Today was the biggest event of the year at our daughter’s kindergarten. Spring Carnival! We’ve heard and talked about little else for weeks, selling raffle tickets, signing up for face painting duty, picking out the perfect outfit. What a surprise … Continue reading
I never imagined how often day-to-day parenting would feel like the battle scene that opens Saving Private Ryan. I thought we’d won ours, getting both kids back from the beach to our motel room. 15 minutes of crying by our … Continue reading
One of the great joys of growing up in the Southwest was swimming. There were quite a few pools in our middle-class neighborhood and we were lucky to have one. Most summers I was in the water nearly every day. There … Continue reading
I’ve driven by the Bass Pro Shops Outdoor World megastore on the way to the Sierras several times, but only last week did I stop. Wow! Now I’ll never not stop. I didn’t realize it’s not really a sporting goods … Continue reading
No, this isn’t about Susan Sontag. It’s about how the kids change so gradually, even glacially, and suddenly something blindsides me and everything feels like it’s happening so fast. Today I was working on my spreadsheet for summer camps (more … Continue reading
Our daughter was acting funny when we got home yesterday. Usually when she’s happy it’s a jump-around, slam dance kind of happy. Silly, rolling around. Her quiet moods have tended to be project concentration (art), or pouting, musing about the … Continue reading
Halloween came and went, in a pumpkin-pulpy, sugary blur. The kids seemed stunned that we’d just knock on neighbors’ doors, asking for sweets. I guess it is strange. But so much of their new life mush seem strange to them! … Continue reading
I knew there was no winning this one: flu shot was not going to be popular. The sooner I told her what we were doing Saturday morning, the more the anxiety and upset could build. But the longer I waited, … Continue reading
I took a walk with a friend and fellow business owner this week. We encourage each other to be entrepreneurial, we have projects to discuss. You could say we had a good alibi. But the truth is, I needed a … Continue reading
It’s a trivial problem that one could only have in an affluent society. At different times I’ve found myself staring at all the clean clothes in my closet thinking, there’s nothing to wear! Or packing for a trip, I get … Continue reading