First off, some kitchen progress news: all of the messy electrical work is finished. Believe it or not, it only took about five hours. Woot.
We’re tidying up, taking photos, hunting for pendant lights, and planning a longer post for Monday with all the details. After Sherry published “The Real $herdog” on Tuesday, a lot of readers asked for a John version. I was surprised—honestly, I thought Burger and Clara might get mentioned before me. Since I don’t have a clever nickname like Sherry, she suggested I go by “J-Boom” for now. It feels a little too close to a certain reality-TV personality for my taste, but there’s little risk of confusion, so I’m rolling with it. It sounds better than my childhood nicknames “JP” and “Petersik.” Sherry included some shared facts about our marriage and daughter in her post, so my list here is likely to be more random and personal. Here goes.
#1 – I don’t always enjoy shopping and decorating. If our blog makes it seem like I’m the eager husband who happily tags along on every shopping trip, that’s not the whole truth. I do join in and often enjoy running house errands more than the average guy, but I also groan when I hear “we need to go out for pillows.” Hanging curtains or hauling things out of the attic that “take two people, one being the strong and helpful husband” doesn’t always inspire joy. I try to find the humor in being the tagalong husband, and that helps most of the time.
#2 – I’m the king of typos. My fingers and brain don’t always cooperate, and my eyes aren’t great at catching the mistakes. Sherry has almost no patience for my typos, especially when I accidentally drop a whole word or two. A sentence like “then I spread the grout with a trowel” might come out as “then I with a trowel,” leaving Sherry scratching her head. She proofreads every post before it goes live, which is one reason I’m less active in the comments. I once confessed in an interview that I loved Sherry because “she fixes my tyops,” and while she thought it was sweet, it turned out to be an unintentional typo—probably the best-timed mistake of my life.
#3 – I sometimes feel insecure about being a stay-at-home dad. I tend to think of myself more as a work-at-home dad, but I still feel odd sometimes for not dressing for an office and leaving the house every morning. Even knowing that being home with Clara is a great situation, I occasionally feel self-conscious—like when we check out at the grocery store midday and I get that “oh, he must be unemployed” look from the cashier. I’m learning to embrace it and be as good at this role as I can.
#4 – I’m a shameless consumer of “new” things. Maybe it’s the former advertising exec in me, but I’m totally vulnerable to new products. They don’t even have to be brand new—seasonal flavors or redesigned packaging will do. I’ll try anything once. If I shop for groceries alone, Sherry braces herself for whatever odd new flavor or product I’ll bring home. Dulce de leche cereal? Sure, why not.
#5 – I sing. A lot. And not that well. Sherry and I frequently burst into song, whether we’re singing along to the radio or making up silly tunes about what we’re doing. It can feel like a slightly off-key, slightly sarcastic Disney musical at times. Clara is not shy about joining in, either. We’re not professional singers—more like the kind of people who can sort of carry a tune and occasionally harmonize on purpose. If we tried out for American Idol, we’d probably fall into that middle range that doesn’t quite make it to the judges. You can catch a brief clip of me singing in a mockumentary my college improv group made, but that’s more of a personal relic than anything else.
#6 – I don’t read Young House Love the way you might expect. Sherry reads and proofreads almost every post and responds to most comments, so between taking care of daily life and sharing the workload, it doesn’t make sense for me to read every single thing that gets posted. I rarely find time to read other blogs, let alone re-read the one I’m part of. If you talk to me in person and reference something Sherry wrote that I don’t recall, please forgive me if I just smile and nod. Sometimes I feel like I should know everything, but that’s not realistic with how busy we are.
#7 – I can get frustrated like anyone else. I’m capable of getting pretty annoyed in the middle of a project that’s not going smoothly. I’ve been known to hurl a screwdriver (or at least lob it toward the ground) when something won’t cooperate, like an impossible mailbox issue. I’m working on keeping my cool, but I’m not Mr. Everything-Is-Perfect during every DIY project. Often I’m gritting my teeth and muttering under my breath. Still, when we finish and look back at the result, it always feels worth the struggle, which is why I keep jumping back into projects even after the moments of frustration.
So maybe my list is less flashy than Sherry’s. I figure most readers already know I’m not some unattainable model of perfection—just a normal dad who loves his family and their slightly chaotic home life. Clara, however, seems convinced I’m everything and more, and I don’t plan on spoiling that belief any time soon.
Pssst: We’ve been invited to take part in a Richmond Comedy Coalition event called “Richmond Famous” happening next Friday. Apparently we’ll tell true stories and performers will improvise scenes from them. Sherry is nervous about having to speak in front of an audience, so if you’re nearby we’d love to see a friendly face in the crowd.
Pssst again: We announced this week’s giveaway winner on the blog—check the site to see if you’re the lucky one.