I’ve never had any reason to dislike a Canadian before this weekend. Looking at the averages, they still come out ahead in the overall likability rankings, but Saturday night was still disappointing. I’m telling my friends at work I’m coming down with a Canadian Cold. Knowing my travel habits (I have none), this invites a simple request: “explain yourself kind sir.” As you may know, we spent the weekend at the modern melting pot known as Disney World. We were camping at Fort Wilderness – something like a Fisher-Price “My First Camping Trip.” We capped off the experience with a [...]
Family and Friends
Worth it
Parenting is hard. For some, this is obvious. For others suffering denial, this is a sign of a severe character flaw. For a blessed few who’s beatification awaits them at their death, who’s names will be remembered in song and psalm for all time, this is an inconceivable truth. God did us this one favor – he made these people rare. This is not to say parenting is without its rewards. If it was, Homo sapiens sapiens would have died out long ago (no mater how much fun getting there was/is). This little post is for all of you out [...]
Friends
You may take them for granted. I try not to – I can’t afford it, having so few of my own. It makes my absence from this space and others like it self destructive. This year I’ll try to keep my head out my but. I’ll try to think about other people more than myself. I’ll try to give more than I receive. I’ll try not to let politics and current events have the final veto on my mood. Fate isn’t waiting patiently in line to help, but I’ll try not to use it as a crutch – or an [...]
No complaints
Woo hoo! That’s a good one! Just because I’m not going to use this post to whine doesn’t mean I’ve got no complaints. I promise you though – I won’t go there today. Today I want to cheer myself up as much as anything. I do this with full knowledge of the consequences: this will be a boring post. Ask the news director at your local television station. Misery, desperation and destruction sells! You show me a local news program that leads with a story about a local kid’s puppy finding his way home to Kansas, after being dog-napped in [...]
This one’s gonna be trouble
I know. It’s hard to believe for some of you, but Adam does get into trouble. This evening I had to take Adam’s TV privileges away. That’s what we parents like to say. I had to take the little devil’s TV. He had it coming and I had to deliver. Parents are like the post office that way. Neither tears nor sympathy nor full throttle tantrum shall keep us from our appointed role. Saying I “had to do it,” is anesthesia for the conscience. I take that back. Saying is not believing. You have to believe it. Your sanity depends [...]
A warming world
We were leaving the YMCA last night and I asked Beth how her first day of volunteering went. “Great!” she said. “Why did you decide to volunteer here?” I asked, thinking of yesterday’s post. “I wanted to give something back to the community and this was the first place I thought of since we come all the time.” My heart swelled. Later, she asked me an interesting question. “Why is it significant the Earth doesn’t cool very much at night?” “Well, think about it,” I said. “Why do they call CO2 a greenhouse gas?” “I get it. The Earth has [...]
Firsts
Today is the first day of school. Adam and Beth got out the uniforms this morning for the first time in almost three months, and started a new chapter in their lives. For Adam, it’s first grade. These days the jump from kindergarten to first grade isn’t much different from first to second. The era of standardized testing and school “accountability” has leached most of the fun from learning, as schools standardize curriculums, and reduce every moment between bells to drill English and math into childrens’ heads with the subtlety of a jack-hammer. It’s why Adam is in private school, [...]
That girl
I was working out at the Y this evening and Adam was spending the time in the play room. It’s a really big room. I thought you should know that, I don’t know why. I went to pick him up afterwards and he came storming out breathless, exclaiming “Man! There was this girl in there who was a beast and she was chasing me like I was her favorite food!” I laughed. He didn’t seem injured in any way, either mentally or physically, so I think it was defensible. Adam didn’t didn’t share my view on the subject.
Home alone no more
Today my family is only a state away. Unfortunately, Florida is a really big state. Still, I woke up early this morning and a thought struck me: I could get in the car, leave right now and be with them by lunchtime. There were just a handful of problems with this plan. It was four-thirty in the morning. I’d slept about three and a half hours. They weren’t three and a half good hours. And Florida is a really big state. Still, you have no idea how close I came to packing a change of clothes, a box of snacks, [...]
John reads: “What writing means to me”
A few years ago I wrote what remains my most visited post – and my favorite post. I thought about it today, sitting at home sick. It’s about writing obviously, but it’s also about me and my wife. I haven’t felt like sitting in front of the iMac’s camera for another “Home Alone” video, but this seemed fitting. So here it is, just the audio this time, reading an old post from my heart. John reads: “What writing means to me”
