It’s Not Babysitting if it’s Your Kid.

Last updated on June 5th, 2021 at 12:49 pm

Why the World Has Fatherhood WRONG.

It took me until we had our second child to feel like I was getting a handle on fatherhood, much of the awkwardness I’d had from those early days with our first son melted away as I just sprang into action the second time around.

But I’ll never forget what happened a few weeks into being a family of four when Sarah and I decided to do some grocery shopping with our newborn while our oldest was away at daycare.

How Manulife Can Cover Me — Why Life Insurance is SO IMPORTANT — Newborn Little Man in His Carseat

Grocery shopping as new parents is always easier when you have two or more people do it together, because trying to manage a baby and shopping cart on your own ain’t easy!

(Putting a car seat on top of a shopping cart is a no-no, so how do you carry you baby and have room for your groceries, too? Do you get a second cart? Get a stroller with generous bottom basket like the Uppababy Vista and take smaller trips? You have to get very creative to make it work, but a parent’s gotta do what a parent’s gotta do.)

So, with two of us there to share the load, we decided to split up and have me walk our baby around the store for his nap while Sarah got everything we needed. And as I did a lap past the meat aisle, an older woman not much lighter in complexion than myself decided to strike up conversation about my baby and me.

“Awww—look at your baby! He’s so cute!”

“Thank you!”

“Oh, I miss those days—he looks so sweet while he sleeps!”

“Well, so far so good, anyway.”

“Where’s the mother? She let you take him out on your own?”

I’m sorry—what???

#BlackDadWorries

Last updated on March 30th, 2021 at 10:21 pm

Yesterday, thanks to the advice from a friend to save my Instagram story to my profile, I came up with a new hashtag #BlackDadWorries that spells out how I feel in the face of all this death. And death isn’t even calling it what it is—murder, with Black lives continually cut short, and the message made clear: there’s nowhere out there where Black people should reasonably expect to be safe from a world that’s trying to get them.

#BlackDadWorries—My Two Boys in the Kitchen

My boys are still young, but they’re growing up quick, developing worlds and lives of their own. And while I’d love just to sit back and let them develop on their own so they can build senses of self in the truest sense of the phrase… the world we live in won’t let me do it. Yes, they’re six and four, but they’re six- and four-year-olds who hear they look “dirty” because their skin is darker. Six- and four-year-olds who hear they’re not white enough to play with other kids. I’d love to take things slow, but their world’s developing quickly, and it makes me wonder when I’ll need to sit them down and tell them what the world’s really like.

Do Less Better.

Last updated on March 21st, 2021 at 02:36 am

Table of contents


One thing I’ve been particularly horrible at is learning to say “no”.

The Long Road to Becoming a Better Blogger

They say hindsight’s 20/20, and if my old report cards are an indication of anything, the people around me could see I was sowing the seeds to my destruction long before I could.

The Life and Times of Casey Palmer—The State of the #BloggerLife, February 2019—Do Less Better.—The Pile of Work

We all know there’re only twenty-four hours in a day, but I’ve been working to optimise every minute of my days since I was twelve. I could sleep when I was dead—I had too many ideas and a plethora of interests; it was all about the short-term pain for the long-term gain, and I was confident that I’d reach the day where I wouldn’t need to work so hard anymore.

But it’s been more than twenty years of sleepless nights and wishful thinking since, and I’m still not quite so sure when I’ll figure it all out.

I mean, the question is this—how do you succeed with your content when you can’t make it your everything?

Carlos Diaz & Rob Tinkler | It Takes Two to Tango

Last updated on April 21st, 2021 at 09:31 pm

It’s always nice to take a break from our lives and spend a little time on vacation, but when you own your own business, you need to plan for that.

Eight Tiny Reindeer, Two Great Friends, One Awesome Episode!

One thing 2018’s taught me is that I need to get ahead of my schedule if I ever want to spend any time apart from it.

Chatting With Casey 0013—It Takes Two to Tango in Friendship—Rob, Casey and Carlos

The last third of this year’s had me hustle to get everything off my plate, knowing that as soon as the holidays finish, I have substantial obstacles ahead. So I’ve been working days, weeks and even months ahead to create my best content to avoid ever being backed into a corner again.

And this podcast episode’s no exception.

Recorded on November 15, 2018, after plenty of texts back and forth between Carlos Diaz and me, Chatting with Casey episode 13 started up with a misbehaving SD card, quick sprints to Shoppers and Rexall, and the hope that one day I get myself a studio so I can do these conversations justice.

But regardless, it was a great convo between Carlos Diaz, Rob Tinkler and myself, and I hope you’ll be ready when 8 Tiny Reindeer debuts this Saturday—may you enjoy listening to it as much as these guys did making it!

But for now, you can hear all about it on the podcast!

Parenting 101 | Give Me Some Room to Fail

Last updated on April 21st, 2021 at 09:22 pm

Work at something hard enough, and you eventually hit a point where everything starts to click.

I’ve been grinding away especially hard at the blog, the job, and everything in between of late, trying to make sense of everything and cut down on the clutter that’s always in the way. And after working my way through requisitioning a purchase order at work and finally getting a few elusive posts within mere sentences of completion, it all finally came together. What I should be doing.

And it’ll take so much writing to get there!

Chatting with Casey 0003—Give Me Some Room to Fail—Casey at FanExpo's Artist Alley

So the plan is this—we’re gonna keep creating ’til the wheels come off. Sarah has this dream—that one day I’ll be able to exist without my mind always thinking about what I’ll next use to fill my content calendar.

And you know what? It’s entirely possible… I just need to get ahead. Schedule content ahead so I can step away for weeks at a time without worry. Get back to seeing the people I haven’t managed to connect with in ages.

Short-term pain. Long-term gain. We can make it happen!

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