Kyle (not his real name) is 50 years old. We were born within a few days of each other. But Kyle did not have the same experiences I did in elementary school. He didn’t attend any junior high dances. And he never graduated from high school. Nor has Kyle married or had children. In 1962, Kyle was born with Down’s syndrome. Several years ago Kyle was the victim of a predator. He was forced to endure heinous sexual assaults. The…
When I tell people that my firstborn turned 23 this past week, they tell me that kids often come home after leaving the nest. I always listen and smile politely, but they obviously don’t know my Randall. He was my child that gave us the “who are you look” when we would come to pick him after staying with his favorite caregiver as a baby. And he was the same child that never looked back when I dropped him off…
My mother cried the day my dad traded off our light blue 1969 Plymouthstation wagon. I recall rolling my eyes and thinking that I had a mother who was just a tad kooky. 38 years later I think I understand how she felt. The appliance man just loaded up the washer machine I purchased when our oldest son was an infant. I am glad to report that the kind man from Sears did not have to offer me a handkerchief…
Father’s Day is tomorrow and there will be no whining. Complaining is not allowed. Pouting is forbidden. There will be no self centered negative emotions. Having a bad attitude is totally out of the question. I really should provide some form of an explanation… My first Father’s Day without my dad was in 1978. It occurred a few weeks after my 16thbirthday. It was a sad day indeed. And even though I am blessed with three remarkable sons I still…
Mother’s Day has become one of my favorite holidays, because of a tradition we have established at church in recent years. During the Sunday morning service we have a baby blessing. We honor all of the infants that been born during the course of the previous year. Seeing parents with their babies in front of the entire church is great. During this time of blessing we commit to pray for these children and their parents. It is a great day….
I’d like to pose a question. Do you know anyone in this world who has ever disliked or said anything bad about Jan Knox? Go ahead, mull it over. Take as much time as you like. I am 100% sure that you can’t think of a single name. I’m just as confident that will remain true forever. In fact I’d like for this blog post to be the official start of my campaign to have my mother considered for sainthood….
I was off for several days last week, so I spent a good deal of time reading assigned material for an upcoming retreat that is part of a two year residency that has spiritual formation as its focus. In other words, when this two year experience is over I should be a better person! (Actually there is a lot more to it than that…) By Friday afternoon, I was tired of reading about being a spiritual person. I was ready…
In August of 2007, we packed up all our firstborn’s belongs and prepared to make the two hour trek west to Abilene. I deferred to his mother and allowed her the privilege of riding in his car with him on his first trip to college. I drove the family van loaded down with all the necessities for life in a college dormitory. The conversation she had with our then 18 year old son that afternoon is not one she will…
I heard a tale of two fathers last night at a Christmas party. Perhaps I should say that I heard a tale of two kinds of fathers! The first installment in the story unfolded as we sat around enjoying some traditional Mexican food. One the attendees at the party grew up in a home where both of his parents were educators in the public school system. I might add that they were employed by schools in a somewhat rural community. Brian…
I have never called anyone mom before. Those are the words of a 13 year old boy who was a resident at Casa De La Esperanza in Northern Mexico prior to being reunited with his biological mother. Casa is a children’s home that provides residential care for about 50 children. There are infants and there are teenagers in that group. The median age is 7. 31% of the children have no clue as to the identity of either one of…