I’ve done a lot of different things with my kids over the years, but some of my favorite memories came from one of the simplest of activities – reading to my kids. For the most part, my kids enjoyed it too. Oh sure, I had to tie them down to make them listen sometimes, but…
Month: February 2014
My wife displays grace, while I try to comprehend
It’s an afternoon I’ll never forget . . . because it’s still so hard to believe. It was a sunny, fall afternoon in either September or early October. I can’t remember now which it was. But the details are still as fresh as yesterday. I was sitting at the dining room table with my wife,…
Cheatin’ at Pick-Up Sticks
I have a confession to make. I never cheated at Pick-up Sticks. But don’t ask my daughter – she won’t believe you. But first of all, how can you cheat at such a game? Second, why would you even bother? It’s Pick-Up Sticks, for goodness sake. When my daughter was younger (translated – more than…
The 501 hats of a single parent
I don’t think about it all that often and certainly not every day, but from time to time it hits me – how many different roles I play as a single parent. I know it’s not as bad some days as it is others. And I also know that parents who are married also have to…
10 Things a Good Woman Does Right – guest blog
I want to thank Katharine Trauger for asking me to write a guest post for her blog today at Home’s Cool. Katharine and I became friends through a mutual blogger, and it’s an honor for me to be asked to be her guest blogger – my first. Katharine asked me to write on what I…
The worst Saturday of my life
It’s difficult to watch anyone suffer, but it’s even more so when you have to watch a loved one suffer and there’s nothing you can do. You feel helpless. If only you could do something, anything, to help. And then sometimes, you can, if only a little . . . It was a Saturday in…
The LAST noise a parent wants to hear at night
There I was, lying in bed, just about to fall asleep around 1:30 after tossing, turning, reading, and watching TV throughout the evening. I was finally just relaxed enough to doze off. The house was quiet and still. Then a terrible sound broke through the darkness: BLEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAACCCCCCCCKKKKKKK!!!! It’s the sound every parent hates to hear…
THIS was the best compliment I ever received?
I think we can agree that it’s always nice to receive a compliment. It picks us up and makes our day a little brighter. What’s the best compliment I ever received? Well, I’m not sure. But I do know the most interesting compliment I’ve ever heard. And I’ve actually been told this twice. Two entirely…
More than filling a vacancy
I once made a terrible mistake. Yeah, yeah. I know. I’ve made a lot of mistakes over the course of my life. But this one . . . it was the worst. If you’ve never read my blog, let me give you a little background. My wife and I had our son in October of 2003.…
Even MORE questions from my son
As you probably know by now, my son usually has a lot of questions. Usually more questions than I have answers for. I guess what I should really fear is the day he’s the one giving me answers. In the meantime, here’s a sample of what’s been on his mind lately. “Can we have pizza…
Holding together the jello 