Despite being two weeks into 2017, I have yet to fully let go of 2016. That’s not usual for me. But 2016 was an unusual year. I don’t know about you, but I read and heard many people express that they couldn’t wait for it to end. They were almost hostile toward it. Some even […]
Six months. One hundred eighty-two days. A half a year. However you want to slice it it’s a number that knocks me over today. That’s how long it’s been since I last hugged my dad. I talk to him every day. And sometimes I hear him talk back. But it’s been exactly twenty-six weeks since […]
Life, the way I believe it’s meant to be lived anyway, is a ground-floor adventure. We have to be down on the front lines if we’re to really experience all its splendor and tragedy. But that doesn’t mean we should spend all our time there. It doesn’t mean we should never retreat to strategize. If […]
I think personal legacy is something most people contemplate at some point in their lives. How do I want to be remembered? What piece of me do I want to live on after I’m gone? These questions become even more focused when one becomes a parent. Will my children continue to live by the values […]
A few days ago CBS News published a story on Vice President Joe Biden. I’m not especially prone to an interest in politics, so I don’t know a whole lot about specifics of his accomplishments in office. From my non-political position, I consider Biden’s greatest contribution to be his empathetic nature. He exudes such a […]
So, what is the most important lesson your dad has taught you? The question ripped through me like a rusted blade, though not for the reasons you might think. It wasn’t because I had no answer, but rather because I wasn’t sure which of his many lessons to choose. I didn’t know which one lesson […]
Parenting is hard. Whether it’s one child, three children, or ten, parenting is hard damn work. For those of us in the throes of it, this is not a mind-blowing revelation. But it is one we should acknowledge more often. It’s also something we should be honest about. If we’re being honest, we admit that […]
For some time now, I’ve wondered (and written) about the way that “lasts” occur in our lives. Especially when it comes to the growth of our kids. We pay so much attention to the first time they walk, that we don’t think about how it’s also the last time they’ll crawl — out of necessity […]
One of my favorite new websites is one called Upworthy. It’s a collection of topics, videos and ideas that their staff has curated from the internet. All of their content is somehow tied in to social issues that we are faced with. I don’t always agree with their stance, but the ideas usually do make […]