2020

Person of Interest: Rob Palkovitz – The Fatherhood Researcher

Like most dads-to-be, Rob Palkovitz, then a graduate student, was a bit panicked when he learned that he and his wife, Judy, were expecting their first child. “I felt like, ‘Oh my goodness. I’m supposed to be a child development expert, but I don’t know anything about fathering,’” recalled Palkovitz, a professor of human development...

Person of Interest: Rob Palkovitz – The Fatherhood ResearcherJohnathon E. Briggs

Existing While Black is a Pre-Existing Condition

— April 19, 2020 — Amid the sobering data that shows the coronavirus is infecting and killing black Americans at disproportionately high rates across the country, I see the lives of black fathers cut short. Like mighty oaks and young saplings being leveled in a forest, the virus has taken down proud patriarchs who anchored...

Existing While Black is a Pre-Existing ConditionJohnathon E. Briggs

Making Our Way Through the Boxes

— April 5, 2020 — Among the list of tracks on Lauryn Hill’s 2002 MTV Unplugged album is a song titled “I Get Out” where the chorus begins: I get out, I’ll get out of all your boxes… But if you’re fortunate enough to have a roof over your head, internet access, good health, and a...

Making Our Way Through the BoxesJohnathon E. Briggs

The Five Questions Interview: Dedan K. Bruner – Learning From the Mold of Fatherhood

Dedan K. Bruner does not profess to be an expert on fatherhood, but he has become adept at crowdsourcing insights on the topic of how to be a better dad. In January 2019, he launched On Fathering, an online resource that celebrates the journey of fatherhood by drawing on the stories, tips, and ideas of...

The Five Questions Interview: Dedan K. Bruner – Learning From the Mold of FatherhoodJohnathon E. Briggs

Why I’m Delaying Talking to My Daughter About Coronavirus—For Now

— March 27, 2020 — Days after a global pandemic upended life as we know it, my inbox filled with tips from parenting websites and my daughter's school on how to talk to children about coronavirus. They were well-meaning of course, but here’s the thing: I’m not ready to talk to my five-year-old daughter about...

Why I’m Delaying Talking to My Daughter About Coronavirus—For NowJohnathon E. Briggs

Everything Is Fine Until It Isn’t: The Week COVID-19 Canceled Life

— March 14, 2020 — Everything is fine until it isn’t. I was in the middle of hosting a webinar at work on Wednesday, March 11 when my silenced cell phone flashed with a call from my Dear Wife (DW). I let it go to voicemail but quickly sent her a text. Me: Hosting a webinar until...

Everything Is Fine Until It Isn’t: The Week COVID-19 Canceled LifeJohnathon E. Briggs

Living Life Among the Adjustments

— March 8, 2020 — In a few months, my wife and I will mark 11 years of marriage. That’s 4,015 days. A lot of living has happened in that span of time. We completed our educational journeys (I finished grad school; my wife, law school.) We survived our Landlord Years, discovering all too late we...

Living Life Among the AdjustmentsJohnathon E. Briggs

Coming Soon: The Five Questions Interview

— March 3, 2020 —   The Five Questions interview will be a series of conversations with 40-something fathers in which we ask: Describe your father or the father figure who most influenced you. What did they teach you about life? What does fatherhood mean to you? What advice would you give to your younger self? What has been the...

Coming Soon: The Five Questions InterviewJohnathon E. Briggs

How Parental “Time Pressure” Helps Me Prioritize

— February 9, 2020 — Somewhere along the way you reach the age when you have no more fucks to give. I think it hits sometime in your 40s. If you’re lucky or just an old soul, the epiphany will come sooner. You used to care what people thought about you, but realized they’re not paying your...

How Parental “Time Pressure” Helps Me PrioritizeJohnathon E. Briggs

What Kobe Bryant’s Death Reminds Me About Life

— February 2, 2020 — As part of the ritual to become the Black Panther, T’Challa, king and protector of Wakanda, takes the heart-shaped herb that gives him his heroic powers and experiences a spiritual vision in which he meets his deceased father, T’Chaka. “I am not ready to be without you,” T-Challa says, to...

What Kobe Bryant’s Death Reminds Me About LifeJohnathon E. Briggs

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About

Few may know this, but twice as many dads of newborns today are now in the 40-plus age group, compared to the 1970s. Six weeks before my 40th birthday, I became a first-time father, hence the title of this blog.

This life-changing moment made me think about my own dad, who became a father at 43. As my parenthood journey unfolded, I noticed that most of my friends had become parents earlier in life yet, here I was, changing diapers and battling sleep deprivation at (nearly) 40. I told my wife, “Parenting is definitely a young man’s game.” But is it really?

Where most of my friends were preparing for their children’s middle and high school graduations, I was mastering the art of the swaddle, perfecting the one-hand baby wipe, and learning to decipher my daughter’s gurgles and whimpers. It occurred to me that I had so much more to offer my daughter at the sure-footed age of 40 than I did at, say, 28, when I was still coming into my own.

Fatherhood@Forty: Memoirs of a Gen X Suburban Dad™ is a creative outlet to share my experiences and connect with other (relatively) late-in-life dads.

Here are a few factoids about me, Johnathon Briggs, the editor behind this blog:

  • I’m a former journalist (Los Angeles Times, The Baltimore Sun, Chicago Tribune).
  • I love exploring Chicago and the Midwest with my family.
  • I remain on a constant quest to stay fit.
  • I support charities that fight HIV, uplift families affected by incarceration, and ensure African American boys graduate from college.
  • I’m a comic book geek (mostly Marvel, but a bit of DC and Image Comics).
  • I’m a child of the ‘80s, so please expect occasional references to the Golden Age of Hip-Hop.

As a reporter for daily newspapers, I had the opportunity to interview fascinating people and to test out great products and brands for my readers. I hope to do the same for you as I blog about the moments that make up this adventure called fatherhood.

Feel free to tweet (@fatherhoodforty) or email ([email protected]) me if you’d like to collaborate or have ideas for a blog post.

Father on,

P.S. Check out The Art of Conversation podcast interview I did with Art Eddy from Life of Dad.

 


Disclaimer: Fatherhood@Forty may contain affiliate marketing links, which may result in commission on sales of products or services I write about. My editorial content is not influenced by advertisers or affiliate partnerships. This disclosure is provided in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR § 255.5: Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.

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About

Few may know this, but twice as many dads of newborns today are now in the 40-plus age group, compared to the 1970s. Six weeks before my 40th birthday, I became a first-time father, hence the title of this blog.

This life-changing moment made me think about my own dad, who became a father at 43. As my parenthood journey unfolded, I noticed that most of my friends had become parents earlier in life yet, here I was, changing diapers and battling sleep deprivation at (nearly) 40. I told my wife, “Parenting is definitely a young man’s game.” But is it really?

Where most of my friends were preparing for their children’s middle and high school graduations, I was mastering the art of the swaddle, perfecting the one-hand baby wipe, and learning to decipher my daughter’s gurgles and whimpers. It occurred to me that I had so much more to offer my daughter at the sure-footed age of 40 than I did at, say, 28, when I was still coming into my own.

Fatherhood@Forty: Memoirs of a Gen X Suburban Dad™ is a creative outlet to share my experiences and connect with other (relatively) late-in-life dads.

Here are a few factoids about me, Johnathon Briggs, the editor behind this blog:

  • I’m a former journalist (Los Angeles Times, The Baltimore Sun, Chicago Tribune).
  • I love exploring Chicago and the Midwest with my family.
  • I remain on a constant quest to stay fit.
  • I support charities that fight HIV, uplift families affected by incarceration, and ensure African American boys graduate from college.
  • I’m a comic book geek (mostly Marvel, but a bit of DC and Image Comics).
  • I’m a child of the ‘80s, so please expect occasional references to the Golden Age of Hip-Hop.

As a reporter for daily newspapers, I had the opportunity to interview fascinating people and to test out great products and brands for my readers. I hope to do the same for you as I blog about the moments that make up this adventure called fatherhood.

Feel free to tweet (@fatherhoodforty) or email ([email protected]) me if you’d like to collaborate or have ideas for a blog post.

Father on,

P.S. Check out The Art of Conversation podcast interview I did with Art Eddy from Life of Dad.

 


Disclaimer: Fatherhood@Forty may contain affiliate marketing links, which may result in commission on sales of products or services I write about. My editorial content is not influenced by advertisers or affiliate partnerships. This disclosure is provided in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR § 255.5: Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.
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