I'm definitely not perfect, but a couple of things that have helped me out from time to time:
Studies have shown that practicing gratitude can lower cortisol (the stress hormone) by 20%+. You get to be a dad. You get to be a husband. You don't have to do anything, you get to do it all. Be thankful for that, when many others who want those things don't have that privilege. When your kids/spouse are getting on your nerves, take a step back and remember them at their best and you will feel better. On top of that, offer yourself the same level of grace.
Life is really about three things: "The preparation for...", "The participation in...", and "The recollection of..." The most popular is "the recollection of..." Make the memories count, all the other stuff doesn't really matter. Who cares if they made a mess or yelled--it won't matter in 15 minutes, 15 days, or 15 years.
I admire your humility, and the fact that you care enough to post about it with strangers says a lot about your character and the way you view your role as a dad.
I, too, live in Cincy and I ditched DirecTV recently and went with YouTube TV. You get all of the sports channels you could want including ESPN, ESPN 2, ESPN U, ESPN News, BTN, FS1, FS2, ACC, SEC, CBS Sports, NBC Sports, Fox Sports, Fox Sports Ohio, and Golf Channel. I think there is even a Tennis Channel. Local channels are included too.
I have two young kids, and it comes with 3 Disney Channels as well as Nick and Nick Jr.
The wife is happy with Bravo, E, and HGTV.
Pros: Price, Unlimited DVR storage, ability to watch on phone or iPad on the go, a good search interface to find good movies (I used it to find 30+ Disney/Kids movies that we can now take on the road with us on an iPad for road trips). You can't extend recordings which had me worried about sports, but no single game was cut off by the DVR; it's intelligent enough to extend recordings.The picture quality is great for us; it's actually more reliable than DirecTV and not impacted by rain/weather. I haven't verified yet, but I believe it would actually record shows in the cloud even if you lost power. You could also pick up your phone or tablet during a power outage if it's an important game/show you're watching.
Cons: The overall interface is kind of goofy; it just takes time to learn. It's missing two key channels: Hallmark Movie Channel (for the wife at Xmas we picked up SlingTV for one month) and Comedy Central (which I can do without, but would like to have). You need SmartTVs, Chromecast, Firestick, or Roku to watch on all your TVs. I bought two additional Rokus for $40/each and I'm a big fan of the interface. I haven't tried taking them into the mini-van yet with hotspot for a road trip, but I think it should work.
We have Cincinnati Bell Fioptics for internet; if you can get that in your area I would highly recommend. I pay $50/month (after tax) for a 500 MB plan with Google's whole-home WiFi. If you go into a store they usually get you the best deal, and when my promo expires in 12 months, I just go back into the store and they put me back on a new customer promo with no hassle. I actually upgraded to the whole home WiFi this year and increased from 300 MB to 500 MB plan and my bill went DOWN by $10/month. Cincinnati Bell's plans are truly unlimited, and they are a net neutral ISP. I've not experienced any buffering whatsoever.
I'm sorry for all the information, but I wanted to share my experience. I have absolutely zero regrets, and I'm happily saving $120/month over DirecTV.
...they have done a few collaborations with a cover band called Scary Pockets. Check out their channel on YouTube. Think Post Modern Jukebox, but with 70s Era funk instead.
I had a similar experience on StubHub with concert tickets to Mumford and Sons. When they found replacement tickets, they turned out to be cheaper and they actually refunded me the difference. Fantastic company to do business with.
Sorry to hear of your loss. Wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy. I lost my father a year and 3 days ago to his second bout of cancer. Still hurts. On the bright side, he's the reason I'm a Michigan fan. Go Blue!
Some of my best memories are from playing Premier soccer as a kid, but it wouldn't be paramount to me loving soccer.
I think a lot of it depends on how many friends you play with at that level for it to be fun. Teams can be quite clicky. Which can be a bad experience if one is on the outside looking in.
If proximity is a concern, I'd recommend having him try out for a team an age group up. Personally, this was a great developmental experience for me. I went from always being one of the best players on my team to average at best. I had to work harder and play smarter to get on the field.
Hope that helps. I lost my Dad almost a year ago now, I'm 33, and some of my best memories were interacting with him around soccer. I can still here him cheering for me from the sidelines...
Good luck and Go Blue!
IU gave UofM a short field on a couple of occasions; kind of difficult to wrack up the yards given the circumstances. I still don't think the offense is great, but I think judging their performance based on rushing yardage against Indiana through 3 quarters is grasping at straws to fit the "offense is bad" narrative.
Wouldn't you figure if we got to the point where players profited from jersey sales, they would just put their name on the back of the jersey too? So, one could buy a #7 Henne jersey.
...isn't better than Magic Johnson. (Was anyone trying to make that claim?) He's still really good, and can be effectively mentioned in the same sentence as Magic Johnson.
Recent Comments
I'm definitely not perfect, but a couple of things that have helped me out from time to time:
I admire your humility, and the fact that you care enough to post about it with strangers says a lot about your character and the way you view your role as a dad.
I, too,…
Maize in Cincy,
I, too, live in Cincy and I ditched DirecTV recently and went with YouTube TV. You get all of the sports channels you could want including ESPN, ESPN 2, ESPN U, ESPN News, BTN, FS1, FS2, ACC, SEC, CBS Sports, NBC Sports, Fox Sports, Fox Sports Ohio, and Golf Channel. I think there is even a Tennis Channel. Local channels are included too.
I have two young kids, and it comes with 3 Disney Channels as well as Nick and Nick Jr.
The wife is happy with Bravo, E, and HGTV.
Pros: Price, Unlimited DVR storage, ability to watch on phone or iPad on the go, a good search interface to find good movies (I used it to find 30+ Disney/Kids movies that we can now take on the road with us on an iPad for road trips). You can't extend recordings which had me worried about sports, but no single game was cut off by the DVR; it's intelligent enough to extend recordings.The picture quality is great for us; it's actually more reliable than DirecTV and not impacted by rain/weather. I haven't verified yet, but I believe it would actually record shows in the cloud even if you lost power. You could also pick up your phone or tablet during a power outage if it's an important game/show you're watching.
Cons: The overall interface is kind of goofy; it just takes time to learn. It's missing two key channels: Hallmark Movie Channel (for the wife at Xmas we picked up SlingTV for one month) and Comedy Central (which I can do without, but would like to have). You need SmartTVs, Chromecast, Firestick, or Roku to watch on all your TVs. I bought two additional Rokus for $40/each and I'm a big fan of the interface. I haven't tried taking them into the mini-van yet with hotspot for a road trip, but I think it should work.
We have Cincinnati Bell Fioptics for internet; if you can get that in your area I would highly recommend. I pay $50/month (after tax) for a 500 MB plan with Google's whole-home WiFi. If you go into a store they usually get you the best deal, and when my promo expires in 12 months, I just go back into the store and they put me back on a new customer promo with no hassle. I actually upgraded to the whole home WiFi this year and increased from 300 MB to 500 MB plan and my bill went DOWN by $10/month. Cincinnati Bell's plans are truly unlimited, and they are a net neutral ISP. I've not experienced any buffering whatsoever.
I'm sorry for all the information, but I wanted to share my experience. I have absolutely zero regrets, and I'm happily saving $120/month over DirecTV.
Sad day...
...can we call it a "bubble scream"? Discuss.