Daddy Issues: Fathers of confederation, fathers of reconciliation

Names are important as signifiers of who and what we are. They are also indicators of a historical trajectory of which we — whether acknowledged or not — are all set upon together. We’ve decided to name our firstborn of this new generation Russin, and the following is a brief history — cobbled together by insights from my father, nana, great aunts and an admittedly amateur interest in our country’s history — of that name. Read More

Daddy Issues: Provider

A human is growing inside of one of us, and it is not me. I’m having difficulty finding purpose, or feeling useful when social roles are fluid and yet biological ones remain so static. In so many ways we do not want to become our fathers — and yet they seem to be the role we gravitate to by default. Read More

Daddy Issues: Fearing his children would depose him

My best friend is going to give birth to our child in about a month or so. No, we're not ready. I don't think we can be. It's not that I'm not excited about it — it's just that I'm caught wriggling beneath a massive Sisyphean boulder of anxiety when I think of the social, moral and economic gravity of raising another human being. Read More