Beth

The Call

The Call has many forms. There may be as many versions as there are people, but I suspect there are a lot of similarities. Look at your life. Pick a spot where you are vulnerable, where life has you by the fucking balls. Pardon the colorful metaphor. Now imagine a phone ringing. That’s The Call – in your life. It’s a wily bastard. It changes as your life does, adapting to your…
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Beth

Beth Grows Up

The site lost something when the kids got older. When kids get into trouble as an infant, it’s much more amusing than when they’re a teen. Plus, somewhere in between they learn how to read, become aware of the world around them, and don’t find it amusing when they lose control of their own narrative. I’m making an exception with this post because it’s really about me…
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Family and FriendsWellbeing

I try

Hi, my name is John and I haven’t posted anything of substance in a year or more. I have a good thing not going here, so why start now? This is a couch and you are my therapist – so be warned. After a few false starts, we’re really moving. Cheryl starts a new job in Orlando on Friday, we’re moving much of our furniture after Christmas (to the guest wing of my sister and…
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Family and Friends

To all my friends and family...

Thank you all for the birthday greetings. I enjoyed hearing from you all, especially considering my long absences from Facebook, Twitter, and my poor, neglected blog. I wanted to let you know two things: it warmed my heart to hear from all of you, and my absence does not represent bad times at the Kauffman household. I’ve been devoting a lot of time to rehabilitating my neck, strengthening…
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Beth

What's so special about today?

Today is Monday, July 15th, 2013. Our first born child, a little girl we named Elizabeth Ann, was born on Tuesday, July 15th, 1997. Maybe you’re not a math person… and that’s ok. Not everyone is, so I’ll do it for you (eventually). Caveat: my knowing has nothing to do with math and everything to do with said little girl (who’s not so little anymore) asking the…
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Family and Friends

There's something about nineteen

It’s not just today, but it is today in particular. This is the point in this post where I start making a little sense. I was nineteen years old when I started dating my wife. To be clear, we weren’t married at the time. Unless a third party arranges a marriage, folks don’t typically date their spouse. The husband and wife part came later for me and mine. Folks often hear this…
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Beth

When questions get harder

Beth wanted advice on a homework assignment for a writing class she’s taking at college this semester. Her professor wants the class to come up with two topics for a possible upcoming assignment: write a persuasive essay taking a side of an issue relevant today. I thought to myself, “yeah sure, possible. Like it’s possible I might take another breath before the end of the…
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Family and Friends

Someone's birthday

I’m hoping you’ll read this one, even If you ignore most of my posts. Tomorrow is Cheryl’s birthday. She’s not going to get what she deserves because it’s impossible to quantify. She’s not going to get what she’s worth because everything is beyond my means. Instead, she’s going to get up and do what she does every Friday: wake up, take the kids to…
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