Category: Monthly Updates

The Beastwood Files: July(ish) 2026

~ iambeastwood ~ Leave a comment

This may be news to some of you, but apparently navigating the transition from preschool to kindergarten comes with Big Feelings that are hard to talk about but somehow seem to rear their ugly head at the exact moment that Mommy and Daddy are asking that you brush your teeth.

Said feelings, coupled with being the only child in the preschool class to have dropped a nap, led the Beastwoods to tweak the preschool schedule in our waning weeks. That has meant less time for me to devote to the lovely craft of writing and checking emails (the two tasks my son is convinced comprise the entirety of my job). I was kinda sorta prepared for this, professionally and financially if not necessarily emotionally, and have thus spent the bulk of the last few weeks juggling responsibilities, asking for extended deadlines, and wondering if I’ll ever to things on my to-do list like “organize the giant pile of papers on top of the filing cabinet. (Answer: No.)

It’s been A Lot, but it’s also been fun. We’ve taken some weekday trips to museums and playgrounds, had more time to spend at home in the morning (because free play time with 4-year-olds is No Longer Fun), and learned new things like how to make squiggly lines by typing non-words in Word. (Yes, I use Word. I will not be taking any questions at this time.) And, of course, my amazing mother in law has lent a hand. Through it all, I’ve learned how important it is to prioritize what matters – and how rarely that’s enterprise B2B content for healthcare.

Let’s get on with it.

Stuff I Wrote

Things I Did

  • Nailed the most important deadline of the month: Signing up for fall swim class sessions at the local Boys & Girls Club
  • Scheduled an appointment with my eye doctor, dentist, and PCP for the same week, which is good from an efficiency perspective but bad if you don’t want to feel old
  • Endured some of the sweatiest runs of my life in suffocating July humidity and reinforced that this is by far my least favorite season of the year
  • Somehow managed to help set up a campsite (complete with canopy) in 90-degree heat and humidity (with minimal grumbling from all parties involved) and further reinforced that this is by far my least favorite season of the year
  • Watched my son have a little bit too much fun setting marshmallows ablaze in a campfire
  • Get a new keyboard (and wireless mouse) after I got juuuust a little tired of my son (who’s been beginning to type) noting that the “A” key was faded on the old keyboard
  • Answered questions such as “Why do I still have to go to preschool?” “What will summer camp be like?” “Why do I have to go to kindergarten?” “How many days of preschool are left?” and “When are we going on vacation again?” roughly 56 times
  • Forget to take any photos worth sharing that don’t include my son’s face, which explains the hilariously awful image for this post

Happy August. The humidity’s finally breaking in the Boston area. Best luck with the first day of school for those with children. Best of luck with 5-day work weeks and actual deadlines for everyone else. Best of luck with Conference Season for everyone.

The Beastwood Files: June 2026

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Been a busy few weeks in the Beastwood house. My son survived his kindergarten screening and a trip to a new dentist, I survived three trips to the doctor (for routine appointments, thankfully) with my mother, and we all survived four and a half days in the White Mountains for the Fourth of July (a trip bookended by visits to two different children’s museums in southern New Hampshire).

Stuff I Wrote

Things I Did

  • Went to more beaches than I can count and didn’t bother to clean the trunk
  • Attended my son’s preschool graduation, complete with mini caps and gowns
  • Experienced the brick-and-mortar sociology experiment that is Walmart Supercenter in Conway, N.H. on the Thursday before Fourth of July weekend to buy as many box fans as I could fit in a single shopping cart to cool off our AC-less rental condo while the heat dome covered the East Coast
  • Signed up for the Manchester (N.H.) City Marathon with the hopes of avenging my Worst Marathon Ever, which I ran there in 2012 (through no fault of the race itself, which is actually quite lovely)
  • Learned that the easiest way to remove matted fur from a long-haired cat is, believe it or not, to gently pull it out

Adventures in Fatherhood

  • In the weeks leading up to Father’s Day, I joked with my family that, as a Boring Suburban Dad, all I wanted as a present was white socks. My son sensed that this was a Dad Joke and was all too happy to play along – and even told me a trip to CVS with Mom was happening so they could get *black* socks to go with them. (I also got to sleep in while Mom and son went to Dunk’s.)
  • When we talked about activities to plan for the Fourth of July in New Hampshire, my son said he wanted to make a gingerbread house. As astute readers will recall, we made a gingerbread house for St. Patrick’s Day, so this request wasn’t out of left field. My son has no interest in eating any of the candy with which on traditionally decorates a gingerbread house; it’s all about the experience. This experience meant red, white, and blue candy, of course.
  • Though our primary connection to the World Cup is themed Squishmallows acquired via Happy Meals, we did catch the end of the Brazil-Norway Round of 16 game while out to dinner on vacation. Amid explaining the intricacies of soccer to my son AND father-in-law (thankfully neither asked me what it means to be offside), we decided our favorite player is The Viking. I can’t really argue with that.

Happy rest of July. We’re home for most of the month, which means we’ll do approximately 2,345 extemporaneous craft projects. The crayons are ready…

The Beastwood Files: May 2026

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I survived my marathon, helped my son adhere hundreds of monster truck stickers to sheets of paper, took my mother to two doctor’s appointments, installed our window ACs, and wrote a few things here and there to boot. In other words, just another month here at Brian Eastwood Writes, LLC. (And I was named Employee of the Month AGAIN!)

Stuff I Wrote

Things I Did, Marathon Edition

  • Finish my 5th consecutive Vermont City Marathon (and 6th marathon since my won was born) within the two-minute time window of 3:24:31 to 3:26:31 (in this case, 3:26:23), which means I’m officially nothing if not consistent
  • Gather acceptable snacks to share with my son at the finish line, including slices of pizza, Nutri-Grain bars, and the all-important free underripe bananas that are the reason like 73% of marathon runners compete
  • Wear brand-new compression socks to recover from said marathon because I forgot to pack them and had to purchase a new pair the day before the race
  • Remember to pack everything else that mattered – including the cowbell than my son shook vigorously while in the hotel room but not (AFAIK) while outside cheering for runners

Adventures in Fatherhood

  • We completed / survived our first-ever Kid Race, which was a 1/2-mile loop in Burlington, Vermont’s lovely Waterfront Park. We also overcame our pre-race jitters, which were 100% attributable to the presence of mascots in unexpected proximity. We celebrated with pre-packaged trail mix and a sampling from a local ice cream truck.
  • We also experienced and enjoyed our first-ever roller coaster at a local fundraiser fair, though our favorite part very well may have been the fried dough. (Can’t argue with that.) We decided we didn’t like the teacups – and I learned I can’t handle the teacups as well as I used to – but did like the Ferris wheel (even if the waiting was the hardest part).
  • Yes, we heard the sonic boom from the meteorite that landed in the middle of Cape Cod Bay. No, we didn’t think anything of it at the time, especially as our neighbors are in the midst of a large renovation project and it hasn’t been uncommon to hear things get loudly dropped into a Dumpster.

Enjoy June and the beginning of summer. We’re gearing up for a pre-summer-vacation trip to Cape Cod , preschool graduation, and a trip to New Hampshire for the Fourth. We’re NOT going to New Hampshire in June because I told a story once about black files and now we’re convinced that’s when there are YUCKY BUGS in our neighbor to the north. I’m sure we’d have fun, as we talk about the YUCKY BUGS while laughing, but between Champy and the teacups, I’ve scarred my son enough for quite some time.

The Beastwood Files: April 2026

A panel on tough questions for healthcare marketers in 2026 at Swaay.Health LIVE
~ iambeastwood ~ Leave a comment

I’ve been able to take a bit of a breather over the last few weeks. The work schedule has lightened up (on purpose), the need to fill out and sign forms for kindergarten in the fall has abated (for now), and I’ve entered taper time for my spring marathon (which is Memorial Day weekend in Burlington, Vermont). I even had time to spend a day at Swaay.Health LIVE, catching up with old friends, learning a thing or two about healthcare IT marketing, and looking important sitting on a tall stool while moderating a panel.

Things I Wrote

Stuff I Did

  • Leave the house during the work week to attend a conference, which was such a big deal that I felt like mentioning it twice
  • Finish my darn eBook, which was also such a big deal that it warrants a second mention
  • Finally take a deep breath and schedule body work for our car after I was in a minor but embarrassing fender-bender in the preschool parking lot this winter
  • Help my son keep his secret about the Mother’s Day present he was making at school and the card he made
  • Continue to adhere the new household rule: Don’t get so much cereal that it doesn’t fit in the cupboard, Brian

Adventures in Fatherhood

  • We fulfilled a months-long dream and went to Monster Jam the day before Mother’s Day. We admittedly had more fun at the pre-show pit party (when you get to look at the trucks and meet the drivers) than during the show (when it’s loud and there’s a decent chance the trucks may flip over). We decided we prefer looking at pictures of monster trucks doing tricks in books than seeing them in person – though we do like stadium snacks.
  • Luckily, our monster-truck themed birthday party the prior week was much more successful. I made multiple large cardboard ramps for toy trucks to run down, and my wife and son worked together on crafts and decorations. Special thanks to Costco, Chewy, and especially REI for supplying our home with large boxes – the latter with a long, thin ski box that was just the right size for a single truck. Also, no one got scared when the toy trucks flipped over.
  • One of our birthday presents was a Big Boy Bike with pedals and no training wheels. Our first ride was quite successful until we bumped into a bridge at a park. I then explained to my son that Daddy did the exact same thing when he was leaning to ride a bicycle, only he was in his 30s and it therefore hurt a lot more. (I didn’t show him the scar.)

I hope everyone had a happy Mother’s Day. Ours was rather relaxing, which was entirely the point. I think our son was old enough to understand that’s what it’s all about. We’ll see if Father’s Day proceeds the same way…

The Beastwood Files: March(ish) 2026

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Coming to you on a Wednesday evening halfway through the month because I did the thing freelancers like to do where they take on too many assignments at a time – which, if it wasn’t bad enough, was made worse by the fact that I did this at the same time as 1) tax season and 2) try-to-figure-out-after-school-care-for-your-soon-to-be-kindergartner season. At least no one in the house was sick.

Stuff I Wrote

Things I Did

  • Celebrate Pi Day with some close friends, approximately one pie per person, and a rule that anyone in attendance was required to take home leftovers
  • Bake Chocolate Crinkle Cookies, a classic winter holiday staple, on the approximate Spring Equinox
  • Leave the shovel and rock salt on the front porch – because we all know the day they go in the basement is the day there’s a thoroughly unexpected snowstorm
  • Fail to take advantage of day-after-Easter candy sales (which frankly may have been for the better, as we still have Dark Chocolate Cadbury Mini Eggs, which are the better kind)

Adventures in Fatherhood

  • We revisited a past Pi Day tradition and made a Pie Shop from a gigantic Costco-sized box of paper towels, from which we dispensed dessert pies as well as pizza and seltzer (while supplies lasted). Why I neglected to take a picture of that and instead am tempting you with a poorly rotated, out-of-focus picture of cookies is something I’ll never be able to fully explain.
  • We made our first trip to the LEGO Discovery Center, and it went about as well as we could have hoped. If not for the next day’s visit from the Easter Bunny, we might even still be playing with the LEGO Delivery Van we got from the gift shop.
  • Speaking of the Easter Bunny … along with dutifully leaving some carrots for him to munch on, we pleaded with him to talk to his “friends” about not eating everything in our garden, please. This may come as a shock, but it didn’t work.
  • I made the mistake of telling my son that I occasionally spell my name wrong when I sign an email. Now, every once in a while, to crack himself up, he’ll just randomly blurt out, “Thanks, Brain!”

Happy spring. May the bunnies leave your garden alone. In addition, may your preferred baseball team remember how to hit the ball, which my team seems to have forgotten.

The Beastwood Files: February(ish) 2026

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The person in charge of maintaining my work schedule (me) gave me too many longform assignments in late February and early March, while the person in charge of maintaining my running schedule (also me) insisted I remain on track for my marathon on Memorial Day weekend, so (in what is beginning to be a recurring pattern) this post is appearing during the second week of the month.

Stuff I Wrote

Things I Did

  • Succeeded in getting my mother’s taxes done at the Senior Center in town (thanks, AARP volunteers!)
  • Went out of my way to participate in a social event (the annual party for the running club I recently joined)
  • Made Snow Mountain in the front yard amid two significant storms with “help” from my young assistant
  • Introduced my son to the concept of false spring during a 75-degree day in early March

Adventures in Fatherhood

  • A recent obsession with couch-cushion forts evolved into destroying said forts. It was determined that the dinosaurs living in the neighborhood should be made aware of the demolition schedule and potential for loud noises. “Be a news reporter,” my son said to me, not realizing just how prepared I would be for the moment. (Lest you think I’m a trombone player in my spare time, I’ve probably worn that fedora a half dozen times since buying it on our honeymoon in 2019 after failing to pack a hat for part of our trip.)
  • We all went cross country skiing for the first time (at Great Brook in Carlisle). My son took off on us as soon as he was strapped into his skis – which was great, except that neither of us were quite ready to chase him. (Not a bad problem to have, mind you.) We only went once this winter, but I’m pretty sure we’ll want to go again.
  • We spent quite a bit of time watching the Olympics, in part because it was 15 degrees out the first weekend of the Games. Our favorite sports were biathlon, bobsled, and ski mountaineering. I did not subject my family to watching the 50-kilometer cross country ski races in their entirety. We also really, really got into the ads.

Happy early Pi Day, which is one of the most important days of the year in the Beastwood household (because of pie, not math).

The Beastwood Files: January(ish) 2026

A makeshift computer my son made using a box from a Costco delivery.
~ iambeastwood ~ 1 Comment

The beginning of the year was, um, well, it was something, wasn’t it? I found it hard to be productive at times between the state of our nation, the pile of snow outside, the hole that has opened up in my schedule now that a retainer agreement is up, and the post-nasal drip that comes every winter but is still a heck of a lot better than the flu or COVID. (And this is despite my “assistant” building himself a “computer” to “do work” – complete with a “power source” he has the good sense to “unplug” when he’s all done, likely making the IT help desk veterans in my audience swoon.)

Stuff I Wrote

Things I Did

  • Succeeded in only having one coffee per day – and only occasionally hurting the tum-tum with too much black tea in the afternoon
  • Rediscovered salad kits as a good option for Busy Parents on the Go or Otherwise Unable to Locate Vegetables in the Refrigerator They Aren’t Already Sick of Eating
  • Failed miserably to put out a newsletter – though let’s be honest, 90% of it would have been the AI stories you already read
  • Learn what is a fatberg thanks to a children’s book about urban infrastructure
  • Read a book about Groundhog Day roughly eight times in the span of a week

Adventures in Fatherhood

  • During last month’s snow day – certainly justified, as we got close to two feet of snow – I found myself uttering the phrase, “If you want to interrupt Mommy’s meeting, she said it’s OK, but you need to put pants on.”
  • Also during said snow day, during my third trip outside to shovel, my son decided that we should have one big pile of snow next to our front walkway instead of two smaller piles. As a result, I dutifully spent an hour moving shovels full of snow approximately two feet to make Snow Mountain, which my son ascended and descended many times before it got too dark to keep playing.
  • We have discovered the Winters Olympics. Our favorite events so far are ski jump, ski and snowboard cross (with multiple simultaneous competitors), and biathlon (especially odd because we’ve never bene on skis and have never seen a rifle). We’ve also regaled our son with tales of how hard it was to watch Back In Our Day, when you were beholden to whatever NBC was willing to show you. This further reinforces my son’s proclamation at his self-determined conclusion of soccer (that is, not even halfway through the season): “I like watching sports more than playing sports.”

Happy rest of February. In case you’re wondering, People Who Prefer Summer: Yes, even though it’s very cold, I still prefer this to 85 degrees and humid, because in this weather I can bend over and tie my shoes without breaking into a sweat.

The Beastwood Files: December 2025

Mug that says "Brian Eastwood Writes" and has a cool logo that my wife designed for me
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Are you back to work? Do you know what day it is? Does time even exist as a concept? I’m hitting the ground running in January, bearing in mind that most of my running is actually at an easy, conversational pace and followed by a nice snack and maybe some hot tea.

Stuff I Wrote

Things I Did, Christmas Edition

  • Left a trail of pine needles from the living room down the stairs and to the curb after failing to learn for like the 12th consecutive year that a Christmas tree acquired in late November is effectively dead well before New Year’s
  • Assembled lots of LEGO ay my son’s behest
  • Drank tea from a swanky mug with a logo my wife designed (she also made business cards and a T-shirt, which I’ll show off when it’s not so damn cold)
  • Gave my wife a nice stapler, which prompted her to say, “Go look for the gold gift bag,” which contained … a nice stapler that she’d gotten for me (Kids, getting old is so much fun, isn’t it?)
  • Signed up, once again, for the Vermont City Marathon in Burlington over Memorial Day weekend

Adventures in Fatherhood

  • I had a Proud Dad moment when, amid one of approximately 1,234 random conversations over the holiday break, my son described how turning off a toy and then turning it back on is a good way to get it to start working again. Kid, you now know how to solve 75% of IT Help Desk issues!
  • Amid a few of the approximately 1,234 random conversations, I introduced a topic called Real Talk With Daddy, which is when I address important issues in our lives. One was having sweaty feet. Another was the pros and cons of Diet Coke and coffee as sources of caffeine, especially relative to short-term impact on the digestive tract. A third was the quality of English food. Open to suggestions for further discussion points.
  • Like many parents, we spent a good chunk of the holiday break answering the question “What are we doing next?” on days we’d made it clear we had no interest in actually leaving the house. In jest, I repeatedly suggested that we alphabetize our socks. On New Year’s Day, my son called my bluff and said it was time to go upstairs and do it. (In case you’re wondering: You organize my color, then put the colors in alphabetical order.) We did NOT do this with Daddy’s socks, as they are either boring black and boring white, with maybe a couple navy blue for good measure.

Happy January. I’ve resolved to drink less coffee, use my downtime more thoughtfully, better focus on cross training, publish two eBooks (one being the patient engagement one I really should’ve finished last year), be more thoughtful about one-off projects, and continue to get rid of stuff I don’t need. Nothing is earth-shattering, but collectively I hope they will make for a better year. Well, that and more tea.

The Beastwood Files: November 2025

A very odd gingerbread house
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Coming to you at that lovely time of year when companies are either already hibernating until January or scrambling to finish things before Santa arrives. Meanwhile, I’m trying to operate somewhere in between – keeping busy yet attempting to shut things down roughly one week before Christmas. In that spirit, I’m writing this while wolfing down a sandwich at my desk

Stuff I Wrote

Stuff I Did

  • Spend a good chunk of the first week of November napping thanks to some viral thing that wasn’t serious enough to warrant taking time off but was nonetheless enough to make it hard to look at the ol’ computer screen for too long
  • Listened to my first holiday song of the season – Christmas Eve / Sarajevo from the Trans Siberian Orchestra, of course
  • Somehow – SOMEHOW – listened to The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald for the first time
  • Cooked a 12-pound turkey for seven people, two of whom didn’t eat any (one for dietary reasons, one because he’s a very picky 4-year-old), which left plenty for turkey soup (which is really what I’m here for, let’s be honest)
  • Bought a Christmas tree and immediately decorated it, because said 4-year-old is also not the best at waiting
  • Entered the season of “do the tires *really* need air, or is it just that the temperature dropped?”

Adventures in Fatherhood

  • We continued our annual tradition of making gingerbread houses. I fulfilled my patriarchal duties of taste-testing the candy. My son managed to decorate his house all by himself, coming up with his own ideas and drawing inspiration from Mommy as well as our friend who joined us for the evening. For some reason, my contribution – pictured here – didn’t inspire him. I don’t understand why.
  • After largely ignoring our balance bike for the better part of two years, we randomly decided to try it out again. We got the hang of it but also seemed a bit frustrated as to why we had to ride on quiet paths and not one of the most well-trafficked rail trails in the nation.
  • We’ve started to play a game where, when Daddy leans forward in his seat, we sneak behind him and yell, “Squish me!” I respond to this by saying, “Son, the first thing they told us in all the First-Time Parent classes was that you shouldn’t squish your baby.” I now use this to explain other, not-fun things that I do – e.g., “Another thing they told me in First-Time Parent class is that you have to make sure your kid wears socks.”
  • We have discovered the Magic School Bus. This is great, except that we’re ALL IN like a poker player who just wants to leave the table. We’ve checked close to 20 out of the library – apologies to anyone in Eastern Massachusetts who hasn’t been able to put them on hold – and read them I’d say an average of five times apiece. I’ve gone hoarse more than once.

Happy holidays, everyone! May you get exactly what you wish out of the season. Talk to you in 2026.

The Beastwood Files: October 2025

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Writing this one amid recovery from my first colonoscopy. As a few people told me, the prep was the most difficult part – in particular, trying to function without eating for close to 30 hours. I don’t know how people do this routinely. (I was ready to fight someone for a sandwich within seven hours of fasting, but it wouldn’t have been a very good fight because I had no energy.) All the more reason to 1) make less invasive options for cancer screening more readily available and 2) make sure people get the food they need.

Stuff I Wrote

Stuff I Did

  • Got my COVID and flu vaccines
  • Ran the BayState Marathon in 3:24:31 – the fifth marathon I’ve done since the spring of 2022 within a 2-minute range around 3:25, which if nothing else apparently means I’m consistent
  • Finally finished reading Barbara Tuchman’s The Proud Tower, which I started roughly a year ago
  • Started wearing a hat and gloves outside in the morning, which I’ll likely be doing until mid-April
  • Decorated several pumpkins, none of which stayed on our stoop for more than 48 hours because there are hungry rats in our neighborhood
  • Dressed as a car for Halloween to complement my son the crossing guard and my wife the crosswalk

Adventures in Fatherhood

  • The current phrase of the moment is A December to Remember. I initially said this in jest while fruitfully listing the months of the year, as I have no intention of ever buying my wife a Lexus for Christmas (nor does she), but it has since prompted serious conversations about what is and is not practical to give to someone as a holiday gift.
  • We have resumed the annual cool weather tradition of Family Star Pants, which is when we all wear navy blue pajama pants with white stars. (They’re from Primary; I’d add a link, but they don’t sell these specific pants any more). In an added wrinkle, I was asked to wear them to preschool drop-off. We walked. Did I mention these pants have no pockets?
  • We made it around the block for trick-or-treating. We’re still young enough to only pick one treat per house – and at half the houses, he picked either toys or candy that he knows other members of the family like. (Papa, for example, likes Peanut M&M’s.)
  • I made a group of tweens very happy on Halloween night at about 7:30 when I said, “I need your help. It’s time to put my kid to bed, and I want to turn off the porch light. Can you please just take the rest of the candy out of this bowl for me?”