Monthly Archives: December 2017

Here’s to 2018

Not that I keep track of bad years and label them as such in my memory, but had I done so, I suspect that 2017 would sit at the very top of the list. Every year will have its share … Continue reading

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Good Fortune

We had Chinese food for dinner tonight. My fortune: Our purpose in life is not to get ahead of other people—but to get ahead of ourselves. This is good advice to carry into the new year, don’t you think?

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Our Christmas Tree

Dear Kids, Every time I look at our Christmas tree from a certain angle, I can see that not only is the tree leaning noticeably to one side, but the star on top is crooked. From every angle it is … Continue reading

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Old Cars and Old Cats

Our car and our cat have more in common than you’d think. They are both old. They both require more maintenance with every year. The repairs get more expensive with every year, too. The repairs are also remarkably similar in … Continue reading

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Three Great Words

zugzwang: n. a situation, such as in a chess match, where you are obligated to take a turn even though it’s going to hurt your position. I take it to mean roughly “between a rock and a hard place.” You … Continue reading

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Her Holiday List

One evening before Christmas I was talking to my mom about Christmas lists. Livia came into the room. She must have liked what she heard of my half of the conversation. Unbeknownst to me, she started making her own Christmas … Continue reading

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Merry Christmas

I was just absent-mindedly fiddling with the glow stick that my daughter gave me when she asked, “You gonna stick that in your nose?” I thought about it for a minute, then replied, “Yeah.” And I stuck it up my … Continue reading

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Stories from 2017

Dear Kids, Here are some stories about you. Marshall went through a phase of thanking us for everything. For example, one day there was a turkey in the yard. I showed it to him, and afterward he solemnly said, “Thank … Continue reading

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Three Magical Books

This post has been sitting in my drafts folder since October. Crazy, huh? It looks OK to me, so I’m going to fix the typos that I found and publish it. Here goes! My friend recently mentioned Sarah Mlynowski’s Magic … Continue reading

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Trolls & Elves

Heard around the house: One man’s troll is another man’s elf. Somehow I doubt Santa would agree.

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