Category: Children

A discussion about children and parenting

Baseball, Children, community, Life, Memoir, Time, Uncategorized, writing, Youth1 Comment

Tell me your life story in 4 minutes

brent taylor

Tell me your life story in 4 minutes. This is a question I have been asking my friends and family. Their first reaction is stunned silence, a deer in headlights. Then slowly, the wheels begin to turn and they speak, measured and careful words, maneuvering around covered landmines. The years roll away and they become 10 years old again, and they never seem to get to their children or marriage or faith or career.  I asked by brother-in-law if he remembered where he was 50 years ago when Neil Armstrong did his thing on the moon. He was 10 years … Continue reading Tell me your life story in 4 minutes

Children, Family, Life2 Comments

An Unwrapped Christmas

brent taylor

I have received many Christmas gifts, but can only remember a few. Likewise, my wife remembers the magic of Christmas, but not so much specific presents received. Karen’s father, Thom Mason, worked three jobs to provide a magical Christmas for five children. His third job was bartender and he left a glass tip jar filled with coins under the tree for Santa and each Christmas morning the jar vanished, purportedly carried away in a sleigh by Santa to help pay the North Pole bills. Christmas morning exploded in color, tinsel, lights, and presents under the tree. It was simply magic.  … Continue reading An Unwrapped Christmas

Children, Daughters, Family, Uncategorized3 Comments

Country Driving

brent taylor

My mom, Charlotte Taylor, recently attended a York University retreat and was challenged to write and she did, writing a story called, Country Driving. Mom instilled in her children a love of story. She read to us, her captive but nevertheless attentive audience, as we drove to California or Florida or Mt. Rushmore. She read from Reader’s Digest, Life in these United States or Drama in Real Life or just as likely, a chapter from the Bible.   My wife was getting a massage recently by a friend who knows me and she said, “Brent is the woman, you are … Continue reading Country Driving

Children, Daughters, Family, Humor, Life, Parenting, Uncategorized8 Comments

Stolen Babies and Shallow Advice

brent taylor

I was holding Jude when I realized why I steal babies. We were at Jace and Carly Davis’ wedding and Jude looked like he wanted me to hold him so I held out my arms and he held out his and we sashayed about the dance floor doing the Baby locomotion. More about baby stealing in a moment… It was during the trip to the Davis wedding in Little Rock with two of our adult children and their dates this past weekend, that I told my wife something I had shared with no one else. It was about a waning … Continue reading Stolen Babies and Shallow Advice

Children, Getting older, Humor, Spirituality, TimeLeave a comment

My New Tattoo in Old English

brent taylor

Yogi Berra was describing his own version of Einstein’s Relativity theory when he remarked, “The future ain’t what it used to be.” I thought of the future that used to be as I sat in a deep leather recliner at Eggbert’s cafe, waiting for a table on a Saturday morning, a pager in hand while sipping coffee. Sitting across from me separated only by a low table, was a very young girl, perhaps three years old. She balanced her own Eggbert’s pager on her lap, the pager that lights up like a Christmas tree when it’s your turn to be … Continue reading My New Tattoo in Old English