This is not the path I wanted for my life. It is the path I choose. For example, I don’t have any children. I’m not going to get into semantics but just to maintain full-disclosure: I haven’t seen my daughter since she was five. She is twenty-two now (but I’ve talked about that elsewhere and… [Read more…]
And often I find myself standing in the wrong place. Over. And over. And over…
For a father there are little moments of unadulterated terror. For teen fathers it is all terror – at least for me. You see the life you imagined dissolving into the life you’ve chosen. I’m not complaining – my daughter was the single best gift of my life – but the reality is nothing can… [Read more…]
When I started this little writing project the goal was to give internal pains an external form – a picture, a shape, an image and a few words. It seemed so simple. There should be nothing difficult about expressing these truths. But each time I sit down and start to write I choke and gag.… [Read more…]
The problem with being an emotional hoarder is that you never throw anything away. Which is after all, the definition of a person who hordes. Pretty soon there isn’t room for anything new because the old is crowding up the place. There isn’t room for new events, memories, people or opportunities. It is just like… [Read more…]
We all come in small and in need of protection. Mentoring and parenting determines if we grow into a strong oak or crabgrass. The irony is society hews the strongest oaks for entertainment or protection. Crab grass comes back every year regardless of how much poison we use. Crabgrass is more resilient. I have too… [Read more…]
Does my daughter hate me? Probably not. Honestly, just because something feels true doesn’t make it so. Sometimes I forget. I wrote this series six years ago as an outlet for the feelings of loss and pain I was feeling. Our daughter was 15 at the time. She is 21 now. I’ve learned there are… [Read more…]
Knowing all my lessons, my responsibilities and my obligations the lingering question becomes an issue of when to call. When do I reach out and let her know that not a day goes by that I don’t think of her. Do I call at high school graduation, Christmas, birthdays, holidays, weekdays or Mondays? There is… [Read more…]
It is not a black-and-white world. Sometimes I wish it were. There are adults who grew up in broken homes and condemn my choices. The truth is they are choosing to paint my reality based on their experiences. I know because people are more than willing to send me an email or tweet and tell me… [Read more…]
For a long time my choices tied my life into a seemingly inescapable Gordian Knot: a knot inadvertently binding those I love (and hated) to a life of chaos and confusion. I tried everything I could think of to untie the knot. Often my best thinking made it worse. ”The significant problems we face cannot be… [Read more…]
March 11, 2012
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