Wellbeing

Assault on Shade.

I like trees. I try to understand that other people don’t, but it isn’t easy. It has been especially hard these last couple of days. You see, my neighbor has declared war on trees, and on their neighbor’s trees in particular. About five nights ago, the neighbor in question came by to declare their intentions to have our trees, which overhang their property, trimmed. The stated…
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Beth

Good Excuses.

In the last week or so, Beth has been doing an excellent job of: as we say, “putting her pee-pee and poopy in the potty.” (This weekend was an exception, but I won’t get into that now.) She has even graduated to wearing underpants to school, and she wears the same pair all day. Today however, she had a bit of a set back, but its hard to blame her. As a general rule, Beth has been…
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Wellbeing

Faith, or a lack thereof.

A columnist I often read in the newspaper once wrote about politicians who feel compelled to begin statements with the phrase “Quite frankly, . . . .” He explained how he was immediately suspicious of the ones who used this phrase liberally. He mused that it was possibly a subconscious defense mechanism; a way to convince themselves, as well as others, they were being honest and…
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Beth

Thar She Blows!

“Her bowels blew!” said Beth’s teacher, describing Beth’s explosive trip to the potty this afternoon. The “big” potty at home took the brunt of another sudden burst this evening. When you get a good deal of the product on the under side of the toilet seat, you know your dealing with a powerful force not to be reckoned with lightly. Pop Quiz: What do you get when…
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Beth

Reflux Redux; and, why do I bother sending these to Christy?

Reflux rears it’s ugly head, and Christy’s email probably remains unaccessible; but the show must go on. Beth went to see the latest doctor in what has been called, “the Grand Tour of Pediatric Specialists”; or, in honor of my in-laws: “le Tour de Docteur Medecin Enfant Specialiste.” (Bet you’d never guess I don’t have a lick of French in me, and I…
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Beth

Life is a classroom.

Beth, with her faux medical bag in hand, explains “this will just take a minute daddy.” She opens her bag and produces a stethoscope. She puts the ear pieces up to her ears, pulls up my shirt and reassures me, in her best bed-side manner: “this won’t hurt daddy, this won’t hurt, this will just take a minute daddy. . . .There, you feel better now daddy?” Where…
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Kitchen Sink

A Nice Story.

On the day your first child is born you are at once overwhelmed and at peace. When he or she first learns to walk you are enveloped by a sense of wonder; things you typically took for granted seem like tiny miracles. When he or she first learns to talk its like their personality is finally breaking through the shell of infancy. When he or she first defies you, you question wether you patience will…
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Family and Friends

When the alarm doesn’t sound.

About two years ago, my department gave everyone a personality test. This test gave everyone a score based on how strongly each of four defined personality types appeared in a person. One of these defined types, labeled “gold”, was for those who valued rules, structure, organization, well defined plans, thinking things out ahead of time, and being well prepared. Since taking this test…
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Travel

A Scene from the Lowry Park Zoo.

Today we learned that the animals can go wherever they want to. We were visiting the baboons, and a very large male baboon was facing us just on the other side of the retaining mote. We were right a eye level, staring at each other; the large male baboon and I. Not much more than ten feet of water separated the two of us, when I confirmed that the baboon was a male. He had been just siting on a…
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Beth

No laughing matter, really.

What do you get when you don’t take a crap for a week? I’m afraid that there is no punch line to this one. But it does describe Beth’s condition last week. She was full of crap. As of Friday, she had not moved her bowels since the Friday prior, and she was not happy. We went to see the good doctor, and he had us give her two (yes two) enemas per day for the duration of the…
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