Mom was a Deltiolgist. I don’t think she knew it and I didn’t realize it until she gave me the brown tweed suitcase that housed her treasures. It contained a large collection of postcards from the late 30’s through the mid 40’s. Most were written during the “war years”. After she married my dad in …
The Brown Tweed Suitcase
Late in life, Mom gave me the brown tweed suitcase that housed the treasures of her youth. She passed it on about twenty years ago. I knew of the suitcase because I examined its contents several times while I still lived at home. My first look took place when I was in the seventh grade, …
Tegestology
Ruth is a Tegestologist. She hasn’t always been one. Her compulsion began like most. She had one and then another. She could have walked away, but she chose not to. Addiction is difficult to handle on your own and there are no support groups for Tegestologists. She came down with the affliction twenty-five years ago …
Family Pictures
Lots of families take family pictures. For Lindsay, David, Brady and Eva, it’s a yearly event. They meet with a photographer each fall and have a formal photo shoot. Lindsay is in charge of selecting a location and the crew’s attire. I always look forward to seeing the new batch. It’s a great way to …
51
Ruth and I started our fifty-second chapter on Monday. Sunday was our fifty-first wedding anniversary. The years just keep clicking by. We didn’t have our sights set on fifty plus years when we began our life together. We just lived as best we could. You experience a ton of things over that much time, and …
The Freshman and the Senior
Eva is a high school freshman this year, and Brady is a senior. Eva will experience a series of firsts and Brady will have several lasts. That’s how growing up works. Both are bittersweet. Having a family and raising children is not for the faint of heart. It takes patience and dedication. You raise them …
$197.50
Ruth and I played in a golf tournament the last weekend of August. While I’ve played in several over the years, it was Ruth’s first. She was a bit nervous, but she played well. The second summer in our Tullymore condo has been very different from the first. Last year, we spent much of our …
500 Chunks
This is my five-hundredth blog. When I began writing in November of 2017, I had one goal, share stories of my life, so one day my grandchildren would have a better understanding of their extended family. It’s morphed over the years into a collection of thoughts and observations. I’d estimate I’ve written about 320,000 words, …
My Little Black Book
A little black book is a notebook containing an individual’s contacts and their personal information. Like many phrases containing the word black, this one refers to something mysterious. People sometimes refer to a journal, or part of a journal, as their black book or little black book. Some have been known to be full of personal secrets that might be …
Learning to Speak
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 …