Category: Family

Young Jackson James is learning to speak.  He’s got an extensive vocabulary for a seventeen-month-old.  Kate and Michael interact with him much like Ruth and I did with our three as they were growing up.  We never used “baby talk” to speak with the kids.  We held normal conversations using our adult vocabulary.  Mike and …

One of Ruth’s and my greatest joys is our three kids, and their spouses, all enjoy being together.  They truly love each other.   All families can’t say that.  We’re blessed. A few years ago, Elizabeth, Lindsay and Kate were on a girls’ weekend in California. The boys, Ruth, and I were kept in the loop …

Ruth and I didn’t discuss how many children we wanted until after we married.  We were engaged about twenty-two hours so getting married was our focus, not the number of children we’d have.  During our first conversation, Ruth lobbied for t  wo, and I wanted three.  My preference was two boys and a girl.  With …

I was at a family Thanksgiving dinner at my Aunt Ruth’s house when Mom made the announcement.  Dad was retiring, and he had Parkinson’s disease.  He’d been off work for about six weeks after cutting his hand on a broken pop bottle.  Broken bottles were a part of the job when you deliver pop for …

I was having breakfast Monday morning when thoughts of my dad popped into my head. They came from out of nowhere. I was reviewing the day’s agenda and my thoughts drifted to him. I started thinking about his last day, the last time I spoke to him, the words we shared, the people who stopped …

We have a walker! That’s what Michael’s text read on Wednesday evening. Jackson James has been walking around things and taken steps holding on to his mom or dad, but this was his first solo romp. Firsts are a big deal. I spoke to Mike on the phone the following evening, and he reported Jackson …

When I was very young, I spent several days with the Walker girls while my mom took care of her mother who was ill at the time. While I was actually their cousin, they treated me like their little brother. Diane is six years my senior, Elizabeth four, and Ruth Ellen almost two. Diane married …

Last week, as we were preparing to head north for the summer, Ruth ran across an old Mother’s Day gift from David.  He gave it to her when he was in elementary school.  It’s a coupon book she’s never used.  She brought it north, hoping to redeem a coupon or two.  They read as follows: …

Yes, I know we just celebrated Mother’s Day.  I truly hope every mother enjoyed their special day.  Heaven knows they deserve all their accolades.  It’s a difficult task.  Once a mother, always a mother.  The same holds true for fathers.  That’s why I already know what I’m buying David for Father’s Day.  A baseball bat. …

We’re two days into my favorite time of the year.  Ruth’s a year older than me until the end of May.  In spite of her advancing years, she’s holding up pretty well.  This is her diamond anniversary. No, I didn’t buy her diamonds, but at seventy-five, it’s her diamond year.  I am taking a public …