Growing up in the ’80s and ’90s, I watched a lot of sitcoms. The TGIF lineup on ABC was a mainstay. As I watched those 1990s TV shows, I naturally identified more with the children. I’d see little pieces of me when Stephanie Tanner got bullied at school or Robbie Sinclair questioned the meaning of […] ~~ Continue reading Top 16 TV Sitcom Dads From the 1990s (As Voted By You!) on Beyond the Rhetoric ..read more

Last month, we embarked on a Five Dads Go Wild adventure on Vancouver Island. Except, two of the dads injured themselves just before the trip and we called in a local sub. So, it was just four dads on this #5DadsGoWild excursion. And maybe it wasn’t all that wild, because we stayed at a resort? […] ~~ Continue reading Five Dads Go Wild 2024: Sooke Edition on Beyond the Rhetoric ..read more

For the last few years, I’ve been setting “goals” of varying specificity for my “new year’s resolutions.” You might remember when I recently reflected on my goals for 2023. After taking some time to think about it — as I am often apt to do, to overthink it, really — I’ve decided to return to […] ~~ Continue reading A Return to Guiding Words for 2024 on Beyond the Rhetoric ..read more

What gets measured gets done. Or is that what gets measured get managed? In any case, I’m a big proponent of gamifying a lot of what I do. As nerdy as it may sound, I actually enjoy tracking things and playing around with the metrics of it all. To that end, just as I did […] ~~ Continue reading A Year By the Numbers (2023 Review) on Beyond the Rhetoric ..read more

It will never be enough, will it? As a child, I experienced several instances where I was made to feel “special” or “gifted” in some way. This inevitably (over)inflated my ego and I built up these big dreams for what I’d accomplish with my life. I’d be rich and famous and renowned and respected. None […] ~~ Continue reading Gifted With Mediocrity on Beyond the Rhetoric ..read more

I know. We’ve still got a whole month and a bit to go in 2023. There’s still, like, 10 percent of the year left. Even so, I feel like we’re far enough along that I have some perspective on how I did with my goals for 2023. It’s like getting your report card in the […] ~~ Continue reading My Report Card: 2023 Goals and How They Went on Beyond the Rhetoric ..read more

Among all the other things we have to deal with these days, screen time has quickly become a big issue for today’s parents. It can feel really hard to get our kids off our screens. We can feel like bad parents for letting them indulge in YouTube rabbit roles and prolonged Minecraft sessions. There has […] ~~ Continue reading Childhood Unplugged: How Katherine Martinko Gets Kids Off Screens (And How You Can Too) on Beyond the Rhetoric ..read more

Okay. So, there is definitely more than one big problem with social comparison. Especially in this digital age of instant gratification, overstimulation and social media, we’re constantly comparing our lives with the other people we see online. Believe me, I get it. And it’s a very hard habit to drop. I’m right there with you. […] ~~ Continue reading A Big Problem With Social Comparison on Beyond the Rhetoric ..read more

All some dads want for Father’s Day is to spend all day with their kids. Other dads would prefer a day all to themselves, away from their kids. And both of these wishes are equally valid. While I’d be perfectly happy with either outcome, if we’re being honest, that’s not the Father’s Day present at […] ~~ Continue reading What This Dad Wants For Father’s Day on Beyond the Rhetoric ..read more

Well, this is a bit of a far cry from the original Five Dads Go Wild trip, huh? We started out with roughing it in the middle of the woods, some of us (read: me) trying to figure out how to set up a tent and sleeping bag for the first time. For the 2023 […] ~~ Continue reading #5DadsGoWild on the Oregon Coast on Beyond the Rhetoric ..read more