give your kids ice cream for breakfast. I had no idea how mind-spinningly confusing this “dad” job was going to be when I clocked in for duty nearly...
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How Great Is Great?
Jim Higley, single dad of three, shares some insight on what “great” really means. When I was a kid, I used to love playing the board game Life. It made the big, unexplored world seem so exciting. So...
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Good Dads Are Like Post-Its
Jim Higley has some thoughts about the epidemic of absent fathers and what can be done about it. Like Oprah, I have a list of favorite things. One of my favorite things I received this week was a...
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Finding My ‘Animal House’ Friends
Jim Higley rediscovers the bucket of friends that helped define his life while throwing a toga party or two. Every once in a while my kids have to sit through my lecture about friends. I give it when...
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The Grading Game
Parents, don’t let your children read this. Jim Higley doesn’t care about his kids’ grades. Mistake number one was turning to my high school son for a suggestion about a topic to write on. “Um, write...
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A Dad, a Norelco, a Last Shave and a Lasting Legacy
Jim Higley, on the (He)art of Shaving. During the month of November, the “Movember” movement is responsible for the sprouting of moustaches on men’s faces around the world. With their Mos, these men...
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Screw Cliff Huxtable
Jim Higley says he’s the dad worthy of emulation. I stopped worrying about being a picture-perfect dad a few years ago. And I actually think it’s helped me do a better job with this parenting gig. As...
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Why I Believe in Santa
Sometimes it doesn’t matter what you see, Jim Higley writes, it just matters what you believe. It was our last Christmas in North Carolina. My son, Kevin, was eight and my daughter, Wallis, was five....
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I’d Suck at Being a Teen Today
My teenage son regularly asks me if my high school experience was as stressful as his. The short answer to that question is, “Not even close.” But there’s a bigger answer out there. It’s an answer I’ve...
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Huggies: Get Over the Gender Thing, Will Ya?
Jim Higley watched the new Huggies commercial that puts the emphasis on dads. And it’s got his underwear in knots. It’s been a long time since I’ve changed a diaper. It’s also been a long time since...
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