728x90


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

Nurturing and Measuring

Posted April 16, 2008
First, thanks to those who posted after my blog on failure. It's nice to know that so many other parents of toddlers live half-buried amid mountains of stuff they're forever shoveling into the "guest" room. And laughing ruefully at the occasional reminder of life without little kids. Last week I saw a lifestyle article in the New York Times, titled "A Weekend Affair With Plants." The writer discussed how " the challenges of nurturing flower beds and vegetable… Read More

Unearthing

Posted April 02, 2008
Yesterday I went to a real estate closing. For months we've been trying to sell my mother's house, the one she was living in when she died of lung cancer a year and a half ago. For a while it looked like one of my sisters might move in, but finally that didn't work out, so we put the house on the market. It lingered and lingered, and eventually sold for 20 percent less than our mother had paid for… Read More
1 person found this post helpful 2 Comments

The Failure

Posted March 19, 2008

This is going to be a less polished column than usual, really more of a primal scream. Here it is, in plain English: I feel like a failure. Not with Larkin, not in my role as her dad. Just everywhere else in my life.

Aaaarrrrggghh!

The problem is time, time, time — the lack of it. Molly and I both work a lot, and we were already too busy before Larkin. Now, with her as our number one priority, we can't keep… Read More

Scary Mysteries

Posted March 05, 2008
… Read More
1 person found this post helpful

Joys of Cooking

Posted February 20, 2008

For the past few months Larkin has been helping me make coffee in the morning. This began as a way to pry her free from the books she makes us read as soon as we take her out of her crib. "Want to go downstairs and have breakfast?" we ask, after the third book. "Want to help Dada make coffee?"

"Yeah!" she says.

So I take my little barista downstairs and into the pantry. She stands on the countertop, and… Read More

Powering Down

Posted February 07, 2008

You know how sometimes, before your child is born, or when she's still a tiny infant, you and your spouse raise these hypothetical questions about how she'll turn out? What if she hates sports? What if she's uninterested in school? You reassure yourself that everything will be fine, you'll love her no matter what she does or doesn't like.

But what if she doesn't like to read?

Of the things Molly and I hope to transmit to Larkin, a love of books… Read More
1 person found this post helpful
300x250

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

View My Profile View My Guestbook
April 2010
November 2009
September 2009
August 2009
June 2009
May 2009
April 2009
March 2009
February 2009
January 2009
December 2008
November 2008
October 2008
September 2008
July 2008
June 2008
May 2008
April 2008
March 2008
February 2008
January 2008
December 2007
November 2007
October 2007
September 2007
August 2007
300x250
728x90