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Dad on a Lark Blog

by Rand Richards Cooper

Lark (lärk): noun. 1. a carefree or spirited adventure. 2. a harmless prank

Dad on a Lark Blog

Lark (lärk): noun. 1. a carefree or spirited adventure. 2. a harmless prank

A Girl with a Past

Posted July 09, 2008

A year ago, at a tag sale, we bought Larkin a pair of sneakers. They were bold turquoise and brand-new, and at $3, I couldn't say no. The only problem was the size — size 8, way too big for Larkin, then just a year and a half old. "They're enormous!" Molly laughed. I said we could put them aside; someday they'd fit.

Well, that day is … Read More

Now & Then

Posted June 25, 2008

I wrote last time about Larkin's clothes, imagining her as a 12-year-old and what she might wear. This got me onto the much larger topic of thinking about the future generally.

I've never been very good at it.

To me, the future has always been the least engaging panel in time's triptych. The past, I can cherish and scrutinize and preserve. The present I can enjoy. But the future is a blank. I've always marveled at people who… Read More
1 person found this post helpful

Clothes Make the Girl

Posted June 11, 2008

Remember the old saying, Clothes make the man? If that's true, I'm not much of a man. My morning work commute takes me all of twenty feet from bedroom to office, and I don't dress up for it. Sometimes pajama bottoms and a tee shirt are enough.

Larkin, on the other hand, has suddenly developed an eye for fashion. This morning, when it came time to get dressed, she decided to practice civil disobedience, throwing herself on the floor and stretching… Read More
1 person found this post helpful

No Longer an Option

Posted May 28, 2008

I found myself the other day — I mean my self, the person who has gotten a little bit lost since Larkin was born.

I was going through the 3 feet high stack of folders in the corner of my office. This nightmare pile contains things I've been intending to sort out and file since before Larkin was born, always saying "I'll get to it." But I never do. Now I needed to find car documents. A year and a half… Read More
2 people found this post helpful 2 Comments

Sock it To Me

Posted May 14, 2008

Here it comes, Father's Day, and as a new dad I'm wondering just one thing: Um, when exactly is it again?

You might think I'd have marked the date with a big calendar star. But somehow I've never taken Father's Day seriously. When I was a kid, Mother's Day was a major event in our family. My sisters and I served our mom lavish breakfasts in bed, we did our chores without the usual groaning and stalling: it was a highly… Read More
3 people found this post helpful

'Sploring!

Posted April 30, 2008

Instead of taking up some issue or theme, today I'm going to sit back, relax, and chronicle the aimless pleasures of a still-new dad hanging with his two-year-old girl on the first warm day of spring.

It begins with one of those funny nonsense conversations one has so often with a toddler. Larkin and I are at the kitchen window, and she's standing on the sill, watching the morning sun navigate trees and rooftops. I stand behind, lightly bracing her. "Dada,"… Read More
1 person found this post helpful
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About Me

I began as a fiction writer (my first novel, "The Last to Go," was made into a really bad TV movie, starring Tyne Daly), then branched out to other writing. By now I've written for over 50 magazines, including "Glamour." "The New York Times Magazine," "Bon Appetit," and "Commonweal." Away from my writing desk, I'm a chess fanatic and hopeless basketball addict. Oh yeah, I'm also the family cook.

My next blog update: December 24, 2008

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