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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

Chaos Theory

Posted January 23, 2008
Twice a year, we visit the World's Most Amazing Children's Yard Sale, a three-day extravaganza, one town over from us, run by a woman who started it small and grew it to epic proportions. Molly and I have bought some of Larkin's favorite outfits there, as well as Baby Freaky, the doll who is her inseparable companion. For $50 we haul away more swag than you'd believe. But the real reason I go is the high I get from seeing how insanely well-organized the yard sale… Read More
2 people found this post helpful 4 Comments

Out of Nowhere

Posted January 10, 2008
Because I'm a writer and spend my days trying to call forth words from the void, I'm fascinated by how a toddler who's learning language does precisely this -- and by how the words, in turn, call forth the toddler. The onset of language in a child raises one of life's great chicken-and-egg questions: which comes first, the idea or the word? When I say to Larkin, "Can you ask for that politely?", she responds, "Yes please Daddy Cooper!" Clearly, an almost-2-year old understands language functionally: she… Read More
1 person found this post helpful 1 Comment

Being There

Posted December 27, 2007

An unexpected thing happened at poker. I play with a group of guys, all in our late 40s. For four hours we drink scotch, tell stupid jokes, and trash-talk each other. We also keep the table loaded with junk food.

Most of the others have kids 10 years older than Larkin; my belated entry into the ranks of marriage and fatherhood provoked considerable mirth, since I'd been seen as a fairly hard case. The razzing can get raucous. But Paul, a college professor, doesn't… Read More
3 people found this post helpful 3 Comments

Aisle Take That

Posted December 12, 2007

Every weekday I pick Larkin up at Fabiola's and ask her what she wants to do for the afternoon. Go to the park? Visit my friend Dan, aka The Monkey? Head to the library and read some books?

Stroll through the center of West Hartford and check out the host of wacky, life-sized bovine sculptures known as the Cow Parade?

Or how about food shopping? "Want to go to the supermarket and have some fun?" I'll ask her.

"Please!" she says, which in her… Read More
2 people found this post helpful 1 Comment

Trial by Fever

Posted November 28, 2007

Over Thanksgiving Larkin was sick. It was the first time she's been really, really sick, and it turned our holiday into hell.

She'd had a few brief episodes over the course of her 21 months -- a runny nose or slight temp -- but always it went away. This time, in the run-up to Thanksgiving, a nighttime fever deepened, and her days became lethargic. Her fever reached 104, and we took her to the doctor.

It was a virus, our pediatrician said, most… Read More
2 people found this post helpful 1 Comment

Chopped Liver

Posted November 14, 2007

The joke started early on, whenever Larkin would go through a phase of total mommy attachment. "What am I," I'd say to her, "chopped liver?"

It's silly, how wounded you can feel when your toddler starts giving you the cold shoulder, the turn-away, the contemptuous diss, the wailing look of horror.

That's the treatment I was receiving last week. Usually in the morning Molly gets Larkin from her crib and dresses her while I scrounge a last few minutes of sleep. Then the two of them come… Read More
3 people found this post helpful 3 Comments
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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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