#315

Megan is very interested in makeup now. She likes to apply it, wear it, and shop for it, although shopping is mostly just browsing at CVS or Target, not killing anyone's wallet at MAC or Sephora or some Chicago boutique. I don't know makeup like Boy George or Dee Snider (my examples show my age), but I know it can be pricey. I thought of suggesting chicks are more expensive than dudes — as young people I mean — but it's simply not true. Michael's baseball bats are worth a lot of cosmetics. And Michael doesn't play hockey or football; I imagine the equipment cost for those sports approaches obscene. I can tell you how eye shadow, eyeliner, foundation, and lipstick work. I don't intend to be clueless, in matters of female adornment and style, especially as a divorced dad. So what is the stuff that goes on eyelashes called, applied with that little cylindrical brush? I know eyeliner is a pencil. I suppose it's inevitable, Meg beginning that transition from cute to beautiful. And regarding makeup, I hope she learns quickly that less can be more.

One of my favorite and most trusted advisers, Jimmy the Bartender from Men's Health magazine, handled a relevant question in a recent issue: "Do I really need to have a birds-and-bees talk with my 13-year-old boy? Don't kids get all that from the internet these days? (I've had a few talks with Michael already, and I've mentioned the internet in those talks, although not as a substitute for the talks themselves.) Jimmy the Bartender's answer: "The sex talk is a time-honored tradition: Anxious father sits down with son to explain stuff the kid's known about for years. There's no 'these days' about any of this. When you talk to the boy about sex and women — and yeah, you should — focus on respect and responsibility. That's what boys need to learn from their fathers, and it's something they won't find on the internet."

Right on, Jimmy.

"The greatest gift I have received is my son — he has taught me more than anyone, not just how to love, but how to keep it simple....The storms and shoals of the journey help make the man, so I try to bite my lip when I can bear it, and let my son undergo his own mistakes and learning."
     — John Hickenlooper

Bears at Dallas tonight. Bear down. Remember: It's never as good or as bad — or as terrible — as it looks.