Teenagers think they know everything, yet they know almost nothing about life. They are barely educated and lack even the smallest morsels of life’s experience. They think their parents are old and out of touch. They truly believe they can … Continue reading
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
30 is such a good age. You’re close enough to your prime in your 20s, yet now growing into a nice maturity where you make fewer mistakes and enjoy life more. You might be getting married or even starting a … Continue reading
I called this Redux because I wrote this one, Social Security less than a year ago. Government programs that you thought you could rely upon are really at the whim of whoever is in office at the time. The other … Continue reading
Are you thinking about having a ‘mini-me’ running around the house? If you and your partner have functioning biological equipment, you’re good to go. And if you don’t, you can even adopt. There’s no experience or qualifications necessary and there … Continue reading
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
Let’s say that you’re one half of a happily married couple and that you’ll be married for 50 years before one of you passes into the great beyond. In that 50 year time period, you will have been married 18,250 … Continue reading
Recently I completed a writing exercise to help keep my mind active and my writing fresh. As most of you know, I usually write stories that are in the 1000 word range and they seem to end when they end. … Continue reading
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
“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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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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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
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
I guess you would think that I had nothing better to do while working in that nice office in Falls Church, VA. but look out the window. That woodpecker and I sparred for a few weeks it’s true, but that … Continue reading
As the children were getting a bit older, it was finally time to share some of my own stories at the dinner table. Some of those stories were repetitions of those my father had told me, but some, like the … Continue reading
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
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
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
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
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
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
After my wife had been given 48 hours to recover, our new family of three was headed home. The new car seat was inspected first by the hospital staff, approved, and off we went. My mother-in-law had arrived for a … Continue reading
In a previously written post, “You Better Hurry Up,” I told the story of how my father very logically suggested that at 36 I was getting a little old for children. While I didn’t appreciate his interference, I did heed … Continue reading
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
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
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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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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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
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
Frustration is the difference between what you think it should be and what it is. I used this expression endlessly during my career. I have found that people will be happy with just about anything if they are prepared for … Continue reading
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It’s official, I am going to introduce an ordinance in Prince William County that no one beyond a certain age and of questionable heart activity shall be allowed on their front porch after 11:30 pm. Yes, that’s right, I did … Continue reading
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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I would like to think that this is the last of my wildlife stories, but there are always new members of the animal kingdom that wander in from time to time. There is one important difference with this story; it … Continue reading
Last Sunday night I ventured out onto the front porch. It was around 11:30 pm and the waxing crescent moon had already set. Most of our neighbors keep an outside light on during the night so there are always faint … Continue reading
Let’s say you are a supervisor or middle manager at a small company. Nearly 52% of workers in the US work for small companies. In many ways, it can be a better place to work. There are no big company … Continue reading
J T Weaver 