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The Secrets We Leave Behind (or, Crossing the Sierra Nevada)

by Shawn May 15, 2012
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We prepare to leave the small campground outside of San Francisco. The old couple from the neighboring RV comes over to our bus to talk. The wife is direct and assertive and eager to say that when she first pulled up and saw we had four children, her heart sank. But she gushes over the [...]

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The Disease that Spreads Through Facebook

by Shawn May 10, 2012

Facebookthreadinfluentiosis: n. 1. the sickness/delusional belief that one can affect meaningful change in another human in the course of a Facebook thread, either by superior logic, snarky comments, demeaning attacks, or linking to a particularly life-changing recipe on Pinterest a. characterized by self-righteousness, argumentativeness, or the lack of understanding that Facebook users: 1. inextricably link [...]

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Don’t Be Afraid to Look Your Worst Fear in the Eye

by Shawn May 8, 2012
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The following is a guest post by my friend Kevin Haggerty. He and his wife recently bought a house and made a baby, just before the school where he worked decided to let him go. Now he’s in transition. Check it out. A couple of weeks ago, Shawn published a great post about his trepidation [...]

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Prayers That Feel Like Misplaced Correspondence

by Shawn May 5, 2012
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It’s one of those melancholy nights that come three-fourths of the way through a trip, when you’re sad that so much of the trip is behind you, and sad that you still have so far to go before getting home. The kids played at the back of the bus, Sammy’s little shout punctuating their pretend [...]

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Our Amish Neighbor was a Browns’ Fan

by Shawn May 2, 2012

Today I’m guest posting over at TV Asylum about how our Amish neighbor used to come watch TV with us. Here’s a little preview for you: Monday Night Football. My dad and I chilling out on the sofa with a bag of Doritoes. I was nine years old, and in 1986 it didn’t get much [...]

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Make Decisions Based Not on What’s Expected, But On What’s Possible

by Shawn March 30, 2012

This adventure, the one Maile and I began when we stood at our kitchen counter in Leesburg, Virginia and realized we were going to have to move into my parents’ basement: it’s just beginning. For the longest time I’ve been waiting for it to come to an end. I thought that after making the “right” [...]

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When a Woman Isn’t Allowed to Run the Race (The Picture of the Tackle)

by Shawn March 24, 2012

A few of you were wondering what happened to the race organizer in the suit trying to chase down Kathrine Switzer at the Boston Marathon and rip off her race numbers because she was a woman and he didn’t want any women running in his race. Turns out, a huge dude body checked him. As [...]

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