Given how much we play music around the house, it makes sense that the kids would love it too. It’s also to be expected, I suppose, that my wife would burn CDs for their kids, discs filled with all their favorite songs, both from the music classes she teaches and from the movies they love: […]

Here’s a fun one I ran across in my notes. This happened last time we were up north.. My oldest sister had decided to tease my oldest about “icky girls.” When it was clear he didn’t know quite how to respond, I piped up. “No,” I said. “He’s not like that. He likes girls. Right, big […]

When I got my copies of the new Chicken Soup for the Soul book in last week, I was pretty excited. It’s not the first short story I’ve had published, but it’s still exciting to see your work in print. “Check it out,” I said, showing the kids. “I’ve got a story in it!” “How […]

About 16 years ago, I found myself saying “love you too” to the woman that would eventually become my wife. The problem with saying “I love you too” is that it sounds like an afterthought, like you didn’t think to say it first and now you’re trying to make up lost ground, trying to reassure […]

Today’s Tale is in the Chronicle. Click here to read it. Terms for Searchers: Bus stop, trail, bicycle, biking, bah, wave, community, soccer

The other night at dinner, my darling little 5 year old hopped out of his chair, held his hands out so that one was on either side of me and said, “Look, Daddy! You’re as fat as the chair!” Then he laughed and ran back to his seat. Such a wonderful little boy. Too bad […]

On the way to visit Nana and Grampa this past Saturday, I explained the importance of not chasing their new cat. The boys aren’t used to cats. They’re used to black labs, large creatures that want to be chased, and the last thing I wanted to deal with was cat scratches. They did a great […]

One of my goals as a parent is to make sure the kids aren’t bothered too much by what other people say. I don’t think it’s healthy to let your emotions be ruled by other people. Take, for example, the word “fat.” A lot of people think it’s a dirty word. Call them fat and […]

Prior to this past month, I knew absolutely nothing about Boy Scouts. I wasn’t “for” them or “against” them. I wasn’t a Scout as a child, and I’ve never had any reason to interact with them since then. All that ended with a Cub Scout recruiting drive at my son’s school. They held a big […]

The kids have been sick all this week. Since I work from home and my wife doesn’t, I’ve been the one who gets to be the day-nurse. Tuesday was the toughest. Both the kids were running triple-digit fevers, and I was still under the delusion that I could get some work done while I took […]