Category: Family

If you’re a long-time blog reader, or one of our many friends, you know that Ruth and I eloped.   Once we were married, our parents planned after the fact receptions.  The Van Bruggens held a low-key cake and coffee gathering in their home in Plainwell, and my parents through an all-out Detroit style bash.  There …

Tomorrow is young Jackson James’s second birthday.  It’s also the sixth month mark of Ruth’s accident.  The twenty-seventh of the month took on new meaning when she died.  When children are born, we document their birth in terms of months.  He’s six months old, not a half year.  That’s how I think of Ruth.  She’s …

I’d prefer this was a Save the Date for a wedding or a shower, but I have neither on my social calendar. This is rather, a save the date announcement for Ruth’s Michigan Celebration of Life. The kids and I held a similar celebration in Florida this past December. It went well and served as …

The best part of the covid pandemic for Ruth and me was the ability to livestream Brady’s basketball games. We started watching the moment they became available. We had to pay for some but were able to watch most via YouTube. I was happy to pony up a few dollars to watch the history of …

My senior year grandson, Brady, graduates in a couple of months.  I’m looking forward to watching him walk across the stage to receive his diploma and know Ruth will be with us in spirit.  She and Brady have always had a special bond, and she was looking forward to sharing his senior year highlights with …

The first time I saw my father cry was December of 1955.  Our family had been out Christmas shopping and visiting Santa Claus. We’d just walked in the door when Dad headed to the hallway.  I didn’t hear the phone ring, but Dad came back through the living room after a short phone conversation and …

I remember how happy my father-in-law, Lou, was when David was born.  He had a houseful of females and was over the moon when his grandson was born.  He wasn’t the jump up in the air kind of guy, but he and Ruth’s mom stopped into our Kalamazoo home every weekend after David was born.  …

The last conversation I had with Ruth concluded around 11:00 am the morning of September 27, 2022.  We agreed upon a plan to visit our California kids the weekend prior to Kate’s birthday.  I overheard her speaking to Michael one evening and Elizabeth, a day or so later, about the trip.  She told Mike we’d …

I ran across this online the other day.  While it doesn’t sum up my thoughts about family, it’s how some families operate. “There’s an old proverb that says you can’t choose your family. You take what fate hands you. And like them or not, love them or not, understand them or not, you cope. Then …

Thanksgiving weekend, Michael, Sutton and I golfed at a course we’ve played dozens of times on our trips to the Coachella Valley.  Each time we played there was a “starter” named Bob to welcome us and send us out on the course.  We first played the course about fifteen years ago.  Bob has worked there …