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Tag Archives: Celeste
High school graduation, pandemic style
I remember little of my high school graduation. In fact, my sharpest memory of that June day 33 years ago is of a bug splatting all over my necktie as I drove to the ceremony. And it was no small … Continue reading
Some guys yell at football, I yell during ‘Switched at Birth’
Like most American men, I’ve been known to yell at the TV. Some men scream at the quarterback for throwing an interception with two minutes left in the fourth while others passionately correct the cable-news talking heads with whom they … Continue reading
What I learned chaperoning a middle school field trip
We all need to challenge ourselves. Some people learn a new language while others run a marathon. Some might learn to cook healthier while others set out to build their own deck or finish the basement on their own. The … Continue reading
Celeste returns to school after scoliosis surgery
Celeste returns to school today, nearly two months to the day of undergoing scoliosis surgery at Johns Hopkins Hospital to free her spine of the curve in her spine. It’s been a long road, one we started on blindly when … Continue reading
Passing the milestones of recovering from scoliosis surgery
We all measure life by the milestones we pass, and few are sweeter than the ones we parents count for our children. Whether it’s the first word, tooth, step, day in kindergarten, or bike ride, all parents marvel at how … Continue reading
Finding comfort during scoliosis surgery
“Thank you” feels inadequate. How can the same two words I’d say when someone passes the ketchup express the same gratitude I feel about every kind word, every email, every offer of help, every Facebook like, every prayer, and every … Continue reading
Walking the long curvy path of scoliosis
Genetics can be so random. In some families it creates a genius who takes human knowledge to places the rest of us never imagined. In others it creates a disease that robs the world of a promising young life. Most families … Continue reading
Finding new lessons in ‘Where the Wild Things Are’
Karen and I started reading to Celeste and Gavin when they were young. Celeste was 3 months old when we began a daily ritual of reading to her at bedtime. We’d grab three or four books and read them to … Continue reading
Can I make it through adolescence and middle school without blinking?
I want to be the first person to never blink again. Sounds crazy, right? Especially for someone who wears contacts and whose eyes dry out in the time it takes a cat to run to you when you open her … Continue reading
A summer lesson in what to expect
I don’t expect my cat to bark. When I look at Obi, I expect him to stare blankly back at me as if he were about to say, “Yeah, you think you’re the man of the house, but we all … Continue reading