Miracle

Whistling metal kettle with black handle emitting steam on lit gas burner

If I hadn’t known what had transpired, I wouldn’t have guessed, judging from the lack of any appearance of injury to her lap. It made no rational, naturalistic sense. All was well, as if it always had been.

This is 50

So, what is there to say after 50 years? If the ride abruptly stopped right here, what would I say I’ve learned that’s most worth passing on?

Patience

I get myself in all kinds of trouble when I ditch this attitude, and it’s often a sign that I need to stop for the day.

Graduation

As I held her face in my hands, kissed her forehead, and told her I was proud of her, any frustrations I bore up to that point over the last several years since she came to us at the impressionable age of eight didn’t matter so much anymore.

Thirteenth

Each new year can feel like just another number, but more often than not I’m astounded that it’s already been another year.

London

I acknowledge you’re never really finished with the job of parenting, but there are a few satisfying stages I still hope to cross, this being one of them.

Snow Stories

"The first fall of snow is not only an event, it is a magical event. You go to bed in one kind of world and wake up in another quite different, and if that is not enchantment then where is it to be found?" - J. B. Priestly

Fifteen

She’s 15 today. If I’m brutally honest, there have been plenty of times I wasn’t sure we’d make it this far.

Perseverance

"If you're going through hell, keep going." - Winston Churchill

Perspective

Talking to strangers, though we’re warned of such things as children, is one of the most satisfying changes I’ve made as an adult, and my only regret with the practice is not having picked it up sooner.