MY DAD COULDN'T BREATHE
19/02/16 22:11
“What do you mean he can’t breathe?” I asked my sister. “Dad had to go to the hospital but is okay now. But he’s too tired to have the whole family come visit. It’s just too much,” she said as she choked back tears.
Understandable. Conor is 4 years old and exhausts both my wife and me. Imagine what he could do to an 84-year old man with compromised lungs after smoking his whole life.
I bit the bullet. Bought the ticket. And flew from Boston to Austin. My sister and I packed up her car and headed for San Benito.
We gossiped. Griped. Laughed. And wondered. What would life be like if we lived closer. Before you know it, 7 hours had passed. We had arrived.
“Dad, you look great!” I said, since he looked completely normal. “Well, I can breathe again,” Dad said with his usual dry humor.
I called the family to let them know all was okay with Grandpa Texas. We used Facetime so Conor could see him. Conor says, “Hi grandpa Texas. I heard your lungs weren’t feeling well. Are you okay?”
“Sure, I’m okay,” he said as he lifted his arms up in a sign of victory. Conor says, “Good, then dad you can come back home tonight.” I sure do love my boy.
Three more days of comfort, laughs and memories to store away. Good Mexican food. And a few prayers that this wouldn’t be the last time I’d see my dad alive.
“Sister Ko, you sure you don’t want me to drive?” “Nah, I’ve got this bro,” my sister said as we left the immigration checkpoint in our rear view mirror. Seven hours blew by and we were back in Austin.
Next day, back in Boston. How does it all go so fast? “Hey Conor. Hey Val, I’m back.” We hugged and we were one again. And now, it’s our turn to breathe easier.
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MOM GOES TO IRELAND AND CONOR STARTS DRAWING HIS THOUGHTS
20/01/16 10:29
Mom headed to Ireland for her father's 80th birthday yesterday. And Conor has been working out his emotions by drawing pictures. I love it. Last night, we sat in our living room and looked out the front window to watch mom's plane fly by. We live on the ocean and the planes march by our little peninsula every 90 seconds. It's easy to see their logos on their tails and we saw mom fly by like clock work! We waved and hollered and then Conor drew this picture. Hopefully, her plane will keep ascending and won't point its nose down until time to land. But hey, he's barely 4 years old so we'll cut him some slack.
WENT TO SEE THE REAL WILD KRATTS TODAY
01/03/15 21:57
Valerie managed to scoop up the last three seats to see the Kratt Brothers today in Lynn, Massachusetts. The Kratt Brothers are Conor's favorite TV show. Chris and Martin go all over the world discovering different types of animals and then imagining what it might be like to have the creature power of the animal they are studying. As soon as they say, "What if…", they turn into cartoon people and then anything is possible. This is the only show Conor watches now and he has learned tons of animal facts. He told me the other day that a group of hippos are called a pod. That the Cheetah is the fastest animal that travels on the ground. And the perigen falcon is the fastest animal on the planet. We checked his facts and they were, of course, correct. We told Conor that we were going to take him to see the Kratt Brothers just before we left this morning. He didn't really get it but if it included getting to watch more Kratt Brothers, he was interested. He asked me if we were going to go to their world. "No," I told him, they're coming to our world. When the lights went down and the animated show started on the screen, he was all in. But when the lights came out and the Kratt Brothers jumped on on stage when the cartoon characters said, "What if…" Conor sat there stone faced. He didn't smile and he didn't cry. He was so puzzled he just sat there. He never looked at me or his mom. He just sat staring at the two Kratts. He eventually warmed up to them and smiled, clapped, raised his hand when they asked questions. But when it was over, he never said a word about what he had just seen. Never wanted to talk about it. He fell asleep on the way home and is still fast asleep and will be until tomorrow morning. I'm not sure if he'll want to talk about it or not. I wonder if he'll see the Kratt Brothers show the same after today. Time will tell.
THE FARTING DOORSTEP IN IRELAND
25/12/12 13:58
Merry Christmas from Ireland. Although my son doesn't seem to know Christmas from Halloween at this stage of his life. He was more impressed with the door stop behind the door that makes farting sounds than he was of Santa's reindeer making a clamor on the rooftop. Just the same, Merry Christmas.
FLYING WITH OUR 11-MONTH OLD IS PLEASURE
22/09/12 14:53
Is having a kid supposed to be so much fun or have I just lost my marbles? I remember when I was afraid to fly with my family the first time. Screaming babies who rattle my nerves and those around me was a complete waste of energy thinking about. Conor is now 11 months old and a blast to be around. Our 2 1/2 hour flight from New Orleans to Boston was really a pleasure. Seeing my son look out the window of a plane traveling 37,000 feet above the Earth was like being a kid all over again myself. And when he'd get tired of playing and come over and crawl on me like he's a little monkey just makes me laugh. And makes me proud to be a dad.
CONOR GIVES THE NEW ORLEANS AQUARIUM TWO THUMBS UP
18/09/12 14:57
It's our fifth day in New Orleans and we're staying about 5 minutes away from the New Orleans Aquarium. We decided it might be a good way to start the day. So we took Conor. He enjoyed the fishes for about 5 minutes but was really interested in crawling through the aquarium. This didn't seem like a really good idea so we let him sit or kneel but kept the crawling to a minimum. Here he is saying hi to the local eel. - See more at: http://dadsdecoded.com/blog/index_files/archive-sep-2012.html#sthash.fuCD9zcQ.dpuf
MY COUSIN WHIT GOT MARRIED TODAY
16/09/12 15:07
Weddings are such a great excuse to get together and see family you never get to see except at weddings and funerals. This was a chance for Conor to meet his uncles, aunts and cousins. I know he won't remember them next time he sees them but it's a good attempt at starting a tradition of meeting on a semi-regular basis so that he has some roots when he grows up. Conor got to meet his great Uncle John who's a lawyer and likes to duck hunt. And his great uncle Whit who's a pharmacist and likes to bullshit. I wonder which of those traits Conor will get?
CONOR GOES TO NEW ORLEANS
15/09/12 15:10
New Orleans is known for its many shops, rituals and parades that honor the dead. Conor's not so sure he likes the practice. - See more at: http://dadsdecoded.com/blog/index_files/archive-sep-2012.html#sthash.fuCD9zcQ.dpuf
WHEN AMERICAN INDIANS CARVE A ROCKING HORSE. WOW.
03/09/12 15:35
I found this ro
cking horse in Montreal in an Inuit gallery. The name of the gallery is "Indianica". I keep wanting to design and build a rocking horse for Conor but if I tried to replicate this one, I wouldn't finish it until he was completing high school.MY DAD MEETS CONOR FOR THE FIRST TIME
24/08/12 15:46
It's been 10 months since my son was born and I have to admit, I was looking forward to Conor finally meeting my dad. I get frustrated thinking that it took this long to make it happen but with work, travel and planning, here we are and that's all there is to it.
To think my 10 month old would somehow recognize his grandpa having never seen him before would be folly but I still wish he hadn't looked at my dad like he was a complete stranger. I wish he wouldn't have shied away as I brought him right up to my dad to say hi. If my dad was disappointed he didn't show it. He just chuckled and told his grandson that it was good to finally meet him. We then piled into the Jeep and headed home. Once home, grandpa got busy with the pinto beans that have been cooking slowly for a few hours, put some pork on the grill and mixed up some cornbread from cornmeal and tossed it in the oven. I snuck a taste of the beans and gave half a bean to Conor. Here we are just after stealing a taste. Conor's starting to warm up to his grandpa but is still not quite sure. But then again, those pinto beans taste pretty good. Grandpa can't be all that bad.
LUFTHANSA MAD IT DIFFICULT TO FLY WITH A CHILD TODAY
21/05/12 09:03
I'd like to say the flight back to the states on Lufthansa after 13 days in Europe went smoothly, but it's not so. Not because of our seven month old but because of the Lufthansa staff. First, our ticket agent in Dublin failed to check our luggage through to Boston. We had to pick it up in Frankfurt and go through security all over again. Argh! Then, we had to leave our stroller at the gate in Dublin and Lufthansa said it would be waiting in in the jetway when we landed in Frankfurt. No stroller or car seat. Hello baggage claim with a stiff back. Argh! Then while on the tarmac, a Lufthansa flight attendant asked if the infant car seat was FAA approved. After a 5 minute conversation and a sticker on the side of the seat, we buckled back in. Argh! Then upon arrival in Boston, once again, Lufthansa forgot to deliver all the strollers to the jetway and all the parents had to carry their children, diaper bags and carry-ons through security and on to baggage claim. Argh! All this happening in the final hours after 13 days abroad, the trip to Europe was great and traveling with Conor was a real gas. In more ways than you can imagine. "Honey, I think Conor did it again. Must be the altitude."
BOY APE FOUND IN THE TREES OF MOUNT USHER IN EASTERN IRELAND
19/05/12 09:13
Tarzan. George of the Jungle. Chistopher Robinson. They’ve got nothing on Conor Driskoll. 7 months old and a good sense of balance, I found a great place for Conor to dangle his legs and sit on the tree like a big boy at Mount Usher Gardens on the eastern sea coast of Ireland. This botanical garden is probably one of the most impressive I’ve seen with exotic trees, flowers, suspension bridges and flowing river through the middle of the estate. But what I really liked most was taking my wife and son and seeing them both enjoy the strange lush green surroundings of an Irish spring. Conor wanted to touch all the leaves, flowers and grasses. He was very studious and laughed when he touched the pine needles and they poked him back.
CONOR VISITS AN IRISH FARM IN THE WICKLOW MOUNTAINS
18/05/12 09:19
Old tractors. Mended fences. Pigs. Chickens. Cows. Sheep and ducks. Today, Val, Conor and I found ourselves at Greenan Farms in the Wicklow Mountains of Ireland. It was fun watching Conor study each of the animals and try to talk to them in a language only babies and ducklings know. As a dad, I watch my son with an amazing amount of satisfaction and pleasure as his brain grows and he begins to make sense of the world around him. I rest easier knowing that he is finding his way in this world and that he will be his own man. I imagine it sounds silly since he’s only 7 months old but to a dad, I sense that he will be okay. He is friendly, happy, studious and curious. These are qualities that I find both necessary and admirable in a person. And am happy to discover in my son.
CONOR CRAWLS FOR THE FIRST TIME TODAY
17/05/12 09:24
May 17th, 2012 at 7:37am, Conor decided to crawl for the first time. I happened to be cleaning the camera when I saw him and shot this :10 video as he came crawling to me. I told Valerie to come check him out. When she saw him crawling she started crying. I looked back at Conor to see what had happened that would cause her to cry. But he was just kneeling there smiling. I looked back to see if she was fine but she was still crying. Then I was really confused. Finally, it hit me that she was crying because she was happy and sad that he was crawling. It was another one of those milestones that reminds us that he’s getting older and he’ll never be the baby he was. He’s changing. And when it hit me, I was a little sad, too. He’s been such a great baby that it’s hard to admit we’re moving into the next phase of his life and the old phase is now a piece of charming history.
GERMANY TO IRELAND - BATTLE OF THE BEERS
16/05/12 09:29
Left Germany this morning after a week of great sightseeing, company, food and of course, great beer. Each town has its own breweries and the local restaurants serve the local beer. So after 5 days of local PIls, Helles and Dunkels, we left Germany for Ireland. By 1pm I couldn’t stand to wait any longer and when my wife’s father asked me if I wanted a Guinness, I think I answered a little too fast, “Yes.” My son was just as mesmerized at the black gold as I was. We admired its iconic black color and white foam for about 30 seconds then opted for a taste. I don’t which beer I like better. And really, do I have to choose? No, when in Germany do as the Germans. And when in Ireland, do as the Irish. They’re both delicious. And so I leave the toast of, “Prost” in Germany and switch to “Slainte” now that I’m in Ireland. Both mean, “To good health!”
VISITING THE HOME OF GRIMMS FAIRY TALES
13/05/12 09:33
This is Kassel, Germany. It’s not close to Berlin, Hamburg or Munchen. It’s actually in the middle of Germany, about an hour north of Frankfurt. This is the home of the Grimms Brothers. This is where they wrote and collected most of their stories. The first edition was 86 stories that were published in 1812. By the seventh edition, there’were a total of 211 stories. All editions were extensively illustrated. First by Philipp Grot Johann and after his death, the work continued by Robert Leinweber. Snow White and Hansel and Gretel were among the very first stories to make the first edition. And there was plenty of criticism on its suitability for children. After all, in Rapunzel, she asks why her dress is getting so tight around her belly after visits from the prince. Oops, that had to be re-edited on subsequent publishings. I offered to take Conor into the forest for a hike but he refused. He saw smoke in the woods and didn’t want anything to do with the cannibalistic witch.
COWBOY CONOR RIDES THE WILD WEST OF KASSEL, GERMANY
12/05/12 09:39
Today is our first day in Kassel, Germany with Conor. It’s also his first day ever going to a neighborhood park. The slides, swings and bouncy animals are all different than in America. The slides are metal pipe slides and the swings were in a sort of pit and you would climb to the top of the artificial hill and swing into the bottom of the valley or pit and then swing up and out again. It was really fun. Later, we went to a baptism where Valerie was the godmother of her good friend, Britt’s son, Nikolaus. But for Conor, riding the German horse with his cowboy hat was much more exciting.
FAMILY'S FIRST TRANSATLANTIC FLIGHT
10/05/12 09:45
36,000 feet above the Atlantic and Conor and I were on top of the world. The gate agent at Luftansa in Boston had taken good care of us and with only three empty seats on the plane, she worked enough magic that Valerie moved into a middle seat one row away while Conor got her seat for no additional cost. This meant we got to use our car infant seat to wedge into the cramped quarters of the economy class at seat 19A. The 25-year old sitting in the seat directly in front of Conor was the only loser in the equation. Not because Conor cried because he didn’t. He slept soundly from take-off until an hour before landing. But because the seats were so cramped, the guy couldn’t recline his seat even one inch. He eventually stopped looking back in frustration and fell asleep.
Cleverly, Valerie had booked a flight that didn’t leave Boston until 10;20pm. This was two hours after Conor’s bedtime and sure enough, he was fast asleep for takeoff. And as we landed, I gave him a bottle of milk to ease the pressure in his ears and he flew like a champ. Within no time, we had switched from plane to train and was on our way to Kassel, Germany. Flying with my son has always been a fear of mine but after today, I have to say that it was relaxing and even fun. The flight attendants and even fellow travelers are much nicer and gives us all something to talk about. - See more at: http://dadsdecoded.com/blog/index_files/archive-may-2012.html#sthash.6jL33UpS.dpuf
JOURNEY INTO THE HEART OF PORSCHE
29/04/12 17:18
Today is Sunday in Stuttgart and the Mercedes Museum was so much fun yesterday that my colleagues and I decided to visit the Porsche Museum today. It was very cool but very different from the Mercedes Museum. While the Mercedes Museum was about the history of Mercedes with no holds barred. Meaning that during WWII, while Mercedes became an armament factory and had to use forced labor to build the Third Reich’s ammunitions, they owned up to it and spoke matter-of-factly about it. They pointed out the error of their ways and how the Allied Forces bombed the factories to smithereens. The museum was as much a timeline of world history as it was a museum about cars. Porsche, on the other hand, glossed over all the bad times and focused purely on its successes. And all of those successes stemmed from the design flair of curvy fenders and fast engines. Porsche has never strayed from the iconic shape and it was awesome to see the history of the brand all under one roof. The picture here is the stainless steel ceiling at the museum. Since we all know the iconic shape of Porsche, I concentrated on the mosaic-type ceiling that shows a reflection of our world as an abstract painting; broken yet whole.
When my son is old enough, I’d like to take him here. And show him which of the Porsche’s I’d like him to buy me for my 70th birthday.
CHILDHOOD DREAMS REVISITED IN STUTTGART, GERMANY
28/04/12 17:23
Childhood dreams never go away. They just find park benches in our minds in which to sleep on until we one day shake them up when something reawakens our imagination. Today, that happened when i was walking through the Mercedes Museum in Stuttgart, Germany and saw this magnificent race car from 1939. It got up to 387 miles an hour on a nearby raceway. It’s shape, color and stealthness made me relive those days in the 60’s when these were the cars of Batman and Flash Gordon.
HOW DO DADS COPE WITH TRAVELING AWAY FROM THEIR KIDS
25/04/12 17:28
As my team from Small Army and Old Harbor Productions travel together through Europe shooting small films for SolidWorks, I noticed that the producer was taking out a little Buzz Lightyear and snapping photos in front of iconic locations throughout our trip. I couldn’t help but finally ask what was up with all the Buzz pictures. Steve told me that his son is 4 years old and looks forward to his dad taking pictures of Buzz throughout the world. Buzz has been to more places that most of us could ever hope to go. Steve’s son loves this. And so does Steve. After all, he spends about 80% of his time traveling the world to create commercials and films for big name clients like GM, Audi, Gillette and SolidWorks to name just a few.
I thought it would be interesting to do a Google search to see how prevalent the topic is on the internet. You know, to see how other dads cope and offer advice to other dads. The search was, The search was, "How do dads cope with traveling away from their kids“. “The very first Google find was, “How could men get away without paying child support?” The second was by a mom blogger who wrote, “Kids acting out cuz they miss their dads.” And finally, “Moving away and custody of fathers.” Maybe it’s just a matter of bad SEO from other sites but this is what came up. Nowhere were dads talking about how they cope with being away from their kids. I thought that Steve’s approach was a great idea. Where ever he goes in the world, he feels a connection when he takes out Buzz Lightyear from his busy job, and takes a moment to snap a picture of Buzz LIghtyear conquering foreign lands in a polymer plastic uniform that could only be from the future. Steve then sends the pictures home and his son knows that his dad is always thinking of him as he introduces Buzz to new places but will ultimately return to the loving arms of his son.
My 6-month old son has no idea that daddy is traveling. He simply knows that I don’t exist when I’m not there. After 13 days apart I will magically appear again. I expect that he will hear my voice and see my smiling face and break out into a giant smile and uncontrollably kick and shake with delight and forgive me for magically disappearing for so long. And while I love traveling and meeting intelligent people with great stories, I never stop thinking of my son. And when i see others pushing their child’s stroller or hear a child cry, I feel a yank at my heart, or is it my soul, that says, get home quickly. One of the things I do to cope with being away from my son is writing this blog to stay connected to dadhood in a small way. It’s important for me to do something every day that involves my son even if I’m not home. So the blog is one way. Shopping for small presents is also rewarding. And as a songwriter, writing little songs about or for him also scratches the itch of being a dad who may not be with his child but is still connecting the best way he can think of. This to me, is very important to being a dad.
Tomorrow we travel to Germany for our last film of this trip. It will last 4 days and then I will be back home in Boston to see my brave and loving wife, and my perpetually happy son. I hope they greet me with open arms.
If you have any stories or suggestions of how you cope when away from your family, please let us know. We dads can use all the help we can get.
INTERVIEWING THE DESIGNER OF THE WORLD'S MOST COMPLICATED WRISTWATCH
24/04/12 17:36
Today is exciting as we prepare to interview the designer of the world’s most complicated watch which sold recently for 2.7 million dollars. Located in the foothills of the Swiss Alps in Geneva, Switzerland, John Pierre Golay and his cousin Pierre Michel, of Franck Muller Company, are two charming older gentlemen who have opened their studio compound to us. They have agreed to show us the entire process of how they created their newest watch, the Giga with the largest tourbillon ever designed. I asked John Pierre if there were any secrets or proprietary information that we should stay away from. His reply was, “What secrets? We have no secrets. It is about experience; about understanding. If you can make this watch, please go ahead.”
They don’t make any children’s watches so Conor will have to keep asking mommy and daddy what time it is. Considering he’s only 6 months old, I don’t suppose he cares what time it is anyway. It’s either time to play, time to eat or time to sleep. And no watch is going to tell him that!
JUST ARRIVED IN SWITZERLAND TODAY
22/04/12 17:39
We left Paris this morning for Geneva, Switzerland. We arrived at 1pm but as it was Sunday, nothing was open. So myself and two colleagues walked the streets of Geneva contemplating the plan of attack tomorrow as we descend on Franck Muller, the critically acclaimed Swiss watchmaker, to do our film about how his ‘world’s most complicated’ watches are made. Christian was feeling pretty daring and decided to take on the Swiss traffic of lions, tigers and bears. He came away unscathed.
The Franck Muller story is scheduled to go live in September so stay tuned and I’ll let you know when it shows up on our client’s site; BornToDesign.tv. In the meantime, check out the website to see Michael Czysz and his world’s fastest electric motorcycle that we shot back in February.
And now, it’s time to call my wife and 6-month old son to see how they’re doing. Being a dad now, as much fun as I have on the road, I’m never far away from my family in my mind. I miss them. - See more at: http://dadsdecoded.com/blog/index_files/archive-apr-2012.html#sthash.H6iEDYW5.dpuf
BONJOUR, MONSEIUR
21/04/12 17:43
Today, we actually got the day off from filming and my colleague Paul and I started sightseeing at 9:30 and didn’t sit down until 7:30pm with one hour for lunch. We visited the Rodin Museum and got some poignant pointers from the Thinker. We then visited the Champ de Mars and enjoyed knowing that we weren’t going to stand in line to go to the top of the Eiffel Tower. All but one of the lifts was out of service so hundreds and hundreds of people were waiting in line to use the one working elevator. Paul has a sickness for souvenir stores so we visited way too many of them. I kept looking for a tasteful children’s store to get something for my son and finally found a whimsical airplane made from a gourd. I’ll hang it over his crib so he can dream of flying when he gets older.
I can’t tell you how good it felt to sit down after so many hours of walking. But with a quick shower, we were back out on the town to eat dinner with our other colleague, Christian. Christian has rented a bike for 1.70 euros a day!!! It’s a system they have set up in Paris where there are electronic bike racks with bikes set up all over the city. And every 30 minutes you have to find a bike rack and lock the bike. Then you can go to another bike and use your same 1.70 euro-a-day bike card and take another bike and continue your journey. He absolutely loved it so thought I’d pass on the tip.