Lies, damned lies, and a small child
Baobao lied to me. She looked me right in the eye, and lied to me. And not just once. What to do, what to do …? Read more
Papa Zesser
Gardening accident or, That was a week, it was
In which, after far too long an absence, Papa Zesser returns to his documentary duties, reporting on childhood illness, a bad fall of his own, and the fragility of la vie quotidienne. Read more …
A one, anna two, anna three, anna …
Sometimes a papa’s pride and a papa’s thrill are one and the same. Or, maybe they’re not, but they feel as if they are. What am I talking about? Baobao has for quite some while been able to “count” up to 10 — indeed, she could sometimes hit 16 or 17. But ask her to … A one, anna two, anna three, anna …
That was the year that was: Reading 2021
Promises, promises …
In which Papa Zesser looks back at a remarkable year in reading to Baobao (and of Baobao “reading” to herself and, sometimes, us), and commits to reviewing 26 books in the very near future!
Will he really do it? Only time will tell! Read more …
Imply, infer or, What! Me worry? (Letter #043)
In which Papa Zesser finds an un-posted letter written back on July 29th, which looks at his daughter’s slow progress towards speaking — and her earlier long road towards walking — and doesn’t much worry about either.
Why not? you might ask. Well, simply put, it’s the other things she does so well, so remarkably well. Read more …
First loss: A friendship cut short (Letter #042)
In which Baobao made a new friend on Friday and suffered her first taste of grief in very short order.
Balloons have mayfly lifespans, and the thrill of discovering their joys on Friday afternoon turned to tears and heartbreak on Monday morning.
Papa provided as much solace as he could, but was it enough? Read More …
A papa’s delight is a toddler’s terror (Letter #041)
Papa learned a valuable parenting lesson this past weekend: It’s really easy to over-estimate your child’s readiness for things.
We took Baobao to the Luskville Falls trail in Gatineau Park on Saturday, where the southern tip of Canadian Shield descends into the Saint Lawrence Lowlands. Our intention: to hike at least part of the Luskville Falls Trail.
In retrospect, a pretty dumb idea even if conditions had been ideal. The National Capital Commission rates it as a “Difficult” climb, and we had a toddler in tow.
But it wasn’t the difficulty that made us turn around. Read More …
Papa’s Diary – Monsters! (Monsters?)
In which Papa Zesser finds that the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic is starting to wear on him.
And worse, that it is start to affect his daughter’s development.
Yes, I’m angry. Read more …
Ass-holes (Letter #040)
In which Papa Zesser confessens to behaving badly, in the face of anti-maskers out in public.
Should he swear at people while out with his daughter? Almost certainly not! And yet, he did …
Monster! Part III (Letter #039)
“And hast thou slain the Jabberwock?
Come to my arms, my beamish boy!
O frabjous day! Callooh! Callay!”
He chortled in his joy. — Lewis Carroll
In which Carl the Second becomes Carl the Hero! Red more …