These are strange days. The earth doesn’t seem to be spinning as fast, yet the moon rises and we rest awaiting another day and the wonder of what shoe will drop next. It is a dreary Saturday with no sports on television, as the barbarians are climbing the walls, my retirement account is shrinking, and…… Continue reading Strange Days
Category: Parenting
A discussion about the challenges and joys of parenting
Mom
Charlotte Taylor was born June 24, 1935 in the panhandle of Oklahoma. Do the math if you want…Happy Birthday Mom!
I’m Younger Than That Now
My son texted me last night and said, “We have some really big news.” This is life; we are born and given a name without our approval, then we fall in love and marry, have children, who then leave and have their own children, and only then are we empowered to rename ourselves. This is…… Continue reading I’m Younger Than That Now
The Bones of 12 Acres
Before we built our home in 2005, the 12 acre site was grass and trees and water along with the bleached skeletons of cattle piled in a place our kids called the boneyard. I have lived in 22 homes, if you count college dorms and my in-laws basement. This sounds nomadic, and yet, 22 may…… Continue reading The Bones of 12 Acres
Stolen Babies and Shallow Advice
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…… Continue reading Stolen Babies and Shallow Advice
A Thousand Pines
He can tell a story better than Mark Twain on a riverboat drinking whiskey in the moonlight, although the surreal and the absurd are difficult to distinguish from reality. I hang near him at family gatherings, because I’m a writer and he gives me stuff you can’t make up. And like Seinfeld’s blonde girlfriend who…… Continue reading A Thousand Pines
Dancing with Lauren Martin
I told everyone that I would not cry and I did not. But that was my brave face in front of friends and family. It was a long walk down the aisle, about 100 yards from the garden to the wedding tree. Lauren and I chatted as we strolled toward our family and friends, but…… Continue reading Dancing with Lauren Martin
How Deep the Father’s Love for Us
Sunday morning during communion while the church sang, “How deep the Father’s love for us,” I sat and listened unable to sing, because I had a softball stuck in my throat. I had just read a text from my brother Toby, “Played a little chess Drew is beating me without even looking. Washing his hair…… Continue reading How Deep the Father’s Love for Us
Sixty Years on a Chalkboard
We celebrated our parents sixtieth wedding anniversary the day after Thanksgiving and while taking family pictures in the church sanctuary at the Dewey Church, I saw light emanating from the holy of holies, the door leading to the inner room where some of my family changed into baptismal garments before being immersed in living water.…… Continue reading Sixty Years on a Chalkboard
Watching Our Autumn Sons
I once saw a list of things Dad’s should teach their sons. How to balance a checking account, how to ask a girl out, how to change a tire, and so on. But as I think about my failure to teach my son these skills, I realize how much nurturing help I’ve had. Saturday I…… Continue reading Watching Our Autumn Sons
