Beth

The good stuff

I want to say publicly that I am proud of my daughter. A short time ago she got her first report card of the ‘big kid era.’ I was her first report card on the A – F grading scale, and therefore her first opportunity to make the honor roll – which she made. Then last week I picked her up from Tae Kwon Do and caught the tail end of her lesson. She had been one of three…
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Beth

Shaken, not stirred

I am disappointed in Beth’s school. A week ago we were filling out a permission slip for Beth to go on a field trip. A trip to Ruth Eckerd Hall is routine around these parts, so I thought nothing of it. However, when I signed the slip waiving any potential claims of liability against the school I had no idea Beth was going to be exposed to the Damn Yankees. No, I’m not talking about…
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Family and Friends

Small change

If I had a nickel for every time my wife said, “don’t you dare write about that on your web site,” there’d be a world wide shortage of certain kinds of metals commonly associated with minting… not to mention I’d be buried up to my arm pits in those stacks of empty coin rolls you get at the bank. And don’t get me started on what kind of pain in the ass it…
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Family and Friends

‘illin

It may be news to you, but even I get tired of whining. Therefore, I’m not going to get into the reasons for the delay in posting a piece of blogging gold that was dropped in my lap this week. Illness is not normally a cause for celebration, but this week Cheryl lost her voice. Literally over night our house was transformed. Imagine the difference between daytime talk shows and Masterpiece…
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Family and Friends

Anatomy of an evening

Having kids is a lesson in equal opportunity, taken to extremes. Take this evening (please). First, Adam is happy with his bowl of Crock-Pot special (mommy and daddy’s diner of choice). Enter Beth, with her bowl of specially prepared, left-over Kraft Macaroni and Cheese. Sooner than you can say, “mommy, mommy,” Adam was out of his chair in search of greener pastures. Since we…
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Family and Friends

Good News!

With two October ticks left on the calendar I’m going to take a terrible chance. So far the month of October has been a budgetary success. It marks the first full month of fiscal restraint and we’ve done better than I expected. By all estimates we’re going to come in under budget, with a couple of key fixed expense categories under historical averages. The big one is groceries…
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Beth

The daughter of all deathwatches

I was sitting with Beth at the allergist’s office, helping her with her “gifted” homework. In the span of a 20-minute shot watch we discussed mid-term elections, the separation of powers, the merits of a bi-camel legislature, term limits, and the unique nature of prime numbers. Throughout this light conversation I stole a few glances at the folks sharing the waiting room with…
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Family and Friends

Lessons from the twentieth century

This morning Adam was angry about being abandoned by his mother. Cheryl and Beth snuck out early to hit Busch Gardens for a little mother daughter bonding. They left Adam in the clutches of the evil daddy, who had no desire for a return engagement with the full pull of Adam’s mass. Adam demanded to see his mommy and wasn’t going to do anything until he got his way, including eating…
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