The Subtle Art of Dealing with Painters, Plumbers, Electricians, or any Handyman You Need

The Subtle Art of Dealing with Painters, Plumbers, Electricians, or any Home Repairman You Need

Weekly Discourse Column

I’ve dealt with at least twenty-five different home service providers in just the past year ranging from your standard plumbers and electricians to targeted specialists in things like radon mitigation or basement waterproofing.

If you include all of the ones I’ve gotten estimates from, it’s gotta be well over one hundred.

“Oh, you must work in real estate or construction,” the casual reader might think, but no. Read More

Longing to Feel Free and Unencumbered

Longing to Feel Free and Unencumbered

Weekly Discourse Column

Any time stay-at-home parenting gets too hard on me I threaten to clear out the bank account and head to the casino.

As I vividly imagined this fantasy on Monday (due to a very difficult morning that started at 2 AM, then 4 AM, then pivoted to a second child at 6 AM and wove them both together at 7 AM), it finally dawned on me that it’s a horrible fantasy because I don’t like gambling. Read More

Shorter Days Can Be as Sweet as a Smushed Tiger Cake

Shorter Days Can Be as Sweet as a Smushed Tiger Cake

Weekly Discourse Column

Every year immediately following the summer solstice I hear someone complain that the days are now getting shorter. It’s particularly jarring this year contrasted against the palpable enthusiasm everyone has with the end of pandemic-related restrictions.

It takes a special kind of downer to cry over slightly shorter days when a year ago they were alone drinking spiked seltzer and complaining that Zoom makes their neck look fat. Read More

Waiting for My Weeds to Bloom

Waiting for My Weeds to Bloom

Weekly Discourse Column

This time of year, homeowners need to keep ahead of invasive weeds otherwise things in their yard can quickly get out of hand.

This is especially challenging for me this year because it is my first spring in a new house.

New things are constantly popping out of the ground and I have no idea which ones are purposeful and which ones are working to suffocate the flowers and plants we actually want. Read More

Overthinking How to Use a Lawn Sprinkler

Overthinking How to Use a Lawn Sprinkler

Weekly Discourse Column

If I had to guess what the most mentally exhausting part of my first solo week as a stay-at-home dad to a toddler and a newborn would be, I never would’ve guessed: “watering a giant patch of dirt.”

Yet, since the landscaper told me to water the spot twice a day “enough to really get it wet but not so much that it pools or makes puddles,” it’s practically all I think about. Read More