It’s frustrating — I’ve been where you are twice now. Our next oldest cat is sort of teetering on the edge, and his file at the vet looks like the oxford dictionary. I think of the cost of cats as similar to a balloon mortgage payment. As they age, you spend more and more without much understanding of what that cost… Read more

That’s a tough one. I understand your ambivalence. I’m more of a “likes pets on a case by case basis” as opposed to “I love all poodles!” Is there an animal you both like? If nothing comes tom mind immediately, you could spend some time working with animal rescue groups or even poll friends. You might surprise… Read more

Very true. It’s heartbreaking to see a dog whimper and whine when he notices a strange dog who looks like his dearly departed buddy. Read more

Oh god, I’m so sorry. Read more

I had those thoughts too, usually when I was listening to my dad hector the ref. Read more

Thanks! Alone time is so important — and I mean much more than the kind that leads to bed-stealing babies. After the kids are asleep, that’s when I get a chance to talk with my spouse about politics or chores or novels or whatever the hell we want to discuss. Or, just as often, stare at the TV while it plays stories… Read more

You’re totally right about consistency, and it’s so easy to let that slip when it takes a while to change the behavior (3 years!). It’s interesting to me that you lived both sides of this Internet argument. Every caregiver/parent + child combo should land in a place that makes everyone comfortable. Obviously, for us… Read more

Yeah, that’s a tough spot. Our son was giant-sized like that, too. We ended up doing something similar — removing everything he could hurt himself with and obsessively listening to the baby monitor for any signs of shenanigans. Read more

I agree that not sneaking out is key. I like your chill approach to dealing with kids in the middle of the night. Read more

Hey, thanks! I’m glad you liked it. Read more

You got me — I meant that as a joke, calling back the nonsense they’d shout in ER. I could’ve been clearer there. Read more

That’s some A-level interrogation skill. I’m not that good yet. Read more

My daughter is in fourth grade, and just about the only time she doesn’t ignore me is the life threatening situation — but only if she recognizes that it’s dangerous. Read more

So, the emergency situation is the only one of these where my Dad Voice has failed in actual use. Not to get too specific, to preserve privacy, but even though I’ve been through first aid training, seeing someone in extreme distress in person left only my stoner Wha???? brain working. Fortunately, there were others… Read more

Do you mean the TV show? I didn’t know about it until I googled just now. Worth getting Cinemax for? Read more

Leveling up is definitely a thing. That laughing baby could be trouble. Read more

It was one of the little ones — coupe-sized. If it had been a sweet drift, I’d have been like, “Bitchin’ drift, my man!” Read more

I’m going to buy those today. Read more

I went to j-school. Did radio journalism. Literally couldn’t have picked a more insecure career path. Don’t regret making the jump.
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That’s absolutely the best thing I’ve heard all day. I will now do my best to recreate that scenario in my own life.
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