(But not at the same time; that could be dangerous.) Today, I highlight two very cool creative fathers – one whose writing I’ve read gratefully for seven years, and a friend of his who’s taking his son on the adventure of his young life.
My friend Michael is a brilliant writer and father of two almost unnaturally gorgeous little girls, one of whom is currently being potty-trained. The Poop Monologues is a running list of things his two-year-old says while pooping, or while trying to. My favorites are “My drink. MILK ON IT,” “My school, my lunch, my turn around, my sleep, my poop. Itsy bitsy SPIDER,” and “My got bunga bunga chair. MY MOVE IT.” And this is just the beginning… Follow his tweets for small doses of surreal hilarity.
A few years down the parenting line, his friend, Matt, has an eleven-year-old son whose passion for skateboarding has led his family on an unusual educational path: 50 Skate Kid Learns the U.S..
The idea germinated during a frustrating homework assignment about North Dakota, when Logan declared that he “would learn more by actually going to North Dakota!” Somehow, this led to a discussion about “hands on” learning and pursuing one’s passion (skateboarding, in Logan’s case). The result is a very interesting plan for sixth grade.
From September until May, Logan will skate in each of the 50 states, while seeing the country first-hand and completing his sixth grade coursework from his teacher back home in New Hampshire. He’ll also visit local museums along the way (I admit to being jealous of this more than the skating) and check in nightly with his mom and sister.
Besides being friends, clear attention and focus on their kids’ unique presence in the world is what links these two fathers, in my mind. One of the things that I admire most in people is the ability to see clearly the person in front of them and speak that truth, not avoiding or ignoring the challenging parts of another. Cheers to these two dads for doing exactly that!
—–
Beauty in a Wicked World is a weekly column by Jennifer Gandin Le. It appears on Wednesdays.
Hi Jennifer! It’s been weeks since this was posted, but I’m just seeing it tonight, oddly enough after googling “poop monologues” out of curiosity.
(Okay, there’s a sentence I could not have imagined uttering ten years ago.)
Thanks for the poop-love and the kind words — you always motivate me in the best ways.
I’ll be sure to pass this along to Matt as well, even though he’s kicking my @$$ in the “World’s Greatest Dad” sweepstakes.
Jennifer,
Thanks very much for your remarks. Sometimes I get bogged down in the daily logistics of this trip, and I forget how exciting it is, on the whole. I must also share credit with my wife, who is keeping the home fires burning, while Logan and I execute the idea that she helped cook up!
-Matt Winkler
currently in Jacksonville, FL
Hey Michael and Matt, thanks for chiming in here!
Matt, I’m glad you pointed out that you share the credit with your wife. It makes sense that only a powerful and solid team of co-parents could implement such a non-traditional and exciting project for their child.
And Michael, I think that teaching a child to put their poop in the socially appropriate places is well worth a World’s Greatest Dad award. Her future friends and co-workers will certainly thank you.
[...] Gandon Le. Meeting her in person after weeks of virtual contact (she introduced herself and blogged about 50skatekid a few months ago) made me realize that we are points on another map, layered on [...]