Well before I married Elizabeth's father we talked about children. In those early conversations we didn't talk about financial weight so much as the emotional and support commitments; those nebulous things that go well past shelter, clothing, and food. To... Read more →

Me and Elizabeth on the school bus rock. Just a metaphor, really, because we're still on that rock. Rocks change and people change but you can decide to stay on the rock together. **** My contract with GE came to... Read more →

She came so far, so fast, and neither of us saw it. She saw the things that weren't good enough and I saw the way she caved in on herself every single time she missed the mark. I held my... Read more →

Elizabeth was six the year Lucia turned sixteen, and Florida was a furnace in August. Lucia asked only for the Magic Kingdom and given the year she'd had, we sucked it up. She chose the book bonking best friend as... Read more →

I dislike the term 'working mother'; it's demeaning. There is no such thing as a 'working' father. A man works because that's what men do. If he happens to be a father, there is no implied hyphenation. There is no... Read more →

According to WorldData.info, JFK, formerly Idlewild, is the largest international airport in the United States. LAX is second, but if you look at the statistics, it's not really a close second. There are a handful of airports with more destinations,... Read more →

Five year old footsteps pounding down the hall from the living room... ...MAHHHHHHHMMMMMYYYY! MICHAEL'S NOT DOING NICENESS COUNTS!!!!! MOMMMMMMEEEEEEE!!! I don't know what he did, but she turned his ass in, assuming there might be such thing as a Niceness... Read more →

There is no doubt the boy got the short end of the stick every single time. They lived in a little stone cottage on a small farm. The farm had horses and dogs and cats and bunnies. There was a... Read more →

The bear's name is Parquet and if you've ever read The Velveteen Rabbit, be assured that Parquet has been real for a very long time. An odd eleven year old asked for a teddy-bear at Christmas and the bear appeared... Read more →

Choices Life is a cascade of tectonic plates and unexpected boundary transformations. Mostly we don't notice because shifting the ground doesn't necessarily require brute force. Mostly we don't notice because we are looking at our feet. One step back or... Read more →