This weekend my 12-year old son, Charlie, won an award for Little League. I felt so happy, watching him walk onto the field in his orange uniform, with his shoulders squared and his head held high. Then, out of the corner of my eye, I saw my other son Jack jumping and hopping with his […]
Last week, I read an article about a teenage boy who took a girl to the prom. It was squashed between an announcement about the royal wedding and some pictures of a hairless cat. At first glance, it didn’t seem particularly noteworthy. To tell you the truth, I almost scrolled right past it. Then I […]
One green, green day, the Lord looked upon the earth. He admired his sons and his daughters. He smiled at all of the wonderful animals, and he gazed tenderly at each new baby. The round blue earth, with all of its people and puppies and flowers and trees, seemed complete. But the Lord was not […]
Sometimes, when I’m bored, or irritated, or just kind of noodling around, I like to think about what it would be like if more people had a child like my son Jack. You know, a great big tall 13-year old who wears heavy black boots from November until May. A teenager who dumps ice in […]
When my son Jack was about four years old, I lost him in the mall. I was pulling a sweater on over my clothes to see if it would fit, and in the three seconds it took for me to poke my head through the fabric, he was gone. One minute, he was there, standing […]
It was great to see you at the wedding last week. It was such a lovely day, wasn’t it? I wanted to take a minute and apologize if I came across as a little abrupt. I know you were just trying to help with my son, Jack. I know you were trying to be nice. […]
I really enjoyed chatting with you tonight. This resort is beautiful isn’t it? Our kids just love it. Yes, we have five. Yep, only one girl. She recently decided to cut her hair short and in the airport someone thought she was a boy. She wasn’t too happy about that. I know you saw us […]
I guess I’m wondering what you think of him. I know I shouldn’t care, but I can’t help it. I do. He doesn’t care, not one little bit. In fact, I don’t think he even notices when people stare at him or kids point to him. I don’t care for the reasons you might think. […]
When I was a little girl, I swore I heard your sleigh land on the top of our roof. I must have been about four years old, five at the most. When I said this—that I knew you had come in the night because I heard your sleigh and your reindeer—my father smiled a funny […]
Editor’s note: I wrote this post after talking with Jack about what holiday parties are like for him. He read it over, and reminded me the cookies were shaped like snowmen. I thought they were reindeer. My mom told me we are going to your house on Saturday. For a holiday party. The last time I was at […]