Tag Archives: childhood

Will you still need me, will you still feed me,

Sir Paul McCartney wrote “When I’m Sixty-Four” when he was only 16. I first heard it on the “Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band” album when I was 16. At the time, it was nothing more than another really good … Continue reading

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Give A Little, Get A Lot

Sometimes we go through life without seeing those little acts of kindness that happen all around us.  Then, without warning we start to notice, we start to see, and we start to understand.  These small events then begin to affect … Continue reading

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It’s Not How Much You Have

Many of us grew up not knowing the true character of our parents.  Sadly, it is only much later that we find the evidence that changes our perception of who our parents really were.  I found this video exceptionally inspirational … Continue reading

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Be Counted

Each of us is the product of what we learned growing up.  Each of us incorporated what we learned into our own personalities and a new person emerged.  That person has an individual interpretation of right vs wrong or meat … Continue reading

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Family – An Introspection

I was called by many names in my lifetime: baby, sibling, teenager, Uncle, In-law, parent, grand parent.  At each stage, I took pieces of this journey and grew.  I am not my father yet many see him in my eyes … Continue reading

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63. If Only This Was Possible

“Dad!  Is that you?” “Of course, you don’t recognize your own father?” “Well, …  you look terrific, I mean, … when I last saw you 10 years ago …” “Ya, Alzheimer’s does that to you.  You look pretty chipper for … Continue reading

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62. Lazy

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My father was a Mechanical Engineer.  That was how he defined himself.  Sure, he retired as the Executive Vice-President of the company where he worked for 42 years, but he was always an engineer first.  The precision necessary for the … Continue reading

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61. Water, Air, and Dirt

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My father was a bit of a pocket philosopher.  There wasn’t an occasion or event that couldn’t be summed by a clever quip that he had learned while growing up.  Some of these clever quips turned into what appeared to … Continue reading

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59. The Last Visit

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The new century has not been kind to us.  In 2001 Barbara passed away from Cancer at the age of 60.  In 2003 my father had passed away from Alzheimer’s at the age of 89.  In 2005 Elinor passed away, … Continue reading

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58. Our Dinner Table

Both Mom and I had been raised with the tradition of the evening meal at the dinner table.  So it was easy for us to adopt the same traditions for our family.  Mom had eaten dinner many times at my … Continue reading

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57. Williamsburg

Karen and I absolutely loved living together in Massachusetts.  It is a place of beauty from the Blue Mountains to Cape Ann to Cape Cod.  It is a place that has mastered the culinary arts with those resources locally available … Continue reading

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55. The Micros

As the children begin to grow into their own, there is always an event that tells the parent that each child is different. This event is different from what foods they like or their favorite color. In our family, the … Continue reading

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51. Beginning To Grow Up

When Sarah was very young, I was blessed with the task of comforting her before bedtime. I would sing to her and gently dance with her until she fell asleep. It became a tradition and when Patrick was born I … Continue reading

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50. Settling In

The schools in the area surrounding the new house were reportedly very good and our future was bright. Sarah and Patrick thrived at this new house. We were in the middle of the Civil War [locally referred to as The … Continue reading

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47. The Interruption

When Sarah was four and Patrick had yet to experience his second birthday, something happened. It was something that I swore I would never let happen. In my job, I had shunned travel assignments or any other interruptions to my … Continue reading

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46. The Art of Behavior Modification

As a new parent, you are faced with so many challenges, but one of the earliest is trying to control the situation. We had already decided that when our children did something good, we would reward and when they did … Continue reading

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45. Now The Work Begins

So far, in our short married life, my wife and I had made a few conscious decisions. Among other things, we decided we wanted to have a girl and a boy and if that happened right away, our family would … Continue reading

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44. And Then There Were Two

We found out we were pregnant in March of 1989. Yes, we, as I have always believed that creating a family isn’t just, ‘you’re pregnant and I’m along for the ride.’ We were growing our family together and we couldn’t … Continue reading

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43. Emulation and the Thrill

Here are a few notable examples of life at our house in those early days. We had a nice little patch of lawn at our house in Lakeville. It was perhaps 12,000 square feet and it took me about an … Continue reading

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42. Boston Children’s Hospital

This is a story about two events; one where an 18-month-old child gets very sick and another about how life has changed in the last 25 years. We had just returned from a road trip to Maryland. Sarah seemed to … Continue reading

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41. How Many?

In those early days when we first began considering parenthood, the question of ‘how many children do you want to have?’ was always a part of the discussion. I would always answer that ‘six is a good number,’ and my … Continue reading

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26. Trying to Fix It

In the five years since I had lived with Greg and John there were some substantial changes to my life.  Despite my efforts to the contrary, I had learned a lot at school.  The Viet Nam war ended, and with … Continue reading

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25. Taking the Next Step

Sophomore year was ending and the cycle of looking for an apartment for next year was beginning.  I don’t know how it happened but we all had decided to part ways and get an apartment on our own.  That might … Continue reading

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24. The Bourbon

The cocktail party was the main adult social event for upwardly mobile couples in the 1950s.  If you were going to host one of these parties, it was important that your home had some essential elements.  The first was a … Continue reading

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17. Tabor Academy, Part 2

Life at Tabor was all I had hoped it would be.  Although I still struggled academically, I was completely comfortable there.  Thanks to the Rifle Team, I had made several really good and lifelong friends.  But I was still emotionally … Continue reading

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14. Tabor Academy

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I was nearing my 15th birthday and much had happened in the previous 5 years.  My mother had fallen into a world of prescribed depression.  She blamed my father for everything that had happened to her.  She felt that I … Continue reading

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13. Miami Military Academy

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I didn’t know any of this at the time, but this idea of sending me off to Miami Military Academy (MMA) was a pretty sweet deal for my mother.  It got me out of the house, which was the main … Continue reading

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12. Early Sports

My father wasn’t much of a golfer.  His somewhat portly stature, amazing strength, and lack of flexibility helped to create a consistent duck hook that was truly a sight to behold.  The interesting and funny thing was that he was … Continue reading

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11. The End of the Beginning, Part 2

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We arrived in the town of Wilton Manors, FL and I began my new life in another rented house.  The neighborhood was cleaner, the people were nicer, and the weather was warmer than anything Cambridge had to offer.  But I … Continue reading

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10. The End of the Beginning, Part 1

By any measure I was a pretty lucky kid.  I lived in a small town on Cape Cod, I had a good group of friends, and I had a great family.  We had gone on vacations together to Florida, I … Continue reading

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9. The US Steel Story

There is no doubt that my Dad had an unusual way of teaching.  He taught almost by parable, but not quite.  He would tell a story, sometimes funny, and leave the rest for you to figure out on your own.  … Continue reading

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8. Physical Weirdness

In our house the focal point of every new topic, every new discussion, and ultimately every new clever story was at the dinner table.  The evening meal was when every member of the family was present at the same time.  … Continue reading

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7. The Piano

For as long as I can remember there was always a shiny black Steinway Baby Grand Piano in our house.  Neither of my parents could play it but I think it served two very important purposes.  First it was an … Continue reading

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6. Gullible Electrons

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One day my father explained to me that in the wintertime electricity was stored in the carpet.  I was only eight years old and my skepticism was met with a wry smile and the offer of proof.  “Take off your … Continue reading

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5. The Marksman

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It’s hard for me to imagine a more intimate activity between a father and his young child than when he begins to teach his child how to shoot.  It begins with a fathers judgment that his child is old enough … Continue reading

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4. 2nd Grade at Sippican

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I didn’t understand it.  It was raining.  It was always raining.  I had my Davy Crockett fringed jacket and my Daniel Boone ‘coonskin cap and I was, as usual, ready to explore the acres of woods around the house.  So, … Continue reading

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1. 4th of July

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My sister Barbara was 10 years old and my sister Janis was 8 years old when I was born.  Since my parents were both in their late 30s at the time, clearly I was an accident.  Nevertheless, in some fashion, … Continue reading

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Thoughts That Parents Should Consider

Recently I read the “20 Marriage Tips Everyone Needs To Know,” by Gerald Rogers and the response article “10 Marriage Tips Every Wife Needs To Hear,” by Karen Lodato.  While both of these articles are excellent, I began to wonder … Continue reading

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Sugar and Spice, and Everything Nice? — Guest Post

Sugar and Spice, and Everything Nice? By Holly Patrone http://www.hpatrone.com I’ve written two humorous novels, ‘Death Is a Relative Thing’ and ‘Relative Identity’.  They aren’t memoirs but it’s hard not to let bits and pieces of real life roll into … Continue reading

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Small Town Mother’s Daughter — Guest Post

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Small Town Mother’s Daughter By Robyn Lawson by Blog Woman!!! (robynlawson111.com) Once in a while, my mother plays for me an old country song called, “Idol of the Band.”  One of the chorus lines says, “You may just be some small town … Continue reading

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The Eyes Have It

When I first met the woman who would become my wife, I noticed that when she became very tired, her left eye would turn in slightly.  We would most often call this ‘lazy eye’ even though there are much more … Continue reading

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That was some, er, feet — Guest Post

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That was some, er, feet By Terri S. Vanech http://www.pushingonarope.com There’s an old saw that says you should walk a mile in someone else’s shoes, but you couldn’t have gotten very far in mine today. I took a quick break in … Continue reading

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How Did I Ever Survive

Now that I’m retired and generally wandering aimlessly through life, I have a chance to notice things that before had escaped my attention. I started thinking of all the little labels and warnings that seem to permeate our lives.  I … Continue reading

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So You Want To Publish

I’m very new at this.  In 6 months, I’ve gone from never having written anything at all to being a published author.  It just shows what is possible in our modern world.  I’ve gone from complete ignorance of the literary … Continue reading

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Watching the Time

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For Sarah on her 26th birthday. Interesting isn’t it?  How do you watch something that doesn’t exist?  You can’t touch it or feel it, yet it rules your life.  At first, you only had to make the kindergarten bus and … Continue reading

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High Hopes – Guest Post

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High Hopes by Erica Douglas http://www.preachteach.com Once there was a little old ant.  In this case, there were thousands of little old ants. On the way home from one of our late summer evening walks, my three-year-old noticed a large … Continue reading

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The Farm – Guest Post

The Farm By:  Mary Ann Miller http://writersdaybook.wordpress.com There is a large two-story farmhouse that sits across State Route 50 from the little town of Avon, South Dakota.  Over the years it has been substantially remodeled and although it sits on … Continue reading

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She will never, not ever, eat a tomato — and my daughter’s other lines in the sand – Guest Post

She Will Never, Not Ever, Eat a Tomato — and my daughter’s other lines in the sand By Terri S. Vanech http://pushingonarope.com/ We had BLTs for dinner tonight.  In this heat, who wants to cook? A work-related phone call rendered … Continue reading

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A Letter to Shem — Guest Post

A Letter to Shem By Deborah Agube http://deborahagubeblog.wordpress.com/ If I could turn back the hands of the clock, I’d start my childhood with the day you came into my life looking at your fragile, soft body curled up like a … Continue reading

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Dear Dad – Guest Post

Dear Dad by Sage Doyle http://sagedoyle.wordpress.com When I was a child we got poison ivy together working in the yard we filled jugs with water trickling down the natural spring we dug up worms to go fishing You never treated … Continue reading

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