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Send us Fan Mail Welcome back to our continuation of Eden’s pilgrimage on The Camino! Our third episode wraps up the entire experience with the emotions, excitement and sadness the comes with completing a life changing experience. This episode sheds light on the day-to-day life of walking The Camino. We learn about the spiritual experience of buying socks on The Camino, dealing with scam artists and if there is a great deal of alcohol and drugs on The Camino. Eden talks about The Camino’s three-part personality the represents the body, the mind and the spirit. We learn about Eden’s experience staying at a monastery for a couple of days and meeting and learning from the monks. It is here where Eden learns about the secrets of living the good life. It also sheds a humorous light on humans' relationship with the godly way to eat a banana. Lastly, we discuss the profound emotion of ending the Camino. It is our hope that with these few episodes, you too are inspired to unlock your potential and deepen your understanding of the life that surrounds us. We hope you enjoy the journey! Email us at [email protected] Visit our website at DadStoriesPodcast.com Download our podcast from where ever you get your favorite podcasts Music performed by Eden Knutilla on a Cantele Support the show

Send us Fan Mail Welcome back to our continuation of Eden’s pilgrimage on The Camino! Our second episode will pick up from the first, starting in Southern France and heading into the Pyrenes and into Spain.  Along the way we will see how Eden got the passport needed before the start of the trip that is used to identify one as a Pilgrim. We will also hear about some of the nitty gritty points of living on The Camino with the kind of interesting experiences that comes with living in close quarters along with other Pilgrims featuring the impact that snoring has on pilgrims! We also hear about self-doubt, weather issues, making and keeping friends, and the three phases of The Walk. Lastly, and most significantly, we get some insights into the mental struggles, rewards and discovery that occur along The Way. This discussion is a very enlightening and an emotional part of this episode.  It is our hope that with these next few episodes, you too will get inspired to unlock your potential and deepen your understanding of the life that surrounds us. We hope you enjoy the journey! Email us at [email protected] Visit our website at DadStoriesPodcast.com Download our podcast from where ever you get your favorite podcasts Music performed by Eden Knutilla on a Cantele Support the show

Send us Fan Mail Well, we’re back! We have taken a significant break in our podcast this year and soon you will know why! We have already recorded several episodes that will fill in the blanks on our break. The main reason is that this year Eden was experiencing a significant change in life that has resulted in a move from the west coast to the east coast! Along the way, Eden took an extended trip to Europe which included an approximately very long walk on the Camino de Santiago which started in southern France and ended at the western Spanish Atlantic Coast. Our first episode will discuss the origination and growth of this adventurous idea, and the path Eden took just to get to Southern France to start the Camino.  It would be fair to suggest that this show should now be called Edenstories.  It is our hope that with these next few episodes, you too will get inspired to unlock your potential and deepen your understanding of the life that surrounds us. We hope you enjoy the journey! Email us at [email protected] Visit our website at DadStoriesPodcast.com Download our podcast from where ever you get your favorite podcasts Music written and performed by Bobby Knutilla Support the show

Send us Fan Mail This episode continues discussing the question, What Does It Mean to Be a Man? We start by trying to complete some of the discussions in Part 1 around the definitive definition of Masculinity. We discuss societal definitions caused by Movies, TV and Commercials. We then discuss the impact of Chivalry on masculinity. We introduce a satirical book that came out in the early 80s called Real Men Don’t Eat Quiche as a background to discuss the changes around society’s perception of modern Masculinity. Then we introduce our own framework for what we think Masculinity should be through conversations on the Platinum Rule, our thoughts about rules that apply to being a man can be applied to women as well. Finally, we take a stab at what it takes to be a good father and man. Because we are only armchair sociologists, we don’t get too deep, using personal experiences to expound on the idea of Masculinity. While this episode does contain some more serious topics it follows the spirit of openness, compassion and, in some cases, curiosity. Hope you enjoy! Email us at [email protected] Visit our website at DadStoriesPodcast.com Download our podcast from where ever you get your favorite podcasts Music written and performed by Tom Knutilla Support the show

Send us Fan Mail This episode starts with the question, What Does It Mean to Be a Man? Since, it is a topic too big and nuanced to be addressed by a couple of story tellers, this episode focuses on personal experiences. What did ‘My Old Man’ teach me about being a man? How did society influence the definition of manhood? What does ‘No Homo’ mean anyway? How does the Feminism influence the definition of Masculinity. How did Dad’s experience of being in the first class with women at West Point influence his opinions about manhood?  Because we are only armchair sociologists, we don’t get too deep, using personal experiences to expound on the idea of Masculinity. While this episode does contain some more serious topics it follows the spirit of openness, compassion and, in some cases, curiosity. Hope you enjoy! Email us at [email protected] Visit our website at DadStoriesPodcast.com Download our podcast from where ever you get your favorite podcasts Music written and performed by Tom Knutilla Support the show

Send us Fan Mail This episode continues the discussion about events that led us to becoming an Adult or, more accurately, becoming more like an adult. From when we were in our twenties going into the thirties, we both experienced a lot of growth based on being exposed to ‘adult life’. In this episode, we discuss topics centered around family situations such as partners, marriage and babies. We take a look at some of our more enlightening experiences as well as some sad and somewhat tragic experiences that come with married life and the culture of married life, buying a house, seeking parents' permissions for marriage, the why, when, and what of having a baby including risks of pregnancy, and when does a baby go from being an ‘it’ to being your child. These topics are raised from the point of personal experience and not one that covers every aspect of every topic. While this episode does contain some more serious topics it follows the spirit of openness, compassion and, in some cases, curiosity. Hope you enjoy! Email us at [email protected] Visit our website at DadStoriesPodcast.com Download our podcast from where ever you get your favorite podcasts Music written and performed by Bobby Knutilla Support the show

Send us Fan Mail Eden turns thirty! Recently Eden celebrated their 30th birthday. In light of that momentous event, we thought we would discuss events that led us to becoming an Adult or, more accurately, becoming more like an adult. From the twenties into the thirties, we both experienced a lot of growth based on being exposed to ‘adult life’. This will be a two-part series. In this first episode, we discuss topics centered around work and society. Our second episode will focus on family situations. We take a look at some of our more enlightening experiences as well as some sad and somewhat tragic experiences based on situations such as addressing work conflict, developing the ability to be flexible as well as when home situations affect the working world. While this episode does contain some more serious topics it follows the spirit of openness, compassion and, in some cases, curiosity. Hope you enjoy! Email us at [email protected] Visit our website at DadStoriesPodcast.com Download our podcast from wherever you get your favorite podcasts. Music performed by Tom Knutilla Support the show

Send us Fan Mail This is the fifth and last episode on our elementary school years. With this episode, we share memories about starting school academically behind, coping with overcrowded schools and the changes that caused, senseless vandalism and other shenanigans, working for lunch money, being on safety patrol , spelling bees and school assemblies as well as other topics. Lastly, we talk about become aware of some of the social upheavals that were happening. We do a short recap of how the content of our topics changed during this series as is appropriate but were pretty thrilled to see the obviousness of our youthful development.  As usual, all topics are covered with humility, personal experience and tenderness.   We have also continued to use Eden’s Kantele music at the start and end of our episode. It is fun to see how their music continues to change and grow. It is as beautiful as it is unique. Hope you enjoy! Email us at [email protected] Visit our website at DadStoriesPodcast.com Download our podcast from where ever you get your favorite podcasts Kantele Music written and performed by Eden Knutilla Support the show

Send us Fan Mail This is the fourth episode on our elementary school years. With this episode, we share memories about our first memories of experiencing the natural world as well as realizing diversity in the classroom. We also discuss our special school pressures when it came to dealing with math especially math competitions and the pros and cons of counting with your fingers! We also talk about childhood role models.  An unusual topic covered is our memories around childhood illnesses including unexpected consequences of taking medicine. Lastly, but not least, we talk about Eden getting their first dog in the fourth grade and where that fit into Eden’s emerging awareness of the world.  As usual, topics are covered with humility, personal experience and tenderness.   Hope you enjoy! Email us at [email protected] Visit our website at DadStoriesPodcast.com Download our podcast from where ever you get your favorite podcasts Music written and performed by Eden Knutilla Support the show

Send us Fan Mail This is our third episode on our elementary school years. Unsurprising but just like our first episode, on First Grade, we covered several areas that were not part of the script! The review of our report card revealed to us that we were both under a more focused attention on books we were reading’. It was interesting giving how topical books and schools are in the US right now. Nevertheless and  as you might expect, Eden was a far more accomplished reader than her ‘Old Man’. We also uncovered our memories of our first experiences with standardized testing which were the same but different at the same time. We do get back on script to discuss our introduction to Social Studies and specifically learning about the United State’s 50 states and the impact that had on our future selves. Lastly, we spend time discussing traumatic events that occurred in the Third Grade that would be the start of our experiencing significant emotional and physical pain and how to deal with it.   As usual, topics are covered with humility, personal experience and tenderness.   Hope you enjoy! Email us at [email protected] Visit our website at DadStoriesPodcast.com Download our podcast from where ever you get your favorite podcasts Music written and performed by Tom Knutilla Support the show

Send us Fan Mail This is our second episode on our elementary school years. To keep us honest, we invited Mom back to join us for this episode.  Just like our first episode, on First Grade, we covered several areas that were not part of the script! The review of our report card would suggest that we both had school in the second grade figured out. Our report cards indicated very little about little Tommy and Eden. However, that conclusion soon is modified as we dive into our first tastes or creative writing, dealing with bullies, working through school solutions to overcrowded classrooms, explore how corporations work to get their products in front of kids, among other topics that seem more adult related than something that a second grader would have to confront. The good news is that we also experienced some wonderful and unique things like our favorite teacher and split classrooms and all of the benefits that come from those experiences! As usual, topics are covered with humility, personal experience and tenderness.   Hope you enjoy! Email us at [email protected] Visit our website at DadStoriesPodcast.com Download our podcast from where ever you get your favorite podcasts. Music written and performed by Eden Knutilla on a Kantele, a Finnish five string lyre, which Eden is learning how to pla y. Support the show

Send us Fan Mail We have decided to go back further in time and explore stories from our elementary school years. We were a little worried that our memories couldn’t go back that far. After recording our first episode, on First Grade, we realized our worries were for naught. In this episode we explore our experiences from First Grade. As luck would have it, our moms had saved our report cards from our elementary school years. We start with a review of our report card highlights. That gets us going on other topics such as teacher relationships, learning how to do arithmetic, issues with learning how to read and forms of punishment among other topics. By now, no one should be surprised when Eden compares first grade punishments to our modern problems with criminal justices. As usual, topics are covered with humility, personal experience and tenderness.   Hope you enjoy! Email us at [email protected] Visit our website at DadStoriesPodcast.com Download our podcast from where ever you get your favorite podcasts Music performed by Tom and Bobby Knutilla and written/arranged by Bobby Knutilla and Brian Roberts. Support the show

Send us Fan Mail This episode takes us back to our original model of comparing and contrasting our childhood experiences. In this episode, we discuss a question that adults frequently ask children, “So, what are you going to be when your grow up?”. It turns out that we had a lot to talk about. While Fireman, Policeman and Nurse were the most common jobs for children in the 60s, it turns out that a lot has changed.  For us, future job considerations i included Gas Station Attendant, Politician, Veterinarian, Journalist and others. We discuss how our situations influenced our career pursuits, things we did (or didn’t do) to figure out if we really wanted to be that, why we changed our minds and influences from family members.  As usual, we had some things in common and, also, not.  Hope you enjoy! Email us at [email protected] Visit our website at DadStoriesPodcast.com Download our podcast from where ever you get your favorite podcasts Music performed by Tom and Bobby Knutilla and written/arranged by Bobby Knutilla and Brian Roberts.   Support the show

Send us Fan Mail This episode takes some unexpected turns as we start out discussing our experiences travelling in the Pacific Northwest and end up spending most of our time talking about Eden’s experience working at Animal Shelters in Michigan and California. In this episode we discuss Eden’s time in the woods of the Olympic Peninsula and Tom’s experiences while on a sea kayaking trip in the San Juan Islands. This discussion quickly turns to the issues of traveling especially after not having traveled much during the pandemic. One of the biggest issues we had to deal with was what we do with our pets given that our old support mechanism for dealing with this problem may no longer exist. This conversation morphed into a very detailed experience regarding working at an Animal Shelter. Topics covered include the kinds of tasks you might be expected to do, what do new volunteers get to do with the animals, what are the animals like, do you risk getting bitten or scratched, among other associated topics. We even get surprised to hear about Eden’s award while working there! This episode didn’t go the way we planned but we still had a lot of fun.  Hope you enjoy! Email us at [email protected] Visit our website at DadStoriesPodcast.com Download our podcast from where ever you get your favorite podcasts Support the show

Send us Fan Mail After taking a few months off we are back with a new season! During part of our time off we spend some time travelling and being out in the woods. In this episode, we discuss some ideas that bubbled up while we were communing with nature including some stories about our experiences with bears and inconvenient places to sleep. We share experiences regarding running into bears while camping and bike riding. We also discuss how we tried to prevent bears from getting into our food. Since we were on the matter of inconvenience, we some how segue into discussions on our experiences trying to sleep mostly while camping but we also discuss falling asleep just before jumping out of an airplane … unbelievable as that sounds. I am sure that many will see themselves in at least some of these stories.  As with all of our episodes, you do not need to start from the beginning to listen to our episodes. Each episode stands on its own. Hope you enjoy! Email us at [email protected] Visit our website at DadStoriesPodcast.com Download our podcast from where ever you get your favorite podcasts   Music performed by Tom and Bobby Knutilla and written/arranged by Bobby Knutilla and Brian Roberts.   Support the show