How my son (and I) grew: the best of 2014

flowers to ring in 2015

It was one hell of year; filled with ups and downs, victories and defeats and the continued growth of my son. This year we watched him grow from a bumbling toddler into a rambunctious little boy. I see him everyday and don’t always notice the change. That’s why taking pause at year’s end to look back helps me to see just how far he (and all of us for that matter) has come. Here are some of my favorite Manchild posts from 2014.

We started the year off with a hangover from Christmas 2013. 

“It’s the middle of January and you are STILL watching The Grinch; there is no end in sight. (Just once you would love to see the Grinch eat that nosy little Cindy Lou Who)”

Then realized that we didn’t need to be internet famous to be awesome. 

“We see this each day and think, “wow! that guy is amazing! What a great dad.” And we are right to think those things. Just make sure that you are thinking these things about yourself too.”

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We thought the terrible twos weren’t that bad,

“For starters, he talks a lot. He tells me what he wants. I don’t have to guess. If only everyone  told me what they wanted and when they wanted it my life would be much easier. He also likes to laugh, sing, and tell stories. It’s hilarious to have a toddler talk to you about their day.”

tried to find balance for both my son and I, 

“You’re supposed to be able to execute balance and moderation in you own life. And there is a sort of fuzzy gray period for most young adults when they stop listening to their parents and start making these choices on their own.”

and realized that there is never a good time to have a child. 

“There are blogs with click-bait headlines like “10 things you must do before having children”. One of them seriously told me that I should join a kickball league before I had a kid. A kickball league???? First, like this is somehow a “must do” in my life and second, that it can only happen before I am a dad. What a load of crap.”

It's exhausting being my child.

It’s exhausting being my child.

I found love for holiday’s 

“As a dad, it is hard not to get in the spirit when you see how much fun your family is having. It allowed me to open up to the idea that this could be a fun holiday. I relaxed a bit about buying candy, put up decorations with minimal coaxing, made time for us to carve pumpkins as a family and got out of work early on Halloween to take part in the festivities.”

and lastly creating my own traditions and legacy. 

“as you settle down and have a family of your own, I think it’s important to let go of some of the passed-down traditions that each holiday season brings. The reason for this is simple. If you don’t let go of some of these traditions, how will you ever have room for your own?”

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Happy New Year to you all and thank you for following along in 2014. I look forward to sharing more with you in the year ahead. My hope for you is that same as it is for me: to enjoy lots of adventures that hopefully don’t screw up your kids too much.  I’ll talk to you all soon.

 

Pat Lemieux

About Pat Lemieux

Pat has it all, family, big old house, dogs, a young son and a quarter-life crisis. He blogs about trying to be who he has always been and be who he now needs to be. He enjoys 90's grunge metal, tasty local brews and the outdoors.