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…
Liebster Award
I started writing my blog for fun and because I was curious. I really had no idea where I was going or how it would be received. So it’s an honor to be given the Liebster Award. A sincere thanks to Lee, who writes at http://atypicalamateur.com/ for nominating me. I’ve enjoyed reading his blog. If you like…
Mixing ducks and kickball
When you let your kids decide on a day’s activities, sometimes you end up with some odd combinations. Recently, my son and daughter wanted to do two things: feed some ducks and play kick ball. Ok, not the two most common activities to do during one trip, but we piled into the car and headed…
Why my son is Santa’s least favorite customer
In the world, someone is always the smartest. Someone is the fastest. Someone is even the best at playing the game Operation, or working a jigsaw puzzle. In fact. there’s someone in the world who is the Best Organizer of Food in the Refrigerator. (But that’s not me. I do have a system. Well, sort…
What my wife knew, but I refused to believe
“I’ve had a good life,” said my wife with a bittersweet tone to her voice. I was driving us back from Houston, and I couldn’t believe what she was telling me. NO! That’s NOT how it was going to be. “You’re going to be fine,” I said, not knowing that my wife had less than…
Holding together the jello 