DADWAGON

Many of the Dadwagoneers faced down some kind of instability this week. Could you tell from their posts?

Matt experienced a genuine life shift: giving up his Frugal Traveler column at the Times, and moving to a looser (and presumably easier) schedule. And what does he do with his newfound freedom? Make wiseass remarks about selling Chinese babies, the ways in which network TV is destroying his marriage, and his daughter’s incipient racism. Then he topped it all off with this cheery little view of the world.

Theodore (whose workplace saw some turmoil this week) was in a similarly introspective mood, musing on John Seabrook’s adoption story and making fun of Nathan’s Tolstoy obsession. He also filled us in on the bizarre family tree (or grove of trees, really) from which his child descends.

Speaking of Nathan, he returned from Russia with a bit of that country’s sour shrug to him. He was uncharacteristically indecisive about his child’s tae kwon do classes (see secondary post here) and definitely sour about the prospect of what he considered the world’s worst Father’s Day gift. (What’s better, Nate–vodka?)

And me: Apparently I just bounce and spin around, reacting to whatever oddments and light insults life throws at me, with no coherent philosophy or approach at all. Unless you, reader, can come up with a reading that ties together Antonin Scalia, denim-printed diapers, my love of paper-shredding, and math puzzles. The only context is the lack of context, as George W.S. Trow sort of said.

Maybe it’ll all be clearer come Tuesday. Happy Memorial Day weekend to all.