Every once and a while (or perhaps more often than that), I realize that being a kid should not be left to the kids. I have forgotten how to play.

I remember this when my son makes a simple request of me, like, “dad, could you make me a paper airplane”? Now, I could respond to that simple request with a simple answer, and make a simple paper airlplane. That would make Jack as happy as anything else I’d do at that point. But, apparently, it would not make me happy enough.

So (and this is where the man-mom differs from the regular mom), I turn to technology to augment my natural abilities as a man-mom. I type in “how to make a paper airlplane in Google, and I get this site, claiming to have the secret to “The Best Paper Airplane in the World”…

http://www.zurqui.com/crinfocus/paper/airplane.html

I look over the instructions. Ridiculously elaborate, and yet made from a single sheet of letter-sized paper. I have a that. Now this is what I am talking about. Today, I will be more than a mere man-mom. Today, my friends, I will become a hero. A paper airlplane legend.

So, I get to work, and while Jack’s patience runs out after a couple of folds, I’m in deep. I can’t go back. I fold and crease, refold and crease, and then … tear? Yes, tear. A mere dozen or so minutes later, I hold in my hands The Best Paper Airplane in the World.

Don’t believe me? Here is a photo of it.

Now, cool as it may look, I must have done something wrong. After all that, I don’t think it flies much better than my old four-fold standard. Oh well, Jack loves it. And Lucie is having some fun tossing it around, too.

I’m not sure who had more fun with the airplane – my kids or me. Regardless, I played. And I liked it.

I am writing this post at the kitchen table while my son Jack does his homework and my daughter Lucie cuts up a piece of paper. For some reason that is exciting to her. You should see the intensity in her eyes. Jack is writing “I want this weekend for me to play Twister” in his school journal. It’s fun to watch his adventures in (mis)spelling. Weekend becomes “wicand”. Whoops, I’m getting distracted.

Distraction has become a major part of my life, and with so much going on these days – so many new experiences finding their way to the doorstep of each moment – I don’t want to get lost in the shuffle. I need a way to remember these wonderful, crazy moments with my young children. Perhaps that’s why I’ve decided to start blogging my adventures as a “ManMom”.

At the beginning of December, my wife Christie went to work full time and so did I – as a stay at home dad. As a ManMom. My kids are both at home at least part of the day. Jack is in half-day Kindergarten and Lucie goes to playschool 3 afternoons a week. So, when I’m not driving the half hour each way between schools, I’m feeding, cleaning, clothing, cleaning again, re-clothing, bathroom-tripping, cleaning and entertaining the kids. And cooking a mean dinner. And doing the laundry. And striving for some quality time with them too. And then, seeking out some moments of solace for myself. Want to guess how often that happens?

In the midst of all this madness, I realized a good deal of it is actually pretty entertaining stuff. I laugh at the situations I find myself in at least once a week, most times once a day. Some of the experiences are worth sharing with friends and family, and that brings me to my ManMom blog.

I hope you will enjoy my forages into the uncharted territory of the ManMom – a creature spotted more often these days, I think. I hope I’m right, and can hear back from some of you fellow travelers on these strange streets. Tips and stories from regular moms are welcome, too.

Here’s a brief story from this morning.

My son Jack has invented a new instrument. It’s one I’ve heard before – the mouth applied to the bare arm and then blown to make a “raspberry noise”. Or, a noise apparent from the new name Jack has assigned to this musical tool; the “Fart-tar”. Yes, sometimes I love being a ManMom.

But now, it’s off to fold a paper-airplane for Jack and convince Lucie that she does in fact need a nap. Because she really does.

ManMom out.