Regular Life

Thanks, T. - I appreciate the encouragement, I really do. But actually, tomorrow could end up being a totally awful day. Lexie is going downhill really fast and we may be taking her to the emergency clinic tomorrow to see what we need to do. She hasn’t eaten in a few days & she’s not [...]

Ben’s first picture with my camera.
Subject: Chair leg, dining nook rug, Ben’s left foot.
Date: September 23

I like to write about firsts. Because my wife and I got married young (19 and 21, respectively), we’ve experienced many firsts together (no, not that one). Tuesday night, we went to a wine tasting dinner. It was an altering experience for me.

There’s an oasis in Dallas. Next to White Rock Lake, in an area that just 20 years ago was the edge of the city, is a thriving tribute to nature and man’s ability to design structures that complement it.
It’s called the Dallas Arboretum. (click thumbnails to enlarge)

Animals make sounds we consider musical to attract attention and convince others of the same species to mate with them.
In large part, humans make music for exactly the same reason.
However, as the most intellectual beings on the planet (and perhaps anywhere), we create and enjoy songs to entertain, reflect, protest, convince, vent, honor, and just [...]

One of the greatest and most frustrating things about parenthood is that the child has a mind of his or her own. Unlike a robot, or, at anywhere near the same level, a dog, children will do their best to please you one moment, and then seemingly work to get under your skin the next. [...]

Ben plays with a neighbor friend in our garage.

As the weather’s cooled, we’ve spent more time hanging out with the neighbors. Several of us typically congregate in a driveway, kids either frolicking in the front yard or playing in the garage. There’s a palpable sense of relief at summer’s imminent end, and we had no [...]

I leaned over to answer my mobile phone, to cut down on wind noise. My top was down and I was loving every minute of it. In one fluid motion I paused my CD (Jerry Cantrell) and flipped open my phone. Somebody should pass a law against being that cool.
It was my wife, calling to [...]

Before the quotes, I have an unedited version of the picture I posted then pulled in “Grasping at a Straw.” A third opinion, from someone much closer to Ben and me than anyone here (sorry, folks), figured that my added text was what put it over the top.
For all who missed it on yesterday’s post, [...]

Our latest challenge with Ben is a sensitive subject. In public, it becomes obvious to everyone looking our way, and even to those who only catch us out of the corner of their eyes.
We can be heard saying various things to stop him. None sound particularly tasteful, and some are downright graphic. We try our [...]