Higher Education

After we finished installing our youngest son in his Freshman dorm room, he pushed us out so fast he nearly strained us through the keyhole. He hustled us off the way your immune system rejects a disease, the way a sovereign nation rejects an invading army, the way Jennifer rejected Brad when she found [...]

Mile Marker Forty-Five

I’ve seen a disturbing number of significant family birthdays and anniversaries this year. My youngest son turned eighteen, my oldest son turned twenty-one, and I turned old. My wife, annoyingly, has remained as youthful and beautiful as ever. She claims this to be the result of clean living, a good attitude and [...]

Twenty (Thousand) Questions

Having children is like signing up for an eighteen-year stint on a quiz show. Day in and day out you’ll be peppered with rapid-fire questions the way shooting gallery ducks are pelted with BBs. Even before your children can speak, you know that they’re storing up questions so that their first complete sentence [...]

Short Answers

My son isn’t speaking to me anymore. Instead he texts, tweets and updates his Facebook profile. From what I can infer, he’s doing fine.
I have trouble understanding his messages because I’m not fluent in “text”. Unlike him, I’m not a native speaker. He makes fun of my text messages and says that I’m old-fashioned and [...]

ACTing Up

Getting your child into college is no easy matter. Your offspring’s prospective future alma mater wants to know that your kid is up for the challenge; that they’re ready, willing and able to commit. They want proof. They want to see your credit report.
Not really.
College administrators are certain you’ll pay because without [...]