Wounded

There is a wound in our world. Perhaps more appropriately, a gash. A hole from which blood pours and pain radiates. It reveals to reality all that is inside of us, and it isn't always pretty. Over the past few years in America, the wound has been growing larger. They do that when you irritate them. Pick at them, brush them against something, catch the scab and rip it off - it doesn't matter how - when you don’t leave…

letters

I am broken. I struggle. There are many days I do not know that I will make it through. Such is the life of a person. Not a person defined by a set of letters or a medical diagnosis, but a person who lives in this falling world. All of us struggle. All of us hurt. All of us are parts of a whole that has never quite been put together. In this and many other ways, I am no…

Hope and help – from a whole lotta hurt

Suicide sucks. Sorry to for the bluntness and harsh language, but that’s about as ‘soft’ as I am comfortable going on the matter. It just plain sucks. Unfortunately, I would know. Tonight my wife and kids and I ate a fantabulous dinner of chili dogs, potato chips and root beer, in honor of her late father Neil, who’s death was 7 years ago today. Or at least that’s when we found out about it. Sadly, Neil, who was one of…

Humans, we have a problem

There are not many things in the first world that compare to bailing “dirtied” water out of your sons toilet because he has put an entire roll of toilet paper into it and flushed. I would know. After about an hour of plunging I decided that wasn’t going to work, and so I moved on to the ‘Plumber MAXX.’ When that started bubbling almost to the point of unintentional evacuation, I decided that an ice cream bucket ‘bailing’ system was…

daddy’s little girl

I still don't really believe it happened. One minute I was sitting at home watching nighttime television with my wife - the next I was holding my daughter. My daughter. The words don’t even make sense as I type them. Her name is Esther. People keep telling me she’s beautiful, and she is. People keep saying she’s perfect, and she might be. People keep saying she has so much more hair than I do, and they’re right. I see all…

False Start

There’s a penalty in football called a false start. The basic premise is that it is illegal for someone on the team with the ball to start the play before all the others. So after they all line up and get ready, someone moves before the ball is snapped and the whole play has to be stopped and the offensive team is penalized 5 yards. It’s one of the only times in life I can think of that someone gets…

fixer upper

Lately, Em and I have been caught up watching a show on HGTV called ‘Fixer Upper.’  The premise is that a couple from Waco, Texas helps couples purchase homes that are in need of some repair for a cheap cost, and then uses the remainder of their budget to completely remodel the house to their taste. The houses they choose are always cool places that just need someone with a keen eye to help them reach their full potential. It’s…