It is 9 pm. He is still in his white shirt and suit pants but has removed his tie. He sits in the dimly lit kitchen of their 800 square foot condo. Before him are two piles—on the left are the unedited pages and on the right are the reedited pages. He messed up theContinue reading “Now They Always Say Congratulations”
Tag Archives: Parenting
An Assignment in School
The man is just getting off a work call when Graham approaches him. “Dad, they gave me an assignment in school to write six sentences about why I love my dad.” “Yeah?” “I can’t think of anything, so I am writing I. Love. My. Dad. Very. Much.” “Thanks, pal.”
Raise Your Sons Not to be Delinquents
The man has heard a report on NPR that boys who do home projects with their dads have much lower rates of juvenile delinquency. Grant is two. It is Saturday. He has exhausted his mom by being himself all week. So today, the man will do projects with him to give his mother a restContinue reading “Raise Your Sons Not to be Delinquents”
No Man Knows My History, Not Even Me
They are eating Thanksgiving dinner, and a girl from his mission—the girl he will marry five months later—is sitting next to him and across from his mother. “So my mom is not like other moms. Most moms don’t want their kids in football but mine made me play football.” “Really?” “Yeah. Seventh grade. My momContinue reading “No Man Knows My History, Not Even Me”
Where There is No Vision
His cell rings and he is annoyed because she should have left the preschool right behind him but still isn’t home. He doesn’t even say hello. “What are you doing? You shoulda been—” “Be quiet and listen for a minute. We were in an accident.” Twenty minutes later, they are at the jagged intersection nextContinue reading “Where There is No Vision”
His Smile Lit Up a Room and Other Things to Say at My Funeral 