The Wink

Lonely

I have three friends suffering right now. Their stories are all distinct, and in truth I don’t know the whole of any of them, but I know enough to see and hear that they are in pain. Family, self, struggle. We all have things that weigh upon us more heavily than they might others, but [...]

Where I’m From

I am from dirt trails, from multi-colored super balls raced in rain-flooded gutters and tunnels carved through wild raspberry bushes. I am from the orange house with the soaring views and quirky angles, perched on the edge of the hill, toward the end of the dead end street, past the plum trees and tiny houses to [...]

Unloc(h)ed

I knew it would have to happen eventually. We flirted with it in principle, then it became more pressing, something that had to move beyond concept and actually take place. I am, of course, talking about cutting Finley’s hair. She turned 3 in late April and has never had a haircut. How do you touch this? Finally she turned [...]

Rising

Yesterday a friend from my Yakima days shared something on Facebook that I immediately felt was speaking directly to me. It said: Love one another and you will be happy. It is as simple and difficult as that. ~Leunig I don’t write about it here very often because it seems like if you want to find tragic, angry, bitter [...]

Stripes

They say you have to earn your stripes. I never imagined when I met you that 12 years later I’d be typing away in bed to try and articulate how and why I am grateful for the dad that you are to our daughters. Daughters! Three times over. We were just going to date… You are a wonderful dad, [...]

Transparency

I feel a bit like the wheel on my MacBook, at the office we refer to it as the wheel of death, at home Finley squeals, “It’s workin’, it’s workin’.” I want to believe she’s right, that like that relentless little wheel, I am working. It would be so deeply reassuring to think that I [...]

Aspiring

I’ve realized something, nothing earth shattering, but it is life-altering. I want to be happy. When I’m walking down the street and contemplating whether to balance on the curb or behave, when I am deciding between taking it seriously or shaking it off, I want the world to see me as happy. I want to [...]

My Plate

Let me start this right off by saying we all have a lot on our plate(s). Work-at-home, work-outside-the-home, stay-at-home or whatever other qualifier precedes the word mom—or dad/wife/husband/single-lady/bachelor/student whatever. We all have weak spots and strong suits, predisposed genetic traits. Fine. Done. We also have responsibilities. We have to figure things out. It isn’t always easy. [...]