Yesterday Michael, his mom and I drove up a short way into Washington to retrieve sister S, who’d spent a week with her dad. Her first grand announcement as we pulled back onto the freeway headed for home: “I’m a vegan now!” “Good luck with that,” I replied. See, this is a girl who only [...]

(We’re on our way to church camp. Michael is excited.) Michael: “Daddy? Why is the road blocked over there? What are those cones? They’re working on those rocks, aren’t they? There are a lot of rocks. They’ll break your tires if you drove over them whoa! That’s a twirly sprinkler! Have you ever seen a [...]

Michael has a lot of little characteristic behaviors that tend to belie his actual age. One of them is his construction of imponderable phrases: “How come the ice cream trucks are all the time?” (translation: “I’ve seen over four ice cream trucks pass today. That seems excessive.”) or “I need to save my laughs, because [...]

Sunday was a heck of a day. Not sure what his deal was, but Michael was in rare form, breaking previous records of impishness-per-minute. I was very much looking forward to my favorite part of the day, the time when I can tuck Michael in bed and basically be done with him. Bedtime rolled around [...]

Michael, holding plum between thumb and forefinger, for me to see: “Mommy and Daddy? Can I eat this?” Mommy: “You need to wash that off first.” Michael: “Where can I wash it?” Daddy: “Anywhere you can find running water.” Michael trots to the bathroom and rinses plum off under faucet, then saunters back, nibbling on [...]

Wife: “Honey? The vacuum cleaner won’t turn on. I’ve tried three different plug-ins and it won’t work!” Husband: “Okay, sweetheart. Let me take a look at it.” Husband disassembles and performs tests on aforementioned vacuum cleaner, strokes non-existent beard thoughtfully while making various murmurs of concentration. Husband: “Ah ha! Here’s the problem. The cord retractor [...]

It’s morning, and Michael is once again in mommy & daddy’s room making sure we don’t do anything crazy like sleep past 6:00 AM. He’s chattering at his mom as she quietly puts together his outfit for the day, all the while giving ear to the morning news in hopes of hearing a positive weather [...]

Like any good husband, I try to make sure to let my wife know that I love her in different ways. But sometimes the question comes to mind on the spur of the moment and she needs to ask. And on those occasions I like to have a romantic answer ready for her. She’s a [...]

We’re cruising down the road toward Michael’s school, ready for his second-to-last day. “Kidz Bop” CD #4 is playing, Michael’s current choice for drive-time musical accompaniment. We pass rows of houses, those infamous spinning trees, a set of apartment buildings and a construction site. My mind is abuzz with the usual mental din, the background [...]

Mornings are always fun. Usually my wife goes to work early and I get up to help her, just to make it a little less of a rush. Today she had to be out the door at 7:00 AM sharp to catch a ride with a co-worker. So I made her breakfast and coffee and [...]