You would not know it now, but for the first four years of his life, Graham basically didn’t talk. He sucked his thumb and pointed at things and figured out ways to be quietly subversive (he once hid one of my dress shoes—one shoe!—for nine months). When he was four, Graham had a pair ofContinue reading “Bonus Post: Halfway Crook”
Tag Archives: Sons
Quotes from the Road
We finished traveling to Grant’s game, watched it, then headed to Princeton for Lindsay’s wrestling tournament. We met Lindsay for dinner. Family friend John Howe traveled with us. Here are various texts, conversations, and one-liners from the day. Grant [text read aloud over Apple CarPlay]: Marvin Harrison Jr is not the best ever. I hateContinue reading “Quotes from the Road”
Bonus Post: The Day after We Fall Back
Me: Graham, did you set your clock back? Graham: Yes, Dad. I guess Grant wasn’t here to change his.
The Day of the Dead
My senior English teacher, Ms. Koepsel [kep suhl], made my class memorize the following Emily Dickinson poem: They say that ‘time assuages’ —Time never did assuage —An actual suffering strengthensAs Sinews do, with age — Time is a Test of Trouble —But not a Remedy —If such it prove, it prove tooThere was no Malady.Continue reading “The Day of the Dead”
One Peanut Butter Sandwich Away
The Patriot League cross country meet was last Saturday. Graham ran varsity, as he had all season; it was a warm, clear October day, temperatures rising to almost eighty degrees. Graham’s goal was to run the 5k in 18:30. He ran 19:06 and finished fifth on his team—he normally finishes third. Naturally, this led toContinue reading “One Peanut Butter Sandwich Away”
More Adulting through Car Trouble
A few weeks ago, Grant called me in the middle of the work day. “Dad, I want you to know that I’m doing real adulting here.” “That’s good.” “I went out to my car this morning and it wouldn’t start. I realized it was out of gas. Instead of calling you and f-bombing everything andContinue reading “More Adulting through Car Trouble”
My Own At-Home Civil War Surgery
I took Dobby for a Sunday hike before it got too rainy. I was clothed appropriately for the woods–boots, jeans, and long-sleeved sweatshirt. Nevertheless, later that morning, I scratched an itch on my back, felt a lump, checked it in the mirror, and saw an embedded tick. You probably know that I have had LymeContinue reading “My Own At-Home Civil War Surgery”
Bonus Post: Let’s Give Credit Where It Is Due
The day after I posted about Lil Pebis, the kids caught on to details of the story that I hadn’t regarded as terribly significant. First, we got this text from Lindsay over the family group chat (which, yes, is called The Goons): So credit to Lindsay for parenting Graham. On a related note, Silver LakeContinue reading “Bonus Post: Let’s Give Credit Where It Is Due”
Straight Outta the Burbs
I confess we basically don’t parent Graham. For a few days, he’s been talking about how he is killing it in this sim game called Music Wars Rock Star. So we went out to dinner, and I got him to tell me all about it. You create a character who is a rapper or singer,Continue reading “Straight Outta the Burbs”
Not One of Those Days
This is part of an ongoing group of flash stories capturing little moments from daily life. The leaves and pine needles down in the yard were finally too much, so I mowed the lawn yesterday. I have a yard covering probably 1.5 acres, and I mow it with a Husqvarna riding mower that has aContinue reading “Not One of Those Days”
His Smile Lit Up a Room and Other Things to Say at My Funeral 