At the eight-hundred-meter mark, Graham was in seventh place and on pace for a 4:48-mile finish. We were at the New Balance world headquarters on one of the nicest indoor tracks in the world—in fact, the NCAA indoor national championship will be held there in 2024. Graham had qualified for the race eighth out ofContinue reading “Report from New Balance Headquarters”
Tag Archives: Sons
The House Is Still Half-Full
December 26, a morning of rude awakenings. I’ve mentioned how the residents of Greenhill Manor are optimists, right? At 5:30 am, Graham rolled out of bed, turned on roughly seventy-five percent of the lights in the house, and headed out for his run. He has a big race on the 27th, and he had toContinue reading “The House Is Still Half-Full”
The Christmas Sword of Vengeance
Years ago, Grant had a buddy over to play. They went down to our basement and began raising royal hell, which was par for the two of them. At some point, the din got so loud that I went downstairs to make sure things were still intact. They weren’t. The boys were jumping off ourContinue reading “The Christmas Sword of Vengeance”
Snowman Got His Own Fire
We decorated gingerbread houses last night. Of course, being the Laws, we cannot just decorate gingerbread houses—we must compete. So for days, we had agreed that we would have boys versus girls, that is, Graham and me versus Lauren, Lucia, and Lindsay. Graham, who never lacks for self-confidence, said the whole week, “Obviously, we’re gonnaContinue reading “Snowman Got His Own Fire”
A Glute Bridge of Honey that Totally Whams
Here’s the point in these stories where the snake begins to eat its tail or in other words where we revisit various story lines for updates. You may recall this photo from a few weeks ago. The girls in the family had a totally different take on it from what you all might have expected.Continue reading “A Glute Bridge of Honey that Totally Whams”
It Will All Be Fine
Here at Greenhill Manor we are optimists—everything is always at least half full or half positive. For example, I have annual anxiety about the Christmas tree. We have a tree stand that drills into the tree base so as to enhance water uptake. Roughly half of our trees drink like crazy, and the other halfContinue reading “It Will All Be Fine”
But Was It Funny?
Lindsay returned home Sunday afternoon. Her arrival was full of tension—her plane was early, she was starving, she was full of rage at other passengers (she’s often full of rage), and we were running a bit late. We had no time after Church to eat lunch; we just changed clothes and dashed out the door.Continue reading “But Was It Funny?”
Punishments for Crimes Against Hair
Graham hadn’t had a haircut in about ten weeks, so on Saturday, I made noon appointments at Supercuts for both of us. As I did, he headed out to do his weekend ten-mile run. He wound up getting back at 11:30 am, which is when we needed to leave. When he walked in the doorContinue reading “Punishments for Crimes Against Hair”
Eulogy for Levi Martin
On December 18, 2022, Dave Martin posted to a group chat we are part of that they had lost their son Levi to suicide. I went to the Martins’ house to be with them and stayed several hours through police interviews, the medical examiners, and family and friends showing up. I returned the next nightContinue reading “Eulogy for Levi Martin”
Be Famous on Your Own Merits
We spent Friday night trekking into the Reggie Lewis Center—a ninety-minute ride into Boston during rush hour—to see Graham run for five minutes and two seconds to be precise. He finished second in his mile heat, first among freshmen, and twelfth overall, and he set a new personal record. Once he finished, we hustled downContinue reading “Be Famous on Your Own Merits”
His Smile Lit Up a Room and Other Things to Say at My Funeral 