Listening to Beckett sing in the shower is a highlight of my day.If I have the time, I will sit outside the bathroom and listen to him bounce from song to song. He typically sings a few lines he knows and then ad libs a bit because he can’t remember all the words. When he… Read more »

Many parents, including me, live in disparate worlds vacillating between the realms of guilt and anxiety and pride and love.If you read this column weekly or semi-regularly, you well understand this has morphed into a journal of sorts. I view thoughts and experiences shared here as something that a reader may identify with and feel… Read more »

Families are built in many different ways.That’s why I am a grandfather at 43 years old and Beckett and Carson are uncles at 10 and 9 years old, respectively. For the record, Pam is entirely too young to be a grandmother as well. However, she, and we, wouldn’t have it any other way today, as… Read more »

“Embrace the laziness.”That was the mantra around our house last week as soon as the doctor confirmed Beckett had the flu and should miss an entire week of school.When the doctor said he needed to do nothing but relax the rest of week, and possibly more depending on how he felt, I wondered to myself… Read more »

I came across a column this week about youth sports that I thought was worthy of sharing.Beckett, 10, has played multiple sports most of his life. If you ask him which sport he likes the best, he will tell you whatever one he is playing at that time. When asked recently by a friend what… Read more »

A few minutes into watching the Super Bowl as a family, I became doubtful my boys were going to make it beyond the first quarter.While there was sleep to worry about on a school night with the game starting well after 6:30 p.m., I’m referring more to the patience level it would require to even… Read more »

Prior to becoming a parent, I admit to never thinking much about the term inclusion.However, it’s a big part of life now with our special needs son, Carson. For us, inclusion means being part of a community that is understanding of him, supportive and genuinely caring.Inclusion means our non-verbal son is still able to participate… Read more »

Carson was my assistant coach in a recent basketball game.Because his brother’s games are a little later in the evening, Carson has only been to one game this year. While warming up, Carson came out on the court to help rebound. When it came time for the game to start, he had no interest in… Read more »

There’s another column in this paper called “Things I Like.” I’m often told by people how onerous it must be to come up with 11 positive things every week. These same folks usually say they could do it on a weekly basis if they could list “Things I Don’t Like” or “Things I Hate.”I understand… Read more »

Being busy is an excuse many use when we either screw up or can’t do something in a timely fashion.Of all the various responsibilities in my life, I consider being a parent a top priority. That’s why I make sure to not put work or other obligations ahead of the kids. That doesn’t mean I’m… Read more »