23 Comments
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Rachel Parker's avatar

This might be the most accurate representation of parenthood I’ve ever read, well done ◡̈

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Charlie Bleecker's avatar

Hahaha aw thank you so much, Rachel.

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Rachel Parker's avatar

My favorite part:

“Wow!” I say.

“You can go downstairs now,” he says.

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Charlie Bleecker's avatar

Lol you can't make this stuff up!

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Adam's avatar

I feel my heart getting tugged in all directions.

My first thought is: I would read a book of this.

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Charlie Bleecker's avatar

Oh thank you, Adam! I'll have to start logging my days more then! Lol.

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Brad Holley's avatar

This is the most relatable story I’ve read in, I don’t even know how long.

Thank you.

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Scott Krouse's avatar

Yes, extremely relatable from start to finish. You just described a lot of my mornings -- except we've only got one.

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Charlie Bleecker's avatar

Honestly sometimes I think two is easier than one!

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Charlie Bleecker's avatar

Oh wow thank you, Brad!

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Stacey Hettes's avatar

How would a morning be different in a house where Sam ran some other time and helped get the family off to a good start? Maybe that’s not possible, but the question interests me as a single solo person with no right to judge.

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Charlie Bleecker's avatar

Stacey Hettes like lettuce! Sam is training for a 51-mile race, and the heat is currently oppressive in North Carolina. Morning is really the only sane time to run. Besides that, sometimes the kids actually do better when there is only one of us. The hardest part is getting them both in the car, and he’s back in time for that!

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Stacey Hettes's avatar

That makes sense. Good luck to Sam at his race. Glad he’s there to help with the hardest part.

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Emma Dorge's avatar

Are you sure you weren't at our house? This was great and such an awesome reminder of write about what is happening because it's SO EPIC. <3

"We are ahead of schedule. I have crushed parenting this morning without Sam"

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Charlie Bleecker's avatar

Hahaha, I love then there's overlap in our life.

Basically I felt really bad after I got home that morning, so I decided to write the whole play-by-play and see what stuck.

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Lyle McKeany's avatar

While our morning routine is much different due to my daughter’s disability, this is so relatable. She gets picked up for school at our house, and she even loves the aide who drives her (she’s known her since she was 1), but she has gotten in the habit of crying each morning. The aide assured us that she’s totally fine once they start driving. It’s still hard to let her go when she’s so emotional and clearly wants to stay with us. Thanks for sharing, Charlie!

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Charlie Bleecker's avatar

Hey Lyle! Yea I think of these new habits as phases. My daughter cries every night at bedtime now, because she's scared of the dark, and I'm just like, this can't last forever. It must be a phase. Thank YOU for sharing.

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Matt Cyr's avatar

Gonna go on record as saying our parents had it so damn easy with sunscreen. The idea that parents do this every day now— we do too, California, for all its flaws, still has sun— is a daily task most simply did not have on their list.

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Charlie Bleecker's avatar

I rarely wore sunscreen as a kid. What are we even doing??

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Matt Cyr's avatar

Covering for the sins of our parents.

With oxybenzone-free 80 spf 😎

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Rick Lewis's avatar

Phew. Wow Charlie. Right down to the hard bone of parental truth.

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Charlie Bleecker's avatar

Thank you, Rick. Just another morning! :)

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Drake Greene's avatar

I'm still trying to figure out how to eat buttery fried eggs and toast with one's fingers. These kids have some great manual dexterity!

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