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Category: Family & Life

Maintaining an Undersized Home

Maintaining an Undersized Home

  It was the mid (roughly) 1990s. Long shorts, flannel shirts and long slightly unkempt hair was the order of the day. I was barely old enough to drink, and I was looking for an apartment. Few, if any of us could afford an entire place on our own, we all had to hive-up. A friend of mine had a friend who had an apartment, and he was in the market for a new roommate. We met up at a…

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When the Rain Cleared

When the Rain Cleared

With only a few very minor exceptions, every day of her life was roughly the same, comfortable, warm, nourishing, and dependable. Until today. Today was different. Today everything was incredibly frightening. Her entire world felt out of hand and out of control. Today, things were loud…and constricting, her world was squeezing in on her. She felt crushed. She couldn’t get free. She just wanted to get away from all of this, and give herself a chance to assess the situation….

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To Build a Better Mousetrap (Right NOW!)

To Build a Better Mousetrap (Right NOW!)

I grunted in frustration. The small red track that drops the marble into the bathtub wasn’t snapping nicely into place. I nearly had it in when the rubberband powered stop sign struck the boot, which kicked the bucket that dumped the marble onto the crooked stairs. “Hey! Stop that.” I told her. She reached out and grabbed the marble before it reached the long red track. I went on, “Patience! Seriously!! Let’s finish getting this whole thing set up, then…

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No Training Wheels

No Training Wheels

He sat in his truck, both hands on the steering wheel, watching her in the rearview mirror walking away to her new life. “Are you still holding on?” She asked. When she had no answer, she tentatively looked over her shoulder and saw that he was not holding on. He was watching her, one hand on his hip, the other wiping something out of his eye. She was terrified then immediately thrilled. “Daddy! Look at me!” She shrieked, “No training…

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You Don’t Need to Hug to Hold Someone Close

You Don’t Need to Hug to Hold Someone Close

“Project Night has been cancelled.” Project Night—The big spring event at Lydia’s school. It’s the culmination of a school year focused on research, presentation, and project-based collaborative learning. It’s a beloved event by students, teachers, parents, and alumni. The announcement was heart-breaking. It was the first of many heart-breaking announcements that came in waves, one right after the other. Schools were closed down, businesses, particularly restaurants, “non-essential” businesses. I had a particular frown for that one, “every business is essential…to…

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Go Ahead, Judge it by its Cover

Go Ahead, Judge it by its Cover

“Daddy? Why do your fingernails look so…”? “Misshapen and ugly?” I smiled, finishing what they were trying to say. “Yeah.” “First, it’s really just two of them. But anyway, I have a theory,” I replied, noting the fat bumps on my pointer and middle fingers, “Nail bed trauma!” “What’s that?” “Trauma is another word for something nasty that happens to someone…or something.” “What happened?” “My hand was sucked into a machine.” “Get out!” replied Regina. “Are you making this up?”…

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Taunted by an Elf: A Christmas Lament

Taunted by an Elf: A Christmas Lament

    Back in 2005, Carol Aebersold and her daughter Chandra Bell self-published a book called The Elf on the Shelf. For anyone who does not know this tradition, the book comes with a plush Elf. This elf sits on a shelf and “observes” the children of the household and brings a report to Santa every night. The elf returns in the morning and can be found in a new place every day. What this means for parents is that…

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Bob Cratchit Lives

Bob Cratchit Lives

Recently I was watching my daughters play together; the day’s theme was Legos. In the back of my mind, the constant looming thoughts quietly murmured. They were thoughts concerning bills, debt, grocery shopping. It’s like a sore tooth that the tongue can’t help but agitate and it makes the murmurs a little louder. I swatted at the thoughts. The girls were still playing, both kneeling on the floor with their tiny bare feet tucked under their butts. They were building…

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If it was Fun, They wouldn’t Call it Work

If it was Fun, They wouldn’t Call it Work

One day, a couple years ago, I was standing outside Lydia’s school waiting for her to come out so that we can have our walk Home. An old friend of mine from high school who has a daughter in Lyd’s grade was also there. He looked hurried and tired. He came straight from work and was still wearing his suit and tie. He is a communications director for a large and influential organization. We were talking about careers. “They can…

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Her Name was Regina, and Chaos Followed With Her

Her Name was Regina, and Chaos Followed With Her

“Mama? What’s a swear?” I was driving when Regina asked that question, I looked over at Annie and smiled. Annie smiled back, and carefully framed her words before answering, “Well Sweetie. A swear can be a couple of things. It can be a bad word, a grown-up word, a word you should not say. Or it can be a promise. Like swear on a stack of Bibles; or swearing your Love to another.” “Hmm.” This was followed by silence. Annie…

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