Author Archives: Craig
Where are Craig and Alex? »
Posted on January 1, 2011It was a week of contrasting adventures. We had just returned from a winter camping trip in Colorado and were now surrounded by a million people on a city street. While we were cold on our camping trip, being corralled outside for 9 hours in this location was beyond what we could handle. Fortunately, the kindness of three police officers saved our adventure and turned it into one of the most magical we’ve experienced.
A Dad Takes Charge of ADHD »
Posted on January 1, 2011I recently spoke with a dad whose middle school son has been struggling academically due to ADHD symptoms. Missing assignments, disorganization, lost homework, and poor study habits were the norm and each day became a struggle. Fighting over homework was having a seriously negative impact on their father/son relationship as well as the whole family.
Finally, one day, an idea struck the dad who was a business man with a home office. “I realized that my son needed much more support and direct involvement on the front end rather than having me get upset with him late in the evening. So, I decided to turn my office into a war room for my son and I. I went over to Office Max and bought a white board, table and calendar. We track assignments and deadlines and use the visuals to help him break down long term projects. Each night we review the tasks for the day and then work next to each other in the office. It has completely changed the dynamics around homework and his grades have been moving up steadily.”
Great idea dad. While we want our kids to be developing independence and responsible work habits, there are many students with ADHD or learning challenges who struggle each day with organization and follow through. In addition to their neurologically based struggles there is the ever increasing quantity of homework on today’s students. These two factors can end in daily battles for the whole family. By increasing his involvement, this dad took a daily negative chore and turned it into a positive connecting opportunity for both of them.
A Holiday Tribute to My Father »
Posted on December 22, 2010One of the smartest things I ever did was having my father professionally recorded for his 65th birthday gift. We play this song every Christmas Eve in memory of him. His voice is forever in my heart and soul. Blessings.
Black Belt Reflections »
Posted on December 22, 2010In this brief clip from our recent football adventure, my friend Nathaniel reflects upon times with his father. The image of him honoring his father with his black belt is especially meaningful. Feel free to send in memories of your dad.
Adventures at Spectator Sports »
Posted on December 20, 2010Having just enjoyed another Avalanche game with Alex this past weekend, I’m very happy that I took the time to introduce him to college and professional sports at a very young age. In fact, I have a great memory of him being held up by the Nuggets mascot, Rocky, when he was just an infant! As the years passed, we had a great tradition of seeing the CU vs. Nebraska game every other Thanksgiving weekend.
In this clip, you’ll see Nathaniel introduce his preschool son to college football. It takes a lot of time, patience and firm limits around all the treats a child would like to have, but will pay huge dividends for years to come for you Adventuredads who are into sports. You might miss some plays now, but it’s well worth it.
Miles Apart, Connected in Adventure »
Posted on December 11, 2010My 16 year old son Peter has lived in Wisconsin his entire life. My name is Nick and I live in Colorado.
One of life’s tangled webs landed me in a long distance fatherhood situation that despite its inherent heartache – became the biggest blessing in my life.
The love of a father for his son conquered all obstacles in “figuring out” how to build connection over geographic expanse.
A friend recently pointed out that many families living under the same roof don’t necessarily have atunement and connection. Between professional careers, social medias, video games and the myriad of other societal distractions and disconnects – some families lose touch with the importance of true one on one quality time with their kids.
The blessing of my situation has been that the quality and depth of the relationship with my son evolved from a commitment at his birth to be “present” in his life. Although our time was limited to 4 four day visits per year for his first 8 years – we enjoyed uninterrupted joy together.
The attached pictures were taken last summer when Peter came to Colorado for two weeks. We packed the VW “Thing” with camping equipment – whistled for our Dog and hit the open road west into the Rockies and eventually south into New Mexico. We disappeared for 8 days and saw some amazing beautiful landscapes following our mutually adventurous souls without an itinerary or calendar. We chugged through Minturn, Leadville, Aspen, Carbondale, Crested Butte, Lake City, Silverton, Telluride, Durango, and eventually into Ojo Caliente New Mexico.
The great outdoors and the open road tend to land one outside of cell phone and texting “range” . Funny how our cellphones whereabouts became unknown after awhile…
On the road – without all the buzzy distractions of everyday life – a sense of connective “nirvana” happens between father and son by way of quality conversations, spontaneity and humor – all intertwined with comfortable silence affording the time and space to absorb and reflect. To truly “feel” the love.
Quality father / son time on the road is like nice warm maple syrup over a delicious hot pancake
Holiday Adventures and Traditions »
Posted on December 5, 2010One of the most enduring adventures of our father/son relationship these past 17 years has been our volunteer work at our church program for mental health consumers. Most of our guests come from boarding homes or live on the street and lack the connection with family activities. As part of our monthly dinner and entertainment program, Alex and I have been blessed with the tradition of cooking and carving the turkeys for our Thanksgiving feast.
Years ago, Alex would sit in his carseat up on the counter as I carved up the five, twenty pound birds. As the years passed, he was able to start pulling the dark meat and pick up the breast slices for the platters. Finally, he was old enough to wield the knife himself and join in the carving.
This past year, he stood next to me as we decided to carve the breasts table side to make it extra special for our guests. What an amazing feeling to be shoulder to shoulder with my son, helping others and marking the passage of time with this great tradition. I felt pure bliss, wishing that I could freeze that moment in time forever.
Christmas Trees! »
Posted on December 16, 2010One of our favorite holiday traditions is going to the mountains to cut down a couple of trees. Here’s some tips on how to get your own tree!
Tips for Single Parents »
Posted on November 27, 2010Over the past month, I’ve had the pleasure of meeting Bill McLeod and reading his book: Kickin’ Butt as a Single Parent. He offers 99 tips for single parents and I found many of them to be very applicable to single AdventureDads. Personally, I spent 9 years as a single parent and will be writing a bit more on the topic now that we are in the holiday season. He also has a great website for single parents, www.singleparentstown.com.
Reflections on the Cycle of Life »
Posted on November 27, 2010In this clip, you’ll hear Philippe talk about how he and his daughter Harper’s chicken adventure helps her understand the cycle of life. He then talks about Saturdays spent with his dad. Make sure to turn the volume up as the baby was sleeping and we had to keep our voices down!