“Your dad had the sweetest smile.” “He was always smiling.” “What I remember most about your dad was his smile.” “I am going to miss his grin.” “Every time I saw your dad he was smiling.” Though we were exhausted from the week’s events, we found the scores of people coming through our receiving line at Dad’s funeral to be unbelievably comforting. Saturday, July 27th, at around 1pm, my mother called me and in a distressed voice declared, “I need to talk to Eric. Now!” I ran to him, woke him up, handed him the phone, walked across the hall, sat on the guest bed, and anxiously waited for my … [Read more...]

Today’s post is short and sweet. The past two weeks – after losing my Dad so unexpectedly – have been some of the hardest days of my life, but also some of the sweetest. Why? Because in a time of great loss, God has shown Himself greater, stronger, and more loving than I have ever known Him. He has also shown us the value of friends – real friends – and taught me some valuable lessons on what it means to be a friend. So, I will leave you with a few thoughts on which to reflect for this week. Love the man or woman God gives you with all your might. Our days are numbered. You will never … [Read more...]

“I am going to bury you with that iPad.” Eric has heard this joke enough for a lifetime. He has also heard me say that I am going to bury him in the jacket he wears all the time (year-round; but that is another story for another time ~smile~). It is no secret I have entertained fantasies about destroying that device in a myriad of creative and painful ways. (Perhaps I am a little jealous of it at times?) However, if Eric were to counter with a joke of his own, he would say that he is burying the TV with me. We both have our screen of choice (his, he interacts with actively; mine, I interactive … [Read more...]

Growing up, one of my favorite pastimes was laughing with friends or family until I could not breathe. Nothing else in life seemed to bring as much enjoyment (except maybe the amorous attentions of young men). Changing hormones (which led to unprovoked giggles) and the freedom of responsibility gave us many hours to joke with each other, find the humor in our sheltered lives, and laugh until our sides ached. Even today, those same friends and I gather at the beach each summer hoping to descend into the same giggles which once gave us much pleasure and relief. They are a little harder to … [Read more...]

Standing in his apartment kitchen and making dinner, my friend said, “I want my future wife to have at least a master’s degree.” I bristled at his comment. Who does he think he is? Is a woman without a master’s degree worth less than a woman with one? I think not! In the moment, I held my tongue, but over the years – but, even after we started dating – his expectation of a certain level of education bothered me. I expected to pursue a master’s degree, but what if I changed my mind? I did not like the idea of my worth being determined by a flimsy piece of paper and a subjective level of … [Read more...]