Blog

It’s been far too long since I’ve done this here at the blog. A busy autumn has me feeling like butter spread over too much bread (thanks for that saying, Bilbo). So, as in traditions past, today is your chance to share three things in the comments:

1) What’s the best blog post you read on the interwebs during the month of November?

2) What’s your favorite cereal? (We all know the answer to that one, but I’ll let you humor me with your substandard choices).

3) And, if you’re a blogger, what was the most popular post that you wrote during the month all the turkeys hate?

Leave your answers in the comments, and in the next few weeks I’ll try to read through all of them and give you a rundown of the best of the best.

Maile and I came home from our four-year stint in England bruised and battered. I didn’t know it at the time, but I was burned out from working too many hours for too many years under too much stress. A business that just didn’t quite take off, adjusting to a new culture, being away from home, employees stealing from us: the cumulative affect of those years was like a layer of barnacles on an old ship. Problem is, when they were scraped away, there wasn’t anything left of me. Continue reading “What Money Never Tells You”

In spite of my disappointment at the news that some retailers are now open on Thanksgiving Day, and despite my disdain for big box stores, I found myself in a line of roughly 1000 people during the midnight that separated Thanksgiving from Black Friday. It’s become a kind of tradition for Maile, her two brothers, their wives, and I – this manic shopping done during crazy hours is one of the only times we can spend together, just the six of us, and it’s always a lot of fun.
Continue reading “What Are You Standing in Line For?”

There are two things my daughters ask for when I’m tucking them into bed: a prayer and a story. They don’t ask for an explanation of geometric proofs. They’ve yet to look up at me, their heads on their pillows, and inquire about the molecular structure of hydrogen dioxide.

Don’t get me wrong: they ask some zany questions. They want to know why. They want to know how. But at the heart of their question isn’t a desire for technical information: they want a story. Because somehow children innately understand that the pathway to truth is always paved with good stories.
Continue reading “Want to do Something Worth Remembering? Tell Good Stories”

It’s been a typical Thanksgiving Day with Maile’s family: kids chase each other around the house; the kitchen bustles with food preparation (you can’t walk through it without getting coated in flour); the two dogs hump each other in the foyer.

Okay, that last part is atypical. Continue reading “Turkey, Family, and Humping Dogs (You Know, All the Typical Stuff)”