When we hit the Arthur Ravenel Jr. Bridge from Charleston into Mount Pleasant the boys stopped watching Harry Potter on our minivan’s built-in DVD player. From the span over the Cooper River we could see the U.S.S. Yorktown, parked at Patriots Point. It would be our home for a night, and it was lit impressively, … Continue reading Connecting with the past
Tag: parenting
Working moms
Carla drove our white minivan down Oak Road toward Snellville as I sat in the passenger seat, dreading the cost of the repairs to our 11-year-old Volvo station wagon. Then she ventured to bring up a subject that interjects stress into all marriages. Revenue. Specifically, how we could increase our household income to be able to … Continue reading Working moms
The Power of Pine
For the last five years, I’ve spent one Saturday in January at a unique sporting event that induces anxiety, quickens the pulse and triggers a few tears. Of course I’m talking about the annual Cub Scout Pinewood Derby. This anachronistic competition is a throw-back to the days when kids made their own toys out of what … Continue reading The Power of Pine
A Minor Surgery
First thing Monday morning, Harris had his adenoids removed and tubes put in his ears. It was the very definition of a “minor surgery.” All went according to plan, and Harris returned to school on Wednesday. In fact, he perked up several hours after he returned home. If you have to have a surgery, this … Continue reading A Minor Surgery
Everything I Need to Know I’m Learning on the Farm
Everybody needs a farm. Not to make a living. That’s one of the hardest things anyone can do with his or her life. No, I think people need a farm, even if they don’t own it, to go and learn how to live. The lessons there are simple, profound and unavoidable. Last Saturday we visited … Continue reading Everything I Need to Know I’m Learning on the Farm
Time passes one brick at a time
Yesterday we took the boys to the new Legoland Florida theme park. The boys had an amazing day, judging by their smiles, laughter and my over-exuberant uploading of photos to Facebook. Carla and I couldn’t help but reflect on our two previous visits to that property, each in a very different set of circumstances. Before … Continue reading Time passes one brick at a time
With every Christmas card I write
Even before my children start their annual greed lists, my wife begins a months-long odyssey of creating the perfect family image to send to loved ones at Christmas. What some people dismiss as an antiquated practice involving such archaic institutions as the U.S. Postal Service, sending Christmas cards is the apogee of the season for … Continue reading With every Christmas card I write
Build yourself a merry Lego Christmas
That children inherit certain physical and personality traits from their parents is indisputable. Carla and I are both planners and list makers, so it should be no surprise that our children follow suit. However, I am having trouble explaining the borderline mental disorder that has beset my children this year as they compulsively write and … Continue reading Build yourself a merry Lego Christmas
Bake me a cake as fast as you can
I pulled Harris’ overflowing train molded cake pan out of the oven precisely at 3:30 p.m. and put the bowl containing Barron’s yellow cake mix in at 350 degrees for 42 minutes. Then I left. As I drove to Alpharetta for yet another weekend work commitment, guilt pursued me like a Lilburn cop after someone … Continue reading Bake me a cake as fast as you can
Baiting your own hook
For a moment I thought he was actually going to do it. With the early summer sun beating down on us, my two older sons, ages 10 and 6, and I prepped our fishing poles on the banks of Lake Hamburg. We had completed the sweaty job of putting up our tents and setting up … Continue reading Baiting your own hook
New South Essays 