To Claire,
On the occasion of your first birthday.

So. Here it is. You’re one year old today, a Monday, and you and I are lucky enough to have spent the day together. Just us. Without mom. We visited the toy store and the library, and you were quite angry with me when I tried to make you have a nap. I will avoid the usual exaggerations of parenthood and not express how surprised we were at the speed of your growth and change from a small baby into the babbling, smiling toddler we know today. I’m not really surprised. You’ve been a strong-willed little girl since the day you were born, stubborn and intense, and it doesn’t surprise me one bit that you’ve pushed every measure to become the active person you have. And you’re only one.

What a long way we have to go ahead of us. You won’t recall, but when you were very small, those first six months of your life, you were mom’s girl. Sure, you’d tolerate dad for brief periods, but mom was always the favorite. We never once considered it a competition, of course. We never once vied for your affections between each other. But maybe that is because mom would have always won out. Or maybe, we knew that some day you’d come around and love us both.

There are a lot of great memories of your first year that stick out in my mind. There was the time when you were just a few months old and we all went to mom’s work holiday party. You were the only kid there, a babe in arms, and until we arrived you were smiling and happy. When we got home you were smiling and happy, too. But in between, well, let’s just say dad spent the evening wandering the hallways trying calm you from your tears and wails.

Or, I remember the first time you came to meet me at the door after work. It must have been a particularly tough day at the office, because it was the best sight I’d seen in a long time; Claire and Sparkle were standing square at the back entry both anxiously waiting for dad to open the door from the garage and walk inside.

The problem with you being one, I realize, is that you are just at that in between phase between being a baby and being a kid. As a baby you were fun to cart around and show off. As a kid, I expect and anticipate, there is so much we get to do together, so many things I get to show you and teach you, so many places we get to visit together, and lots of great conversations to be had. But you’re ‘in between’ now, and while you love the park, aptly watch dad barbecue dinner, are learning a few names of objects around the house, and running about as fast as you can go, we’re just starting to get to know each other.

Now, today is your birthday, and as circumstances would have it your old dad has been lucky enough to secure some flexibility in his job that allows him to spend one day a week at home. I’m not working those days. I get to stay at home and be a dad. And, let me tell you, it is not a usual thing for dad’s to do here and now in 2008. I’m not the first, but still new rules needed to be written, records kept, and everything carefully managed to make sure that it happened properly. Every bit of it was worth it, of course. Every bit of it turned out better than I could have hoped. And now, today, we get to spend you birthday together. How great is that.

Hopefully, when you are old enough to read and understand this letter you will also be a little interested in your dad and his meager little life. I write this letter to you because I want to make something really very clear: Everything I write here is for you. Yes, I’ve been writing this blog for nearly a decade now and you are but a single year old. But from the first days when I started putting fingers to keyboard and tapping out the silly events of our lives, my goal has been to create some sort of story for my (future) kids. Of those kids, you are definitely the first — maybe the last and maybe not — so it will be your job to do with these words what you will. That’s your birthday gift today. And while I’ll keep adding to these stories for as long as I can turn my thoughts into text, these writings are yours now, merely kept in trust by me until you are ready to have them. They’re not worth much, but hopefully they will have value for you.

Love,
Your dad.

Karin is back at work. Claire spends three days a week at a day home with other kids. We’re closing in on autumn, and as the weather is cooling, the girl’s first birthday is rapidly approaching. And to top it all off I am now officially on flex-time, the calculated management of my work schedule that should allow me to take a day per week home from the office and with Claire. It’s the plan, anyhow, and yesterday marked day one of this grand experiment.

As promised, I’m going to try and write at least one entry per week chronicling the mundane associated adventures. This is the first, and in keeping I shall write not much more than to say it was something of a trial run; we had breakfast at home, played for a little while, took a forty-five minute nap break, played some more, and met mom at the mall to do some errands. Later in the afternoon, I set up my backdrop and took some candid pictures. Some of them turned out, others not so much. And that’s what a flex day looks like. Mundane to read, but it works for me, for now.

Next week I’ll be taking the Monday to coincide with the birthday girl’s big day — who wants to go to daycare on their birthday? — but our time will be capped with her one-year immunizations. (Though, guess who can go for ice cream now!) Beyond that, I’ll just open the floor to suggestions: as the days cool off, how should we fill our time?

Tomorrow marks day one of the grand experiment in balancing fatherhood and career. Flex time begins with a mellow start to a series of ‘workless wednesdays’ that will find me telecommuting on vital matters but otherwise spending that day with Claire. Sure there will be minor adjustments to the plan, but for the coming months we will be amidst the modern parenting invention of daddy-daughter days spent around the city. I can’t wait.

Brad says: Mmmm… Blackberry Spam.

Need any more proof? Someone posed a link to Discover magazine who’s archives have a beautiful article on the work of two researchers who postulated that the course of human evolution has shaped us as ideal runners:

From our abundant sweat glands to our Achilles tendons, from our big knee joints to our muscular glutei maximi, human bodies are beautifully tuned running machines. “We’re loaded top to bottom with all these features, many of which don’t have any role in walking,” Lieberman says. Our anatomy suggests that running down prey was once a way of life that ensured hominid survival millions of years ago on the African savanna.” Ingfei Chen, Born To Run, Discover Magazine

Unfortunately, many of us have lowered our genetic advantage through mis- and dis-use, but there you go. Run on.

I’ll spare the deepest details, but I’ve been having a heckuvatime with my health lately. As such, there are a couple things on hold at the moment:

1) Running. In my current state, it ain’t gonna happen.
2) Coffee. Sigh. Well, it’s been two weeks without, so it’s fairly a moot point now.
3) Spicy food. Sniff. Alas, the tribulations of past youth.
4) Long stints at the computer. So, this whole blogging and writing thing is on pause.

In other news? I’m annoyed. Don’t be sick, it sucks.

And if you were one of those chicken littles, running about broadcasting insane claims about and impending end of the world due to a physics experiment in Switzerland, for shame. Don’t be messing with quantum physics. It’ll mess with you.

I did recently read Flashforward by Robert J Sawyer which is definitely recommended. And related to this particular topic, by the way. Just saying.

The chain of events goes something like this:

1) Brad and his family travel to the fine (but chilly) city of Calgary to visit with a handful of folks (of to whom they happen to be related) who choose to live there for some reason, and also to attend a performance of Cirque du Soleil. The girls’ grandparents take up the babysitting challenge, perform splendidly, guaranteeing them many more years of babysitting privileges (at absolutely no cost to them it might be added) and a free breakfast the next morning.

2) While attending Cirque du Soleil, Brad spots a souvenir set of juggling balls in the merchandise tent, but doesn’t bother to buy them, opting instead to travel home and forget about circuses for a few days. No worries. No regrets. Just fond memories stored in his head for a rainy day.

3) Rainy day. After returning home, Brad tries to juggle with a collection of small, stuffed children’s toys and not only fails to coordinate three simultaneous objects in the air, but fails miserably with two as well. He also discovers his skill with just a single object tossed between the hands leaves much to be desired.

4) Brad hunts down an online store that sells juggling balls, and then waits patiently until said balls are delivered. Meanwhile he ponders the rash decision-making process that leads one from attempting and failing at a highly coordinated skill to buying the so-called tools of the trade from the Internet.

5) To be determined…

With only a couple weeks to go before I settle into my new flexi-schedule at work and drop down to a four-day-per-week long-hours plan so Claire and I get a day together without Karin, I was thinking I should add a new series to the blog chronicling those sure-to-be fleeting days spent with the girl. After all, should some day someone need to look back for some insight on the effort — Claire, myself, or some other abstract third party considering the endeavor for themselves — it wouldn’t hurt to have a neat little reference to remember it all by. That, and its probably one of the more interesting things I’ll be doing this fall.

Ah, the excuses of blogging.

To kick things off, Daddy Days Part Zero — the preface, prelude, teaser-trailer — is this, and is nothing more than the nifty little fact that Karin toddled herself off to a work-esque function this evening and left Claire at home to look after her bumbling father. (She spent her first [half] day at the day-home this morning, to boot.) We ate dinner, collected the mail (as she tottered down the sidewalk taking time to drop into a squat and inspect each crack on the pavement) and performed the regular evening bath-and-storytime ritual before ‘mom’ returned for the final tuck-in. And everyone survived. Amazingly.

Thursday, is round two a the day home. And Monday it moves into full swing. How time flies.

This is a follow up to: Parts 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

Poor planning on my part — or not — but the long weekend played havoc with my running plans.  Ideally, I should find myself running wherever I happen to wake up on any given morning.  On this instance it happened to be in Red Deer for a missed Monday morning run.  But a hectic morning schedule, a sudden drop in temperature, and a late night out the evening before made for a negative result in the motivation department.  That, and I’d forgotten my gear back at home.  As I said, poor planning.

Week six is looking to be the turn towards dark and chilly as I aim to move steadily towards that five kilometer per session goal. Since it has been a good five days since the last session (oops!) I’m going to push the dog to go the distance this coming week.  That, and it’s an optimistic goal that September will see us both out on the trails, particularly in this climate.

The Plan for Week Six

Run 6.1: Wednesday Morning, 2 sets of 10+1s + 6 mins, Estimated: 4.2 km
Run 6.2: Friday Morning,  2 sets of 10+1s + 8 mins, Estimated: 4.4 km
Run 6.3: Monday Morning, 2 sets of 10+1s + 8 mins, Estimated: 4.4 km

New Considerations

Cold and Dark: A few weeks ago I was running in the heat and pushing the morning routine o keep cool.  These days, with the onset of cooler temperatures, we’re waking up to 4C-ish morning cool and my sad, short-haired puppy is not impressed.

Hydration: Sparkle looks after herself fairly well, but I’m finding I need to top up the ol’water levels the night before scheduled runs. I know. I know. Common sense, right? But you’d be surprised how easy it is to forget.

1) Copy this list into your blog or journal, including these instructions.
2) *Asterisk and Italicize any items you’d be interested in trying but have not yet.*
2) Bold all the items you’ve eaten.
3) Cross out any items that you would never consider eating.

1. Venison
2. Nettle tea
3. Huevos rancheros
4. Steak tartare
5. Crocodile
6. Black pudding
7. Cheese fondue
8. Carp
9. Borscht
10. Baba ghanoush
11. Calamari
12. Pho
13. PB&J sandwich
14. Aloo gobi
15. Hot dog from a street cart
16. *Epoisses*
17. *Black truffle*
18. Fruit wine made from something other than grapes
19. Steamed pork buns
20. Pistachio ice cream
21. Heirloom tomatoes
22. Fresh wild berries
23. *Foie gras*
24. Rice and beans
25. Brawn, or head cheese
26. Raw Scotch Bonnet pepper
27. *Dulce de leche*
28. Oysters
29. Baklava
30. *Bagna cauda*
31. Wasabi peas
32. Clam chowder in a sourdough bowl
33. *Salted lassi*
34. Sauerkraut
35. Root beer float
36. *Cognac with a fat cigar*
37. Clotted cream tea
38. Vodka jelly/Jell-O
39. Gumbo
40. Oxtail
41. Curried goat
42. Whole insects
43. Phaal
44. Goat’s milk
45. Malt whisky from a bottle worth £60/$120 or more
46. *Fugu*
47. Chicken tikka masala
48. Eel
49. Krispy Kreme original glazed doughnut
50. Sea urchin
51. *Prickly pear*
52. *Umeboshi*
53. Abalone
54. Paneer
55. McDonald’s Big Mac Meal
56. Spaetzle
57. Dirty gin martini
58. Beer above 8% ABV
59. Poutine
60. Carob chips
61. S’mores
62. Sweetbreads
63. Kaolin
64. Currywurst
65. *Durian*
66. Frogs’ legs
67. Beignets, churros, elephant ears or funnel cake
68. Haggis
69. Fried plantain
70. Chitterlings, or andouillette
71. Gazpacho
72. Caviar and blini
73. *Louche absinthe*
74. Gjetost, or brunost
75. Roadkill
76. *Baijiu*
77. Hostess Fruit Pie
78. Snail
79. *Lapsang souchong*
80. Bellini
81. Tom yum
82. Eggs Benedict
83. Pocky
84. *Tasting menu at a three-Michelin-star restaurant.*
85. *Kobe beef*
86. *Hare*
87. Goulash
88. Flowers
89. Horse
90. *Criollo chocolate*
91. Spam
92. *Soft shell crab*
93. *Rose harissa*
94. *Catfish*
95. Mole poblano
96. Bagel and lox
97. *Lobster Thermidor*
98. Polenta
99. *Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee*
100. *Snake*

This is a follow up to: Parts 1, 2, 3 & 4

The last week has shown a marked improvement in both my times and Sparkle’s attitude. Would you believe that she nudged me out the door on Monday, pulled all the way to the park, and was running before we hit the asphalt. She was eager to go, and knew we were running that morning. And — other than a squat-stop half way through — she was more than keen to go the distance that particular day.

I’m aiming for some lofty new goals — particularly in light of the high caliber of this past week’s runs. — and so I’m adding some significant time (well, six minutes) onto the upcoming sessions. Beyond stating that, I’m not going to say too much.

The Plan for Week Five

Run 5.1: Wednesday Morning, 2 sets of 10+1s + 8 mins, Estimated: 4.4 km
Run 5.2: Friday Morning, 2 sets of 10+1s + 8 mins, Estimated: 4.4 km
Run 5.3: Monday Morning, 2 sets of 10+1s + 4 mins, Estimated: 4.0 km

New Considerations

Weather: Again, the days are getting short and cool. The mornings are growing quite dim. And it is no longer shorts-weather at six in the morning — even on a run. I’m keen to keep the pup running as long as I can into the autumn, but those who know her will attest that a winter dog she is not! Short hair, delicate paws, princess personality — so we’ll aim for a ten week program and see where we are after that. And where we are might be a lonely winter on the trails sans puppy.

So you are aware… with my role at the Fringe wrapping, I thought I’d dive head first into yet another photography project. Yes, it’s that time again. With Claire’s eleven-month birthday just yesterday I began a new daily photo campaign that can be located in the cool confines of my gallery; click the image below to locate it directly.

As for the Fringe stuff? Well, you may recall that I don’t actually retain the copyright to those pictures (or — before you sticklers correct me — I have handed over my rights to those pics in good faith to Fringe Theater) so I won’t be posting those anywhere public. You can have a look if you want by visiting and peeking at the slide show on the laptop.