The Good Life – March-April 2018
Featuring the new FM Redhawks coach Michael Schlact. Local Heroes - Harwood Fire and Rescue, Having a Beer with Too Tall Tom Szymanski and more in Fargo Moorhead's only men's magazine.
Featuring the new FM Redhawks coach Michael Schlact. Local Heroes - Harwood Fire and Rescue, Having a Beer with Too Tall Tom Szymanski and more in Fargo Moorhead's only men's magazine.
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FATHERS // MR. FULL-TIME DAD<br />
I May Have Been Overly Optimistic About Everything<br />
WRITTEN BY: BEN HANSON<br />
A few months back, I wrote in these very pages about how<br />
the transition from a 1-year-old to a 2-year-old didn’t seem<br />
all that scary. I dared the “terrible twos” to bring it on,<br />
putting my hubris on display for all the world to read. Well,<br />
I may have made a huge mistake.<br />
Six months ago when I was feeling so optimistic about<br />
the challenge of parenting a 2-year-old, Macklin was still a<br />
baby for all practical purposes. He was only just becoming<br />
self aware, which means his mom and I were still able to<br />
steer his behavior and mood with great effect. Fast forward<br />
to now, with changes hurtling at us from every direction,<br />
including his increasing cognitive independence, and I<br />
couldn’t tell you with any degree of certainty what kind of<br />
Mack we’ll be dealing with even five seconds from now.<br />
A Two in Three’s Quarters<br />
<strong>The</strong> big shift started the day we were notified by that<br />
Macklin would be transitioning up to the next class at<br />
daycare. His move from the twos room to the threes<br />
came as more of a shock to his mother and me than it<br />
did him… I mean he’s a 2-year-old who’s still getting the<br />
hang of object permanence. Something as abstract as a<br />
forthcoming change of setting — as impactful as it proved<br />
to be — was beyond his cognitive grasp.<br />
We had three weeks to prepare for the move, including<br />
one week of gradual transition where Macklin would<br />
spend part of his day in his regular room and the other<br />
part in his new room. That was when the so-called<br />
“terrible twos” first made an appearance.<br />
Out of nowhere, the tantrums started. And for the littlest<br />
of things. For example, letting the dog out. How dare<br />
I open the sliding glass door to let Lucy out back for a<br />
potty break without first consulting Macklin! We learned<br />
quickly that if he was able to carry out a task, we’d better<br />
ask him first if he’d like to do it. Otherwise, tantrum. “I do<br />
it! I do it!” On the upside, these tantrums only last a few<br />
seconds… but a day full of micro-tantrums can still make<br />
for a long day.<br />
2 / THE GOOD LIFE / urbantoadmedia.com