Security codes aren’t new, but I’ve had my fill of them in recent weeks. Their prevalence in the workplace has grown exponentially in the past few decades, a fact I felt acutely during my recent job transition. Coming up with new passwords for everything from logging onto my computer to setting up my medical insurance … Continue reading Unlocking the vacation code
Among my many sayings our boys have begun to catalog is this simple proverb: “The anticipation of a thing is often better than the thing itself.” I know, deep, right? I did not originate this proverb nor was I the first to discover the psychological condition from whence it emerges. But for many years, I … Continue reading Vacation anticipation
Theoretically, summer affords time to read. We have been programmed since childhood to make time to read during the summer to keep our minds sharp and to give our caregivers a moment’s peace. Publishers would certainly have us stock up for the summer, preying on our romantic notions of sitting waterside under an umbrella with … Continue reading My summer reading list
How does Dad really want to spend Father’s Day? Advertising and algorithms driving our social media feeds would have us believe dads want to spend the day fishing, camping, watching baseball or playing golf. I’m sure there are some dads who do want to do those things. My ideal Father’s Day looks more like this: … Continue reading An ideal Father’s Day
(This is the latest installment in an occasional series about my career’s twists and turns. If you’re a completionist like me and would like to go back to the beginning before seeing how this latest chapter unfolds, I encourage you to read Part 1, Part 2, Part 3 and Part 4. Now, for the latest … Continue reading Even better than expected – part 5
You can tell a lot about people by what you find lying around in their home. As was well documented in last week’s installment on lighting, (if you did not read that hilarious post, do yourself a favor and go back and do so now before proceeding. It’s OK, we’ll wait…) the gradual influx of … Continue reading Books, lip balm, reading glasses and toothpicks
The division of labor in our household opened my eyes to the undeniable truth that we own a lot of lamps. Like a 19th Century London lamplighter, I make the rounds of our main floor each morning in the predawn hours turning on our lamps. They create a warm, Thomas Kinkade glow that gives our … Continue reading So many lamps
If your algorithms are anything like mine, they have been serving you a steady diet of Mother’s Day gift guides, jokes and memes for the last few weeks. I am into it. I need all the help I can get to plan and execute a meaningful Mother’s Day for my mom and the mother of … Continue reading The best Mother’s Day gift
In a time before memory, decisions were made that caused the first weekend in May to fill to overflowing each year. It’s particularly acute this year as we try to squeeze in our 28th wedding anniversary, our middle child’s 20th birthday, moving said child back home for the summer from college and working commencement for … Continue reading Celebrating all the things all at once
A coffee bean’s life ends violently. The ripened coffee cherry is plucked from a tree. Its remains are processed either with a fermented liquid or in the sun. The outer layers of peel and parchment are stripped away, baring its inner bean. That bean is roasted (over roasted if it's sold by Starbucks) and ultimately … Continue reading Special delivery
New South Essays 