In the distance, the thunder rumbles, rolling toward us on the waves of the gathering dark clouds. A bolt of lightning slices through the sky, helping to open the sky, which pours down rain and wind. For most, this is a typical spring storm in Arkansas. But for my son, it represents the end of…
Tag: kids
What kind of second-rate planet IS this, anyway?
Just when I think my life can’t get any more weirder . . . I go home. Seriously. It’s not that something weird hasn’t happened, it’s that something weird hasn’t happened YET. So here we were today, getting home a little late after I finished up an interview for a student’s podcast. Before I go…
Going back in time
My son hasn’t quite perfected that time machine that I’ve written about in the past, but the other day he did send me back in time. It seems that since he’s moved up to fourth grade and a new school, that Four Square is all the rage. He’s been talking about it for weeks, and in…
My son makes a BOLD announcement
I knew something big was coming. It was an ordinary day at home, when my son came up to me and said, “Guess what?” The announcement didn’t come with a lot of fanfare or the trumpets and pageantry of say the anointing of a new king. Or, even more rare, a win by the Arkansas…
We should get married in a Subaru?
When you live at my house, you come to expect strange comments. Not that my kids intentionally say odd, off-the-wall stuff. So I’m usually not surprised at any eccentric remark that might escape the lips of my son. There is almost nothing he can say anymore that can surprise me. Almost nothing. But the other…
It would be a shame for my son to eat a doughnut alone (or Everything I know I learned from Karate Kid)
I think it would be accurate for me to say that 73 percent of everything I know I learned from the movie Karate Kid. Not that new, fake Karate. But from the REAL thing, from the down-and-dirty Karate Kid movie of the 80s. The rest of what I know I’ve learned through commercials (“Don’t squeeze…
They’re all easy, if . . .
As a college instructor, there’s one question I hear on a regular basis. And no, it’s not “Can we get out early today?” (ok, so maybe there are TWO questions I hear a lot.) Every time I get ready to give a test, a student (sometimes two. Or three. Often a dozen or more) will…
Running the aisles
As a single parent, I find it’s often difficult to schedule BIG THINGS to do with my kids. Sure, from time to time we can, but those occasions are often few and far between. However, my kids (especially my son) often get to take part in a lot of little things – whether they want…
These aren’t any sing-along songs that Barney ever heard, Or at least won’t admit to
You know him. You love him. That big, lovable, purple dinosaur Barney. Ahhhhhh . . . he does bring back the memories. But when it comes to singing along with songs from the radio, our favorites are . . . ummmmmm, how can I say this . . . not exactly what you’d find on…
If you can play soccer on a hill . . .
In the small town where I live, a small group of parents are working on a rather diabolical, although ingenious scheme, that will, in time, change, and yes, even SHOCK the world. At least the world as it relates to soccer. Sure, small towns in Arkansas aren’t known for revolutionizing the game of soccer, which…
Holding together the jello 