Family

Incredible, Amazing, Mighty

My mother is a superhero.
Unmatched in courage, faith, commitment.
I look to her like all mortals look to heroes,
and offer this heartfelt
thank you,
time and again.

For Thressa Mae Brown
Happy birthday, Mom.

Year 9

MindyI can’t recall ever asking my wife why she married me. On this day, beginning our ninth year of matrimony—with two kids, a dog and a mortgage in tow—I’m not going to tempt a great thing. What I will say is that I’m grateful for my wife’s companionship, support, beauty, humor, toughness, intelligence, blunt honesty and creativeness. There’s something reassuring and powerful about a partner who always has your back, particularly coming off the year I had, which included illness, loss of loved ones and job loss. The Lord notwithstanding, at every junction last year (and all the years prior) there’s been no point in which I’ve stood alone.

Nine years of this is a good thing, and if I get around to asking her why she’s with me, it’s my hope she’ll say I’ve provided at least some of the same. My wife’s a true blessing to me and the world.

Happy anniversary, my love.

Out and about

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Manhattan

On 7th Ave.

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The Apple

Empire State of mind.

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Train to Penn Station

On the No. 2

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Rolling into town

The cityscape.

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The hotel.

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The arrival.

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N.J. Drive

The Garden State!

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To the Apple

Headed to N.Y. with the family for a birthday celebration. Eastbound and down.

Fathers

There may be one male teacher at my daughter’s elementary school, not including the principal. I was recently informed that at one Bloghouseparticular public high school in our school system, 80 percent of the students belong to single-parent households. Guess which gender is raising the kids alone? While I wasn’t smart enough to appreciate it while I was younger, my Dad was an essential component of my upbringing. My Mom’s role seemed more visible, sure, but my Dad’s filled in the gaps. If Mom taught me patience, a sense of identity, the space to cry, Dad gave me the backbone, the safety net, to work it all out in the real world. It’s lineage runs from him, through me, and on to my daughters–I hope.
For those who are trying every day, for those who are showing up, for those who jump gleefully into the daddy breach (yippee-ki-yay!) I say Happy Father’s Day.