Conor Grennan's Blog, page 4

camping

Tent sizing is one of the great mysteries of humankind. Until last year, our family used what was designated a “6-person” tent. I recall sleeping in there with Liz and the two kids and wondering where the other two people would have gone, short of velcroing their sleeping bags to the tent ceiling. This is [...]

mother of dragons

You know that Christmas song, Little Drummer Boy? I always thought that was a terrible song. Repetitive, dull, sort of corny. So imagine my surprise when, after my kids were born, I found myself getting this big lump in my throat every time it came on the radio. I’ll get back to that drummer boy [...]

the fish

Finn got a fish for his fifth birthday. Like all fish gifted to children, this was not his top choice. Fish is the participation medal of the pet kingdom. Fish is the pet you give your child because it requires only slightly more attention than, say, a pet extension cord or a pet scented candle. [...]

the things we try on

When Lucy was born, I had some kind of notion that Liz and I were going to divide and conquer. I would be Finn’s role model and Liz would be Lucy's and we’d have it under control. That paradigm lasted into Lucy's toddlership, as she shed her diapers in favor of a potty that literally [...]

boundaries

I had an embarrassing moment my first day of work 4 years ago as Dean of Students at NYU Stern, and I’m not even talking about the practical joke that HR played on me. (Let’s just say it was April Fools Day and it involved asking me on a conference call if I would agree [...]

the commute

If you told me, years ago, I would commute 4 hours every day I would have concluded either a.) you were joking or b.) that ‘commute’ was millennial slang for ‘eat Twix bars.’ It is one of the first questions you get when you start a new job: How’s the commute? Which is just a [...]

generations

Tell me, parents, if this sounds familiar: When Finn was born, we had to fill out paperwork at the hospital. In the line that read “Father’s Name” I wrote my own dad’s name. There is a moment in your life as a father that you realize that you are more than simply an adult who [...]

traveling with kids

The first thing you realize when you travel internationally with kids is that the world needs to serve more grilled cheese in its restaurants. Seriously, man, would that be so hard? Little more grilled cheese? We can orbit Jupiter in a can but we can’t serve grilled cheese? This is the tension, traveling with kids: [...]

My life, on display

Here's a simple test to find out if you are a robot: If, when you put your house on the market, you find yourself not caring what people say or think of your home? Then I have some bad news - you are robot. (On the positive side, you can pretty much eat all the carbs [...]

jury duty

I had jury duty last month. Everyone had the same response to it: "Okay, here's how you get out of jury duty." And they would script out all these things I should say that would draw looks of horror from anyone who had ears. But hey - no jury duty, right? Nobody wants jury duty, [...]