Full of Grate

The season of gratitude is upon us. I’ve been reading the daily Facebook posts. Some may find them wearing, but I enjoy the reminder to look at life through a different lens — sometimes even one that’s rose-colored. Ultimately, this family has so much — healthy kids, happy marriage, squirrel-chasing dogs, a roof over our […]
Giving Thanks

I cannot deny that these past two years have been hard. Soul-crushing, fetal-position hard at times. Let me begin by saying this, by owning this: I know that if I threw my problems into a pile with all the other problems of the world, I’d grab mine back as quickly as I could. I know […]
Adaptation

Ten short months ago, we received word that Mississippi State University wanted Chris. (Cue the Billy Squier music.) Ten short months ago, we broke the news to the kids. Sam and Gus smiled nervously and nodded their tentative approval, George bit back tears, Mary Claire exploded into full-on, body-thrashing, vitriol-spewing anger. “Nooooooooo!!!!” she screamed as […]
WWSD?

It’s another news story that’s going to do us all in. The death of Steve Jobs is going to be over-covered, over-reported, over-discussed. And yes, I am aiding and abetting. Yesterday, I spent a great deal of time in the financial fetal position. As of late, we’ve cut our income by 50%, we sold our […]