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…]
November 29, 2011
Critical people are a bane on my life. A poison to my soul. Am I being critical? Does that make me a hypocrite? I don’t mean pragmatists. You can be a pragmatist and not be critical. I myself am a pragmatist with borderline optimistic tendencies. No. I’m talking about the critics in my life. The negative.… [Read more…]
June 13, 2011
My grandfather died last August. His death significantly changed my worldview. Ralph’s death helped me see the mythology of my family is not the reality. And honestly, it pissed me off. It pissed me off because for the first time I was able, with the guidance of a caring but uninvolved friend, to see the… [Read more…]
May 26, 2011
Yesterday, I was criticized. It wasn’t even constructive. It is not a surprise actually. Everyone has critics in life: people who look and judge and tell you what you do wrong or what you can do better (or how they would do it better). People who respond with a simple “suck it up” or “buck up” or “shut… [Read more…]
April 24, 2011
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…]
April 24, 2011
Everyone carries something: a wallet, car keys, pictures of children, spouses or their dog. Cell phone, MP3 player, credit cards, a purse and cash. Lipstick, condoms, mouthwash, floss or a toothbrush. Some people carry all of those things. I’m a material minimalist. I carry a clip that holds my driver’s license, insurance card, debit card, library… [Read more…]
March 23, 2011
“Then you should say what you mean,” the March Hare went on; “I do,” Alice hastily replied; “at least—at least I mean what I say—that’s the same thing, you know.”; “Not the same thing a bit!” said the Hatter. “Why you might just as well say that ‘I see what I eat’ is the same… [Read more…]
December 31, 2010
Resolutions suck. As such long time ago I stopped making them. They are silly and often left me feeling as if I was a failure. I can be hypercritical so I took little comfort in my victories and often obsessed about my failures. The result is often feelings of shame and frustrations. However, as part… [Read more…]
July 1, 2010
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…]
April 28, 2010
I hate suffering. I even hate the word. I hate the idea of being in love with suffering. Not just because I think it is stupid or a cliché – it is – but because as much as I hate to admit it, there are places in my life where it is true. “The truth… [Read more…]
December 9, 2011
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