During our 21st visit to the white sand beaches of Florida’s Emerald Coast along County Road 30A, I took particular interest in the daily ritual of setting up and taking down beach chairs and umbrellas. This is a young person’s task, and I am neither fit nor inclined to pursue this vocation. Once upon a … Continue reading Umbrellas and chairs
When is the best time to book a beach trip? It’s a trick question. The answer is any time. As has been well documented in this space, our family takes a beach trip each summer. For 20 of the past 21 years we’ve been to Santa Rosa Beach on 30A along the Gulf Coast of … Continue reading Wanna get away?
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
Every year when the holidays roll around I face an internal struggle between capturing the magic of the past and experiencing something fresh. No two Christmases have been exactly alike, but there has been enough of a thematic throughline that my boys have expectations that we do specific activities in a certain order: Thanksgiving, breakfast … Continue reading This year will be different
This just in: hurricane season is not over. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) hurricane season for the Atlantic Ocean basin lasts from June 1 to November 30. But just when I begin to believe we’ve almost made it through, Southern Living, of all places, robbed me this week of the opportunity … Continue reading Worrycanes
This week the Lilburn Wallaces will gather around our dining room table for a feast of turkey, dressing and all the fixins. I have committed to enjoying this day fully because I don’t know if 2023 will be the last time we enjoy our Thanksgiving this way. Traditions have a way of ending unintentionally or … Continue reading When traditions end
A recent visit to Lake Wales to look in on my parents unexpectedly awakened nostalgia for yard work. You never could have convinced the teenage version of me wiping the sweat from my eyes under an August Central Florida sun that I would ever miss being on the business end of a lawnmower. In those … Continue reading Cuttin’ grass
Dad was a preacher and Mom was a teacher, so many of life’s lessons were given to my brothers and me explicitly and directly. They were not shy about telling us exactly what to do, both in the moment with an assigned task and in the future with big life decisions. I still remember the … Continue reading What I learned from my parents
I am blessed with myriad joys in my life -- being married to Carla, parenting three wonderful young men, participating in our family of faith at Parkway Baptist Church, and many more. When joy is given a location -- the now cliche "happy place" -- my mind always goes to our summer family vacations to … Continue reading Beach happy
New South Essays 