Posts tagged "Fathers"
Dad Is Fat: Jim Gaffigan’s Refreshingly Honest New Book on Parenting
Books / Celebrity / Children / Humor

Dad Is Fat: Jim Gaffigan’s Refreshingly Honest New Book on Parenting

by Matt Schneider on May 6, 2013 • 2 Comments

Comedian Jim Gaffigan just wrote a book: Dad Is Fat. It’s a not-so-serious (but therefore very serious) book on parenting, and the publisher actually sent me an advanced copy to review here on Mockingbird—hence this post. (Can I just take second to revel in the fact that this is the first advanced copy I have received to review. Thanks.) The book will be released for sale tomorrow, May 7th. You can read my previous ruminations and some helpful background on Gaffigan and his comedic talents here, but you might already know him as “the Hot Pockets guy.”

My overall response is that…

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Fathers and Sons
Children / Identity / Relationships / Testimony / Theology

Fathers and Sons

by DPotter on Aug 15, 2012 • 4 Comments

My third anniversary as a father is fast approaching and I find myself asking, like David Byrne, ‘How did I get here?’ I’m 40 now. I’ve got a toddler. I’ve got a proper job. I’ve got a little gray hair. I eat vegetables and watch my fiber intake. I quit going to clubs years ago; pubs, perhaps, but only if it isn’t too crowded, or noisy. My parents have already had one minor surgery each…well, just ‘a procedure‘ really. I saw the new Bourne movie last week with my wife, and I’m not that guy…I imagine that I am, but…

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Thoughts on the Dying of My Father
Death / Relationships / Testimony

Thoughts on the Dying of My Father

by Mockingbird on Jun 19, 2012 • 7 Comments

Before we move on from Father’s Day, a personal reflection from Jeff Dean. Jeff’s father died on April 10, 2012 and this piece was written in early March.

My father is dying.

There is, of course, a certain literal sense in which all of us are “dying,” but the vast majority of us haven’t been told precisely how inevitable our death truly is.

My father has been dying for some time now. He was diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease on Good Friday of my senior year in high school. Parkinson’s gradually shuts down the brain’s ability to coordinate movements by the muscles. No one…

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Long Suffering, Teary-Eyed, Catch-Playing Fathers (and Their Grateful Children)
Film / Grace in Practice / Literature / Relationships

Long Suffering, Teary-Eyed, Catch-Playing Fathers (and Their Grateful Children)

by David Zahl on Jun 18, 2012 • 1 Comment

A couple of post-Father’s Day items to make us all cry. The first comes from Tiffany Thompson and appeared in The Toronto Standard, a funny, honest, and ultimately incredibly touching account of a father-daughter relationship “Disappointing Dad: Reflections on Father’s Day”. One part Protestant guilt, three parts Grace equals more than an echo of heavenly dynamics. Of course, for maximum impact, read the whole thing. For the Reader’s Digest version, look no further, ht SJ:

My dad is one of the most calm, intelligent and selfless people that I know. I’m prone to hysterics and attempt to hide my stupidity by…

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Dullness, Freedom, Children and Fathers in David Foster Wallace’s The Pale King
Books / Children / Law / Suffering / Technology

Dullness, Freedom, Children and Fathers in David Foster Wallace’s The Pale King

by David Zahl on Jun 10, 2011 • No Comments

In honor of what would have been 50th birthday (2/21/12), we thought we’d rerun a post of passages from David Foster Wallace’s unfinished opus The Pale King. If the first one sounds familiar, that’s because part of it was reproduced here. FYI, the second two come from the same character, the one who dropped this bomb this as well:

To me, at least in retrospect, the really interesting question is why dullness proves to be such a powerful impediment to attention. Why we recoil from the dull. Maybe it’s because dullness is intrinsically painful; maybe that’s where phrases like ‘deadly dull’…

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Jealousy, Judgment, and Competition in Parenting
Children / Gender / Law / Psychology

Jealousy, Judgment, and Competition in Parenting

by Sean Norris on Sep 26, 2008 • 6 Comments

I recently stumbled across a fascinating article on msnbc.com entitled “Why Good Dads Make Moms Jealous.” It is a very interesting study on how the law (“you must/you must not ____”) affects and informs parenting, and even divides husbands and wives. One of the factors cited by all of the mothers interviewed for the story was the enormous amount of pressure they felt to be the primary caretaker of their children. Indeed, these moms felt guilty about any amount of time that they did not spend with their kids.

In a day and age when it is common for both parents…

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