Written by The security agent unzipped the backpacks and laid them out on the screening table. Something within both of them had caught the attention and concern of the agent at the monitoring station. There were too many options to consider as to what the contraband could be, so I primed myself to stay ready to explain away whatever he pointed out. The boys started walking over. The security agent pulled out the lunchboxes that were packed in each of the backpacks. He slowly unzipped the first one.
Learning to fly (part 1)
3:20 AM. It was really happening. We were about to load up the boys and plod our way towards a 5:40 flight to South Carolina. My head was in a fog as I went through the motions of getting ready and getting the final items packed into the car. Kendra was in fluid Super Mom mode…she was out of the shower before I was fully awake, and she had dressed two sleeping children by the time I got out myself. Her mother spent the night to make sure we didn’t oversleep and miss our flight, and she was a great help in keeping the house together while we got everything ready for the trip. She helped direct traffic that morning as we checked and double checked, took inventory of the kids, and shuffled out the door. 4:01. Semi-conscious and teeming with anticipation, we backed out of the driveway.
ain’t no cabinet high enough
I entered through the sliding glass door to find him standing on the couch. His face was sheer elation. His broad grin exposed his tiny glistening teeth with two wads of chewing gum tucked into his cheeks. He heaved with laughter as he extended his hand to reveal a mostly empty pack of gum… the same gum I had taken from him and put away mere minutes beforehand. His eyes were still red, and his face still held the tracks from the tears he’d shed over the incident. All the stomping and hopping and the drooping of the shoulders and casting back of the head in protest had vanished from his mind. Only joy remained. He stood there victorious. He had his prize.
Late night with Mr. Mindbender
Last night I discovered that Jaden would rather eat snake guts than fried worms, and that he’d rather sleep in a pasture of cow manure than on an ant hill. I found out that Dillon would rather be trapped on an island than on a mountain top, and that he would rather be bitten by a fire ant than eat fire.
the meaning of Tuesday
It was just after 8:00 that Tuesday morning when I received the call in my office. Kendra was audibly distressed and doing her best to hold it together for the boys. I anticipated the phone call. Ethan was going to be dropped off with my parents for the first time so Kendra could spend the morning volunteering in the classroom. We spoke to Ethan about it the night before as well as that morning. But as much as he smiled and nodded to the news of spending time at Nana and Papa’s house, it was clear he had his own interpretation of what was being said when the time came to say goodbye to momma. To borrow from the Good Book, there was much weeping and gnashing of teeth…and that was just from Kendra. READ MORE »
