KRIS CLARKE FINDS tea parties awesome. Also eating gummy candies. The father to five-year-old Jordyn admits to EASY magazine he has become a bit of a softie since she was born.
“In my earlier days I would laugh at my mum when we would watch movies together and she would sit there with soggy eyes when something heart-warming happened. I now find myself not being able to deal with things that pull at my heartstrings.
“I was watching Collateral Beauty on a plane the other day and had to be constantly looking away from the screen to keep it together. Unacceptable. I’ve become a softie when it comes to emotional moments in film or print.”
Kris, 32, bandleader of 2 Mile Hill and director of Nexworld Productions Inc., juggles parenting duties with fiancée Jewel Garner.
“Scheduling is key. Must have daily routines in place to make sure nothing is forgotten. Time must be allocated for business, practice, hair maintenance, exercise, family time and most importantly, date night. It gets crazy sometimes when we both have things on our schedules and something Jordyn related comes up. Whether it’s a pick up from school, homework, a school project, a play date or kiddie party or if she is sick. Thank God for grandparents – they’re lifesavers.”
Kris travels often for work as a musician and said he cherishes precious time with his family: “I have always had a general fear of raising a little one in this crazy world we live in. But it is pretty amazing to just watch her grow and learn really. Every time she says something amazing (pretty much every day) I just take a moment and say to myself ‘wow, we did that’.”
Jordyn likes to have three songs at bedtime and Kris said one day “it would be really cool if one day we played a song together if she gets into music.”
He and mum play the role of disciplinarian though, “Jewel tends to be more of a softie for the most part, though. I like to think of myself as the Jordyn Whisperer,” he said, laughing.
“We can’t spell what we don’t want her to know anymore. She can spell now. Also, as she gets older, she becomes more independent and would then want to do all the little things like bathe, brush her teeth and so on, by herself. We’re just supervisors now.”
Kris is cherishing every moment, taking pictures daily, from birth (“we wanted to know the sex of the baby”) to daycare to primary school. He remembers his childhood as great.
“My family moved a lot when we were kids due to my father’s job. We never stayed anywhere for more than four years at a time. As a result we are a pretty close unit and I hope to pass that on to my family as well. We play tennis, dominoes or one of her board games, listen to or play music, go for ice cream or eat gummy candy, read or do class projects. It’s always fun to just join her in whatever she’s doing though; even the tea parties are awesome.
“The hardest thing I experienced was dealing with illness when she was an infant. She would be sick and have a fever and would refuse to take her medicine. If you happened to get a bit in with the syringe she would spit it out and then bring up everything else she ate earlier. I do not miss that stage at all.
Kris said she sees a lot of himself in Jordyn.
“She likes to laugh and joke around like me. She also has a lot of my expressions and mannerisms that tend to come out when she’s explaining something to you.”
Kris is instilling values in Jordyn that his parents instilled in him.
“There are some values that up to this day my folks like to remind us about: If at first you don’t succeed, try and try again. Patience is a virtue. Always show your working,” he said, laughing.
“These apply not only to maths problems, but life in general.” (NS)
