The boy has the biggest part of any kid in the primary sacrament meeting program. The primary president gives him the script weeks ahead of time, and he spends hours each week memorizing his lines and learning his cues. They have two Sundays of rehearsals, and he delivers all of his dialogue without looking atContinue reading “The Primary Program”
Tag Archives: Parenting
Take the Trash Out, Please
Graham is sitting on the couch watching a Minecraft video on an iPad. “Hey, bud, could you take the trash out?” the man says. “No,” he says without looking up. The man sighs. “Let me rephrase that. Take the trash out.” “Uggghhh. Why?” “Because it’s full and it’s your job.” “Why can’t Lindsay do it?”Continue reading “Take the Trash Out, Please”
To Monitor a Cat’s Blood Sugar
They are in Texas for Christmas eight months after being married. They are sitting in the front room getting ready to watch a movie with Ruthanne and the man’s parents. Mom comes in dressed in a nightgown and her slippers, and she carries a bag full of needles. “Lauren, before I forget,” she says. “IContinue reading “To Monitor a Cat’s Blood Sugar”
Peanut
Their mother parks the minivan in front of a drab building in downtown Corpus Christi. “All right, everyone out. You have to come in and help decide.” “Decide what?” Ruthanne says. “This is animal control. We’re going to see if we can find a new dog.” “Really?!” they all yell. They have two cats. TheyContinue reading “Peanut”
A Comprehensive Guide to Potty Training
She is not like Grant. She plays quietly with dolls, cuddles easily, and hates being dirty. She has transitioned out of diapers and pees easily on the potty. The man walks through the kitchen into the hall. A noise from the half bathroom at the end causes him to turn. She is sitting on theContinue reading “A Comprehensive Guide to Potty Training”
There Once Was a Man from Boston
They are having family home evening, and the young man is sitting on the couch with Stephen and Ruthanne. They have moved past the lesson, and their parents are telling stories of their early courtship. “So your dad invited me over to dinner to meet his parents for the first time,” says the young man’sContinue reading “There Once Was a Man from Boston”
His Son Is Trying to Kill Him
Their son does not like anything the man does for him. He hates having his diaper changed, cries like he is being killed. When the man goes to give the boy his first bath, the man’s mother in law insists, “Babies love their baths!” But Grant does not: he screams bloody murder through it. OnContinue reading “His Son Is Trying to Kill Him”
I Hope He Doesn’t Die
The boy lies in bed with his hands behind his head, while his father sits at the foot of the bed near his feet. The disappointment of pitching and losing the first of two possible clinching games has mostly passed. They will just have to clinch the championship Friday night instead, and while he can’tContinue reading “I Hope He Doesn’t Die”
A Mind That’s Weak, A Back That’s Strong
He has finished the ham and funeral potatoes, and he wanders over to Uncle Ned standing next to Uncle Max. “Dad wasn’t such a bad guy. If he got angry and you were near him, he might kick you down the stairs. But if you survived that explosion, it was over quick and he wasContinue reading “A Mind That’s Weak, A Back That’s Strong”
A Poor Man’s Made Out of Muscle and Blood
The boy is ten and on his first All Star baseball team. They have completed their first practice in the simmering Corpus Christi heat, and it was nothing like regular Little League practice. Drills were far more intense, they conditioned, and they worked the entire two hours with no time wasted shagging balls or foolingContinue reading “A Poor Man’s Made Out of Muscle and Blood”
His Smile Lit Up a Room and Other Things to Say at My Funeral 