DUDE, WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?

I picture it like this.

I’ve passed by loads of times. Sometimes I’ve tried to do the whole looking in but trying NOT to look like I’m looking in thing, and other times I’ve attempted to pretend that I didn’t know I was passing by. As if I was on my way to too many important places and things to notice I was passing by. I would take my phone out to check it. I would strategically take a call. Or I would pretend that something very interested had my attention. All ploys to keep me from going back.

But not this time.

Not today, for some reason.

For some reason I decide to go in today.

It’s a little awkward to step back in because the calendar on the wall lets me know that it’s been 16 months since I last walked through these doors. It would be easier to keep playing the game, but today I’ve resolved to go in. And when I go in I’m greeted by an old friend sitting in the same place we always used to sit. He looks up at me, smiles kindly, and asks, “Dude, where HAVE you been?”

That’s how it feels coming back to The Wandering Proffitt after the time I’ve spent away. I’ve peaked in periodically and I’ve even made plans to sit down and write, but for some reason those plans haven’t come to fruition until now.

My last post was on August 22, 2021. For those keeping track at home that’s a whopping 499 days. The last time I wrote here was on my 32nd birthday. It was a reflection on life with our son, Jack, and since then so many things have happened. I’m coming back to my blog as a significantly different person.

I’m sitting back down at the table with stories to tell about really fun places we’ve been and things we’ve experienced. I’ve got joyful stories and observations that come with journeying through life with a young family.I’ve got stories of success, of accomplishing goals I never thought I would accomplish, and ending up in places I never could have imagined. I’m coming back more grateful than I was the last time we saw each other and I’m coming back convinced that Jesus is still the way to the best possible life.

At the same time I’m coming back to the table heavier than before (actually, I’m substantially lighter, thank you very much, but you know what I mean.) Since the last time I sat down at this table I’ve experienced some deep loss and challenging circumstances that I’m just now starting to unpack. I’m coming back softened by experiences that have taught me how to fail and experiences of loss, grief, and unexpected responsibility that have forever changed how I see the world and my place in it.

I’m coming back with a mixed bag and it feels good to be back. I’m looking forward to the stories we’re going to share and the conversations we’re going to have about where we’ve been, where we’re going, and what’s propelling us forward in 2023.

Happy New Year!

LIFE WITH JACK | WEEK 98

One of my favorite authors, Jon Acuff, in his book Finish encourages readers to trade perfect for finished when it comes to pursuing their goals. The idea is that something imperfect and finished is better than a goal never realized because we don’t consider it perfect. Steve Jobs said it another way when he said, “Real artists ship.”: Meaning that, at the end of the day, what matters most is that we see the project through. This idea has become my mantra in the phase of life we’re in with Jack right now. Especially when it comes to this project.

Over the past several months I’ve let perfect be the enemy of good and it’s distracted me from putting my thoughts onto the page for far longer than I would like. If you go back and look you’ll find that I haven’t updated the Life with Jack series in 12 weeks. We’ve made loads of memories and grown together in those weeks, but I’ve neglected writing them down by and large.

A lot has been happening in those weeks – we’ve vacationed with friends, Jack has grown physically and cognitively by leaps and bounds, and Jack and I have logged quite a few miles on my bike. We’ve done it all while running around at a pace that is demanding and worthwhile all at the same time. It’s been a ride and I can say for sure that I’m continually becoming a better version of myself because of our little family.

This week we went through our normal rhythm: work, day care, playing together with some Mickey Mouse Clubhouse sprinkled in while we prepared for Grandma and Grandpa’s arrival. We spent the week cleaning the house and making arrangements because we spent a long weekend with Allison’s parents in Pigeon Forge. On Thursday we drove to Pigeon Forge where we rented a cabin and spent several days hanging out as a family. Thursday was spent shopping a little, checking into our cabin and and settling in.

We spent Friday at Dollywood and Saturday at Splash Country. This was a new experience for Jack and he wasn’t quite sure what to think about all the rides, but we made really great memories. I hope I can remember the joy in his voice when he said, “Yay, grandma!” as he and I were riding the bouncing frogs at Dollywood and the joy he had discovering the water in the kids’ area at Splash Country. I used to pity people stuck in the kids’ areas at theme parks, but now some of our family’s most treasured memories from this phase are being made in those very same places.

It was a fun, relaxing weekend and a large part of it being a fun and relaxing weekend for me was due to the decision I made to disconnect from everything. I deleted social media, I refused to check my work email and I even read a book about disconnecting from my phone while we were gone. I felt significantly less anxious throughout the long weekend and I’m coming back ready to tackle projects and play catch up. In the end I didn’t miss out on anything and I believe this is going to become a regular practice for me.

There’s been one thing I’ve been thinking about for a while and I spent a lot of time thinking about it in week 98. I don’t know about you, but it feels like the pandemic drastically shrunk the capacity I had worked so hard to create in the years since I graduated college. Now that I’m returning to semi-normal rhythms I’m struggling to do the stuff of life at the same pace I did pre-pandemic. I’ve grown increasingly frustrated with myself, but I started coming to terms with reality this week. I think I owe a lot of that discovery to the fact that I disconnected from all the normal noise for a few days. No email, no insta reels, and no mindless scrolling.

I’m trying to be gentle with myself and those around me and I’m learning how to sort through the baggage that has been left behind by two charged years. More than anything I’m fighting to be present and not in the kind of way people talk when they’re avoiding responsibility. I’m trying to make the most of the time I have right where I am as a husband, father, friend, and minister.

That’s what this project has been about – counting my time so that I’m more likely to make my time count. Even on this journey I’m looking back and wondering how the time has passed me by. You can read more about what I’m trying to accomplish through the Life with Jack project by clicking here.

Thanks for taking a few minutes to stop by. I hope this post was worth your time!

Did you know I’ve got a pretty big trip coming up in 8 weeks! You can read more about it here!

I’M GOING ON AN ADVENTURE!

How is it August already?!

If you’ve been following The Wandering Proffitt, then you’ll know it’s been a while since I last posted. My silence here doesn’t mean things haven’t been happening, though! Over the past 7 months I’ve been working toward my largest goal this year – that’s wxhat this post is about. I’ve been dreaming, planning, and training since October for an adventure unlike any of the others I’ve been on to date.

This October, in what feels like just a few short weeks (10 to be exact), I’m going to ride the TransVirgnia Bike Route. Over the course of 9 days or so I’ll ride 567 miles and climb over 45,000 ft. in elevation as I make my way from Washington D.C. to Abingdon, VA. Something about this trip has been calling me for a year now and I’m very excited the pieces are falling into place.

My start date is set! Pending any unforeseen circumstances I will peddle away from the Lincoln Monument in Washington D.C. in the early morning on Tuesday, October 12th. From there, if all goes as planned, I’m hoping to ride at a pace that will find me arriving in Abingdon, Virginia on the evening of Wednesday, October 20th. Between the 12th and the 20th I’ll cover roughly 567 miles as I traverse the length of Virginia via bike trails, country roads and double track trails. I anticipate tent camping on the side of the trail most nights as I spend my days riding, reading, and learning from the people I meet along the way. I’m excited for this ride, but I’m more excited about what I’m hoping to accomplish with this ride.

Early on in the planning process I felt the imperative to use this trip for something more. I knew I needed to do something challenging and exciting and I also knew I wanted to use it to do some good for others. After thinking about how I could use this ride to do good, I’ve decided to use this adventure to challenge myself AND raise awareness and funds for an awesome orphanage and school that some of my friends run in Port Au Prince Haiti called House of Hope Ministries.

My friends Paul and Kate have been serving House of Hope Ministries for more than a decade and they’ve even adopted one of the girls from the orphanage. They do great work that is changing the lives of young girls who are often overlooked by their families and they run programs that make the neighborhood around them better. Allison has had the opportunity to visit the orphanage and we both care a great deal about the work they’re doing in one of the poorest and most vulnerable countries in the world. My friend Paul also really loves bikes and so this all feels like a no brainer.

My goal is to raise $10 for every mile I ride. I’m estimating that I’ll ride around 567 miles, so I’m looking to raise $5,670. This money will equip House of Hope to update their onsite clinic and do some work around their school grounds.

If you’re reading this I think you should check out the work my friends are doing by clicking here and consider contributing to my ride for Haiti here. 100% of the money you give will go to House of Hope. Allison and I have purchased all the necessary equipment, transportation, and lodging for the ride ourselves. Our motivation is to do some good for a good cause.

You can read more about House of Hope here and you can contribute to this initiative specifically by clicking here. You can learn more about the trail I’ll be riding by clicking here.

I can’t wait to see how we’re going to bless House of Hope Ministries together!

Thanks for stopping by!

LIFE WITH JACK | WEEK 86

Life is passing at the speed of light right now. I haven’t gone back to past posts to confirm how many times I’ve said this or something like it throughout the series, but my guess is that I’ve made this same observation a few times. Initially, I thought the speed at which life with Jack was was passing was characteristic of the phase. Now I’m starting to think there’s something about life with a kid that causes life to run at time and a half speed.

The life of parenting a toddler with both parents working can be really demanding at times and I come to the end of this week wondering where the time went. I know there are families out there where both parents work AND they have more kids than we do. I’m convinced these people are superheroes. They have to be. That or they have a time turner like Hermione Granger in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. They’ve got something special going on because we get to the end of each day and the end of the week feeling like we’re both running on empty.

To be clear, running on empty doesn’t mean that things are bad. Sure, there are days where life gets the better of us and we lose our temper or forget something major; but we’re so thankful for Jack and working hard to make the most of the phase of life we’re in right now. This phase is passing quickly – quicker than I thought it would. I can’t believe Jack is now 20 months old! It’s hard to believe he’ll be two years old in just a few months. I’m sure I’ve written about this before and I’m sure I’ll talk about it again – the toddler phase is definitely the phase where the days are LONG and the years are short. Each day feels full, but they pass by so quickly.

Week 86 has been a great one that felt short but wasn’t without its long days. Jack was back at church on Sunday and is getting more comfortable in the nursery each week. It’s nice to have him at church consistently for the first time in his life and it’s great to have Allison back. We’re learning new rhythms and we’re approaching life a bit differently than we did pre-COVID, but having them at church feels like the beginning of a new era.

We wrapped up Sunday by having dinner with some friends. Jack was struggling a bit after his nap and we were nervous about how dinner was going to go. We’re still adjusting to eating inside restaurants and Jack is learning what that looks like for the first time. He was grumpy from the time he woke up from his nap to the time we got to the restaurant, but once we got there he was fine. Restaurants are still so new to him that there was plenty to keep his attention.

Much of the rest of the week was consumed by the blur that is our normal routine, but there is one moment that stands out above the rest this week – what I would consider my first parenting fail.

Jack and I were having breakfast on Tuesday morning before we left the house. We were in a bit of a time crunch and he had decided to play in his breakfast rather than eat it. I was frazzled but keeping it together as I tried to convince him to eat breakfast, but I lost my cool when we he slung a spoon full of yogurt all over the wall. I yanked the spoon out of his hand and didn’t yell, but he could tell I was really upset. Quickly his face dropped and I could tell I had hurt his feelings in a way that I hadn’t to this point in his life. I crushed him and that crushed me. We talked about not slinging our yogurt and then I took him out of his high chair, held him close, and apologized for losing my cool. He recovered quickly, but I felt small for the rest of the day.

This incident reminded me how important it is going to be to remain humble and quick to apologize on this journey. We were never going to be perfect parents and I’m sure there are going to be moments where I fail way worse than I did during the yogurt incident of 2021. The important thing is going to be to continue to apologize and own up to the mistakes I make. Easier said than done, I know, but it’s a worthy target that will help all of us live with a little more grace for ourselves and others.

Thanks for stopping by for week 86 of 936! I’m sure I’ll have fun stories next week about our Memorial Day festivities.

Life With Jack is a series about counting our time to ensure that we’re making our time count. Each week I pause to reflect on the week that was as we work our way toward week 936 – what will be Jack’s 18th birthday. You can read more about this series by clicking here.

LIFE WITH JACK | WEEK 77

Until Saturday, week 77 was shaping up to be a quiet week for us. Most of the week was standard – we worked, Jack went to day care, and we played in the evenings. We were doing life together well and Jack’s head was healing nicely after last week’s backyard tumble in the backyard. That is…until Saturday night.

The major milestone of this week was Jack’s first emergency room visit. Saturday had been a nice and relaxing day – the rainy kind that called for a Harry Potter marathon. We had just finished dinner, a nicer than normal meal, and were winding down in the living room when Jack, as he often does, was jumping on one of the chairs in the living room. One moment he’s having a great time and the next thing I know Allison is picking him up off the floor and he’s erupting in tears. None of this is abnormal, Jack is always climbing, getting into things, or jumping on something; but what I saw on his head when Allison picked him up wasn’t the normal bruise we’re accustomed to seeing.

As soon as Allison picked Jack up it was obvious he had hit his head harder than normal. The place where he hit his head almost immediately turned deep purple. I carried him through the house in an attempt to calm him down and within a minute Jack’s forehead had swollen far worse than I had ever seen it before. We tried to remain calm as we packed the car and comforted Jack to prepare to go to the emergency room. The funny thing is that by the time we got to the car I believe Jack was the calmest and least anxious of all of us. In fact, by the time we made it to the emergency room he was his normal self. He wanted to be allowed to explore our exam room and enjoyed showing off for the nurses.

We spent three hours in the emergency room before going home and going to bed. The most ironic thing about all this, and I couldn’t make this stuff up, was that Allison was scheduled to work in the nursery the very next morning. The next day was the first time the nursery would be open since the beginning of COVID and it would be the first time Jack would be back in church. If you’re keeping track at home you’ll remember that we had an interesting experience at the Parent-Child Dedication event in week 76 and now Jack will start week 78 in the nursery looking like someone hit him in the head with a brick. I know, I know, sign us up for the “Parent of the Year Award.”

Side note for any young parents reading this: We learned that if a child doesn’t pass out, if they don’t vomit, and the bump goes out rather than in; then the child is most likely fine and there’s nothing they can really do for you. Also, check with your pediatrician to see if they offer on-call, after hours services. Ours does and I’m sure it would have been much cheaper than the emergency room visit will be :).

In the moment these things aren’t the greatest to experience, but in hindsight they’re all fun things we can chuckle about as we sit around the fire pit reminiscing. Life with Jack is still so much fun even with emergency room visits and our inability to make it through a single week without a new bump or bruise. Life isn’t perfect by any stretch of the imagination, but it’s a lot more interesting and fun than any perfect life could ever be.

Thanks for following along with us and for stopping by for week 77 of 936.

Life With Jack is a series about time. Specifically it’s a series about the time we have with our son from the time he was born to the time he turns 18 – a period of roughly 936 weeks. We’re counting our time in an effort to make our time count, so every week-ish I pause to look back over the past week and write down some of the things I want to remember. when I look back on this phase of life. You can read more about this series by clicking here.

LIFE WITH JACK | WEEK 76

Week 76 brought with it the first real signs of spring! Jack was able to enjoy some outside play time at day care and we got to play in the backyard for the first time this year. Jack enjoys being outside, so he had a blast running around the backyard with the dogs. That is…until he fell and scraped his head. Thankfully it didn’t phase him for long and, even though his head made it look like he had a bad case of road rash, it looked much worse than it actually was. I like watching him have fun and I appreciate how hard he plays…at the same time I also wish it came with a few less scrapes and bruises.

This week we celebrated a significant milestone moment as we dedicated Jack to the church. We’ve been excited for this moment to come around for a while, and in my role at FCC I’ve participated in several of these services. I’ve always looked forward to the moment where we would dedicate our child to the community of faith and I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about this particular moment and have prayed often that we would raise Jack in a way that would set him up for a lifelong faith. It was an awesome experience, but it didn’t unfold quite how we imagined it would. It was in fitting Proffitt style that we would celebrate this moment covered in bumps, bruises and scrapes.

It started out AWESOME! We had to hurry a little, but we got out of the house ON TIME. I knew it was going to be a good day when we left the house with plenty of time to make it to church. We arrived and Jack was the cute amount of shy and sat in his chair so well as the speaker talked. I was proud of how well he was behaving (him being the Family Team Leader’s son and all that). He was a little wiggly as we prayed over him and then, when it was time for the three of us to go up front for the official dedication piece, the wheels fell off. Jack was suddenly tired of sitting still, did not want to be held, and was not going to be happy with anything less than running around on the stage. Much to his dismay we held on to him through the dedication proper. We don’t remember exactly what we dedicated him to, but the day was meaningful nonetheless. He was happy after the service ended because it meant that he got to run around and play with some of the other kids.

I learned something really significant through this experience. Something I have to continually relearn because it hasn’t yet sunk in. That lesson is this: The experience doesn’t have to be perfect to be meaningful. We didn’t have to show up at the dedication with everything together, free of blemish, on our best behavior for it to be a meaning-filled experience. It was a great day and a great week regardless of all the messiness it included.

I think this is true for most of life’s major moments. They don’t have to happen exactly as we imagined for them to still be pivotal and powerful moments. I get the sense that most of our parenting moments along the way won’t unfold the way we anticipate them to, but we’re going to try to not let that distract us from the significance of those moments. Moments don’t have to be perfect to be meaningful.

We’re in preparation mode in a lot of ways right now. We’re preparing for Easter at work and at home. We’re looking forward to Easter services at church in a few weeks and we’re getting ready for the arrival of Allison’s parents that same weekend.

Thanks for stopping by for week 76 of 936!

Life With Jack is a series about time. At one level it’s my attempt to count the time we have with our son from the time he was born to the time he turns 18 so that we’re more likely to make that time count. This series is my attempt at being present in a world full of distractions. You can read more about this series here.

LIFE WITH JACK | WEEK 75

I kicked this week off week 75 by preaching about parenting. My job at FCC puts me in the position to preach on this topic periodically, but there was an added layer of significance this time because this was the first time I’ve preached on it since we’ve had Jack. Being on this journey with him made this time around feel more significant. I re-used a few ideas that I’ve shared with others in the past and some of which I’ve written about here, but something struck me from this week’s message that is worth being reminded of.

And that thing is this: parenting is a team sport. To raise a kid well it really does take a village. It takes all sorts of people in different phases of life to really journey with a kid and their family through life’s highs and lows. I know we couldn’t tackle the parenting thing without the community we’re fortunate to have around us. We were reminded of this truth a lot this week as we were fortunate enough to spend some quality time with our people.

This week we spent time with my dad before he left on his trip to Florida. I think this was the first time Jack had a burger! That evening was special because it felt like the first time spring was breaking through after a long winter. We also took Jack to visit my mom’s mom, his great-grandmother. He had so much fun playing with her and she gifted him his first little big wheel. He doesn’t have pedaling down quite yet, but he’s enjoying it nonetheless. And as if we hadn’t had enough time with our people this week we also enjoyed dinner with our good friends Michael and Janet Galante. We’re so very grateful for our people and we felt that in concrete ways in week 75.

I thought a lot about our people on Monday of this week. I rode my bike up and back down part of the Virginia Creeper Trail, and the 35 mile bike ride gave me a lot of time to think. I mourned my mom’s passing a little as I rode and I gave thanks for all the awesome people who invest in Jack. On Sunday I challenged parents in our church to find five people other than themselves to invest in their kids’ lives and on Monday I thanked God for the people surrounding Jack. I can’t wait to see those relationships bear fruit in his life in the coming years and beyond.

We’re finishing week 75 full of gratitude and joy. It was a nice break after a few demanding weeks and it helped me reprioritize some things that easily get lost in the shuffle.

Thanks for stopping by for week 75 of 936.

Life can get so loud that we forget how quickly it can pass us by. There’s one area of life that I’m not comfortable allowing to pass me by and that’s the time I have with our son, Jack. Life With Jack is my attempt to make our time count by counting our time. You can read more about this series by clicking here.

LIFE WITH JACK | WEEK 74

This week I’ve been reminded of how easy it could be to let our time with Jack slip away from us if we aren’t intentional. Life has been loud in a way that causes me to mindlessly go through each day’s tasks over the past few weeks. When life gets really busy I go into an autopilot mode of sorts where I’m laser focused in the moment, but look back later and ask myself, “Where did the time go?” I think that’s my way of moderating my stress, but if I’m not careful I can start to feel successful because I’m getting a lot of stuff done and that feeling of success can distract me from the stuff that matters most.

That’s why I’m thankful for this project. I can never stay in that mindless mode for too long because I’m always coming back to this series, counting my time, and getting refocused on the task of making my time count. I can get caught up in the stuff of life for a few days, maybe even a few weeks, but realizations like the fact that Jack is now 18 months old bring things back into perspective.

How is it that Jack is now 18 months old?! Life is moving so fast and his personality seems to be unfolding a little more with each passing day. The stakes feel a little bit higher these days and I find myself stressing more about being a good parent than I have in the weeks leading up to this one. These stresses rose to the surface a lot more this week as our world is starting to open up and Jack is beginning to go to more places.

Jack is beginning to be introduced to a world beyond the three places he’s gone during pandemic! Hack went to his first birthday party this week! It was for his cousin Ava and we were unsure how he was going to do. It took him a few minutes to warm up, but once he got settled he had fun running around with his cousin and watching cars pass outside. Allison and I were really impressed that he didn’t seem interested in his cousin’s presents and that after a few attempts Jack let her hug him. It was fun watching them interact with one another and didn’t take long for our stress to subside. Now if Jack could only translate these skills to interacting with our dogs….

One of the major things I noticed this week was Jack’s increasing love for our dogs. Whether they appreciate it or not, Jack LOVES them. Sometimes he loves them hard, but he’s learning how to pet them gently and give them kisses. Emmett loves Jack’s attention (most of the time), but Oliver may come out on the other end of the toddler phase with PTSD. Thankfully, they’re both patient with Jack as he’s learning and they’re great entertainment when the three of them get to playing together.

Somehow we’re now walking down the steps! Before we went to Ohio a few weeks ago we took down the gate at the top of our stairs. We didn’t want our house sitter to have to navigate it every time she wanted to go downstairs and we just decided to leave it down when we got home from vacation. While it has been nice to not have to step over it every time we go upstairs, it has meant that we’ve had to keep a close eye on Jack when we’re upstairs. BUT it also means that he’s learning how to walk down the stairs assisted. By the end of this week he was making it down the stairs well with minimum assistance. Every time I hold his hand as we go down the stairs I’m reminded that we’re in a phase of life that won’t last forever, so I need to make sure I soak up every moment of it.

Thanks for stopping by for week 74 of 936.

Life With Jack is a project designed to help us count our time so that we make our time count. Each week we pause to reflect on how the week unfolded and remind ourselves of the end toward which we’re moving. You can read more about this philosophy behind this series by clicking here.

LIFE WITH JACK |WEEK 73

Oh re-entry weeks, you’re always a little rough on us. After an awesome week 72 full of grandparent and cousin time we went back to real life in week 73. It’s never easy to come home after vacation and this week was no different. All of us struggled to get back into our normal routines and there were more than a few tears. It was also rough for Jack.

Jack went back to daycare on Monday and for the first time he had a hard time when I left. He’s had days in the past where he wasn’t feeling well that he didn’t want me to leave, but Monday was the first time where he whined almost to the point of crying when I said goodbye to him. I thought the issue on Monday was just because of re-entry vibes, but the trend carried on throughout the week. Hopefully he’ll settle back into his normal rhythms in the coming week. It’s hard to leave him when he doesn’t want me to go, but I have to remind myself that his day care person is awesome and the time he spends with the other boys three days a week is loads of fun and good for him developmentally and socially.

It’s funny, I used to wonder why parents had a hard time leaving their kids in programming at church or daycare when the kid didn’t want to go. I would think, “The kid just needs to adapt, right?” And now I totally get it. It’s hard to leave your kid when they’re uncomfortable or apprehensive. The difficulty isn’t going to change our plans anytime soon, but now I get the tension that parents feel and it makes me a little more sensitive in my work with kids and families.

In the middle of the readjustment pains there is something I don’t want to forget from this week. This week Jack started greeting me enthusiastically at the door when I got home from work. He’s always been happy to see me at the end of the day, but this week he would hear me open the front door and come running around the corner yelling, “Daddy, daddy, daddy!”, as he jumped into my arms. This is one of those things that wouldn’t have felt like a big deal to me if I was hearing it from someone else’s perspective before we had kids, but it’s HUGE to me now. I’m hoping to get this on camera soon because I know moments like this won’t last forever. The next couple of weeks are going to be pretty demanding for me, so moment like these will be what carry me through.

This week a beautiful mess of exhaustion, readjustment, and chaos; but I wouldn’t trade it for anything. Thanks for stopping by for week 73 of 96!

Life with Jack is a series about counting our time. We’re counting the weeks from the time Jack was born to the time he turns 18, a period of around 936 weeks. Living with the end in mind has motivated me to be much more present in any given moment. You can read more about this project here. If you like this project and want to start keeping track of your time with your child, then you should check out the Parent Cue app. I’ve always appreciated the website, but the mobile app is even better! It tracks your time and provides you with awesome content to help you on the journey. I’m not paid anything to recommend this and I receive no benefit, I’m simply passing along a resource I’ve found helpful.

LIFE WITH JACK | WEEK 72

On the road again! In week 72 we hit the road with Jack for the first time since September 2020. We didn’t know how he would do now that he’s more mobile, so we came equipped with what is now and integral piece of gear in our travels – a portable DVD player. Many thanks to the Stephenson family who lent us this trip-changing device and to Sesame Street for keeping him entertained. Because of the DVD player we only had to stop and get Jack out of the car one time. (We also stopped for Chipotle at one point, but it doesn’t count because we didn’t get Jack out of the car.)

Ohio was no different than most of the rest of the country this week. There was snow and ice EVERYWHERE as soon as we hit Virginia. Jack has seen snow, most notably the awesome Christmas snow of 2020, but he’s never experienced anything like he experienced in Ohio. He wasn’t sure what to think about all the snow the first time we took him out in it, but by the end of the week he was kicking and screaming when it was time to go inside. Jack loves being outside and I can’t wait to foster that love this spring and summer.

The highlight of week 72 was the time we got to spend with our people. We hadn’t seen her brother’s family (other than on FaceTime) since September and we hadn’t seen Allison’s parents since October. This time the kids were old enough to run and play together and it was really special to watch them interact with one another. It was special to watch Allison’s parents pour so much into Jack during our time there, and we were fortunate enough to to spend a bit of time with one of my closest friends and his family. We loved every minute of this trip and we drove back to Tennessee with full hearts.

The major highlight from this week other than the time we got with family and friends was that we’re now able to have mini conversations with Jack. His vocabulary is expanding and he’s learning how to respond to our questions. He learned two new words this week: eat and snow. All week he would go over to his high chair, point at it, and say “eat” when he was hungry. And for long periods of time he would look out the windows, point at the snow, and say “snow.” I really appreciate these glimpses into what life will be like when we can have conversations with Jack.

The trip home was a little less smooth the drive to Ohio, but the DVD player came in clutch again. We don’t watch loads of television at home, so this was a good treat for Jack on the drive. I haven’t taken the screen out of the car yet, though, and now Jack points at it wanting me to turn it on every time we get in the car 😂.

Thanks for stopping by for week 72 of 936! Come back next week to read about how re-entry went.

I never knew how much counting my time would impact my parenting. Life With Jack is our family’s attempt to make the most of the time we have with our son, Jack, from the time he was born to the time he turns 18. You can read more about this series by clicking here.