I'm becoming a man again!

With a boy FINALLY coming to our family in June, I feel like I have to reclaim my manhood. Don't get me wrong, I love my wife and daughters but I definitely have become domesticated by doing all these girly things.  So I have decided to create a list of things that I have liked or will like as to best get my son ready for manhood. Manhood isn't defined by just "uber testosterone" things. But those are definitely on the list.

1. Camping- Until two weeks ago, I hadn't been camping with just guys since college. Seriously, there is something just awesome about a bunch of guys in a tent. Okay, that totally didn't sound right. Seriously though, all guys need to know how to rough it. And by rough it, I mean sleeping on my cot in my tent. My back hurts too much for lying on rocks. The heck with that.

2. Fishing- Most little boys want to fish at some point. I fished when I was a kid but that was it. So, I'm buying a fishing rod and getting some practice in so that Garrett isn't embarrassed to call me his old man.

3. UFC- When I was a kid, I watched boxing and wrestling. One was rigged. The other is fake. So UFC is a nice alternative!

4. Working out- I've really let myself go the past few years. I don't run anymore. I don't workout. I definitely need to lose about 20 pounds and I'm hoping to lose 40. I want to get down to 180 before Garrett turns 6 months old. I want to be around for my kids!

5. Building something- We are going to close in our garage and turn it into a new master bedroom for us. I want to help. I'm sure the contractor might charge extra for this but I don't care. I want to frame up the door  at the least. Gotta get practice to building the eventual fort!

6. The yard- My good friend Molly needs to come to Georgia and help me with some yard work. haha My first project is the front flower bed. Oh it doesn't exist. I'm going to make it exist though!

7. Read more Hemingway- I love me some Hemingway. I want my kid to read the short story "The Big Two-Hearted River part 2" and know what it is to be an outdoor man.

8. Get off the computer more- I spend way too much time on the computer. I might just have to delete my Facebook account to get this done. I'm so over it. I need to spend more time doing things around the house (more building) and less killing time.


9. Sports- I played tennis pretty competively for about 6 years in high school and in college (intramurals). Was I the best? Nahh. But it kept me in shape and was fun.

10. Subscribe to Maxim Magazine- A boy needs to see some bikini clad babes from time to time. I am doing this only for him...


I am sure I'll come up with more things later but I'm definitely starting this soon. Especially number 10.