Rantings of a father of six as he tries to share life’s lessons with his kids.
Comments welcome: Dad@2CatRule.com
In 2010 I turned 50 years old. In the past year I have learned two very important lessons:
1. I will not live forever.
2. Knees and other major body parts are only guaranteed through the first 50 year
It’s sort of like when my first car, a 1971 Buick Riviera, hit 100,000 miles it didn’t instantly die but just slowly fell apart. I think the 100k mark in domesticated males may be 50 yrs, but after that they either become well cared for classics or rust buckets. I personally plan to be the former, but understand that replacement parts will be harder to find and much more expensive as the years go by.
I want to be clear on the onset of this blog, I intend to live forever.
But my intentions have sometimes been much different then my reality. I intended to be retired and enjoying a life of leisure and travel by 50, although my reality is much better, it is much different than I expected when I was 30. So in a very real way this blog represents an insurance policy against my expectation of immortality and whatever reality life extends to me.
The audience this blog is aimed at is my children.
I have a lot of them 6- ages 8 through 23 at this writing. Some of my blog entries will targeted at a particular child ( named or unnamed), some at the boys, some at the girls, and some generally at all of them. These blogs are written to them and for them, and if others either enjoy them or are offended by them it is an untended consequence of my main mission of sharing my life’s lessons with my children.
Three thoughts about format.
My entries are Rules that I have learned about life. I’ve named the blog the “2 Cat Rule” after rule number # 37 , and a personal favorite. I don’t know how many Rules there will be in tota. I am numbering them in importance from 1 to 1000. But reserve the right to use sub-parts (for example #42c) when I want to expand on a prior rule or just squeeze a rule in between #52 and #53. I am not going in number order because I rarely think in order of priority, rather my thoughts are more random muses on life’s lessons as they are reveled to me or more accurately as I remember to write them down.
There will be a natural curiosity about what the # 1 rule is, and so not to over-promise I want to state right now I do not intend to release the # 1 rule till after my death ( should the immortality thing not work out). I know what that number rule is and have in fact written it. Hopefully it will be revealed through the many other rules, but for now I can only say that it is the guiding principal to my life and one which needs to be understood with the reflection my entire life.
I am one of the worst spellers and editors in the world. I have often found it possible to spell a word 2 or 3 different ways in a single project- I do not anticipate this project being different. You will get my points, and if an incorrect application of the English language annoys you I encourage you to make edits and submit your changes in triplicate to my blog email at Dad@2catrule.com. I intend to ignore them and make no edits, but if it brings you happiness please send your suggestions.
A couple final thoughts on this introduction.
I have been truly blessed by having children who make me proud everyday. I could not be more grateful for not only having great kids but having a loving partner in Bobbi with whom to share them. God has been very good to me- and I need you understand before I enter the first Rule that my love for you each individually and as a family is my defining life experience. It is the thing that makes me want to live forever.
I hope you laugh and learn from my thoughts and rules, but most of all I want you to understand how much you are loved.
And with that in mind…..