As we continue to march towards Father’s Day, we here at Life of Dad continue to feature great dads every day. Today, we spotlight Neal Call. Here is Neal’s bio in his own words:
You know Boo Radley in To Kill a Mockingbird? I’m part Boo, a recluse with a (mostly) good heart. And you know Randall Munroe from the xkcd comics? I’m like a low-rent, parenting version of him. And you know that scene in Superman, where Lois Lane and the Man of Steel are flying hand-in-hand through the clouds? Well, I’m Lois, and my daughter is Superman, and as I clutch her little paw in mine, she lifts me to places that take my breath away. When she’s not locked down in time-out, that is.
My first memory as a father is…One of the first interactions I had with my daughter was just minutes after she was born, when she wrapped her little fingers around my big one, and squeezed. It was such a cool moment to have this little thing that I was seeing for the first time reaching out for me so instinctively.
The funniest thing my daughter does is… Right around the time my daughter turned two years old, she started asking us questions about death. That’s not the funny part. That stuff was hard to answer. The funny part is that now the concepts have started showing up during her imaginative play. As in, “Oh, should we have a tea party with your stuffed animals?” And she answers, “Well, that would be nice, but they’re dead. They died last week, and they can’t go to parties anymore. Sorry.” Well, okay then.
What’s in your man cave? Man-cave? Wouldn’t that be nice. My man-cave would have an endless pool, a turret with observatory at the top, a climbing wall, a painting studio, a home theater, and a shuffleboard court. If I moved my daughter’s bed into the closet, I wonder if I could fit all that into her room…
My wife is my hero because… she had an alien parasite feed off of her insides for nine months and then survived all eight pounds of it exploding out of her body in a graphic scene that rivals anything from one of the Alien movies. Also, childbirth is a beautiful thing. And mothers are freaking amazing. And, perhaps most importantly, she puts up with me.
How many hours of sleep do you get each night? Maybe eight? I do pretty well now that our daughter is three. But when she was born, I volunteered to take over all night duties so that my wife could finally get some rest after a tough pregnancy. Plus, she’s got some chronic illness, and never sleeps very well anyway, so it was the least I could do. And it just about killed me. The kid was flipped and would haphazardly drowse during the day, and refuse to sleep all night long for the first couple months. I shudder thinking about it.
If you and your wife could vacation without your kids, where would you go? There’s a secluded beach getaway that my wife and I have done for a couple anniversaries. It’s expensive, but worth it.
If you could go on any vacation with your kids, where would you go? I am biting at the bit for my daughter to be old enough to go backpacking with me. I’d be the proudest father in the world if she really takes to it so that we can explore the country’s national parks together.
What’s your favorite meal? Oh, man, I love me a good bowl of cold cereal. After running the childcare gauntlet all day, the last thing I want to do is cook. Pouring some nice cold milk over something sweet and crunchy suits my energy levels just about perfectly.
What’s your favorite meal to cook for your kids? The simpler, the better. I like doing smoothies with my daughter, since I can throw all sorts of stuff in there and she doesn’t know the difference when it comes out.
My most traumatic parenting experience was… during a diaper change. As I was holding her and reaching for something, my daughter decided to lunge backwards out of my arms. I caught her, barely, but heard a *crack* in her spine. I thought she might be really broken. I was shaking. She looked somberly at me, as though she knew something out of the ordinary had just occurred, but gave no sign of pain. I finished changing her, and she played happily the rest of the day, none the worse for wear. But I about needed a defibrillator to start my heart again.
Make sure you head over, and check out Neal’s blog, Raised By My Daughter, where you can find fun comics such as the one below. Also, be sure to follow Neal on Facebook.
