(The following is a reprint of an article from 2013.)I walked around much of Monday with Beckett’s underwear in my coat pocket.I just didn’t know what to do with it. Underwear is not exactly something I can leave on my desk or in a drawer or in my truck without raising some questions. Therefore, I… Read more »

At the last minute, a scheduling conflict resulted in Beckett’s booster shot appointment having to be canceled last week. It was interesting to see how he handled the change of plans.The 13-year-old kid was disappointed. He wanted his shot. It seemed he would have preferred getting stuck over just about anything except a sports game,… Read more »

(The following is a reprint of an article from 2013.)I walked around much of Monday with Beckett’s underwear in my coat pocket.I just didn’t know what to do with it. Underwear is not exactly something I can leave on my desk or in a drawer or in my truck without raising some questions. Therefore, I… Read more »

Somedays I think parenting my teen is the challenge of my life.Perhaps a bit of hyperbole at play here, but the struggle is real to remain composed, patient and balanced when it comes to our 13-year-old. Some days I fluctuate between thinking we are failing as parents to wondering what we did to this kid… Read more »

Christmas sure is different nowadays.For many years, the kids were up bright and early before the sun full of excitement for what Santa Claus brought them. It was a joyous time of energy and newness. Those mornings of enthusiasm and eagerness are great memories.Now, with the kids 12 and 13 years old, excitement remains but… Read more »

A short trip to Atlanta last week turned out a lot different than expected.Beckett and I were to have a little getaway to start his holiday break. Since we share a love for sports, we decided to take a quick flight to see a professional basketball game. We opted to head south to eliminate weather… Read more »

If my pulse on school-aged families in this community is even close to right, there’s a lot of excitement today. It’s the last day of school for two full weeks.It doesn’t require having kids in schools to understand there’s a host of mental health concerns currently facing students, educators and parents. Although tough to relegate… Read more »

Sometimes things don’t go as planned and hoped.Last Sunday at church our family was to lead a prayer and light the second advent candle. We talked through it with the boys, especially Carson, and Pam and I both felt fine about it. In the past, there would have been serious reservations whether Carson would fully… Read more »

This is Thanksgiving.The 13-year-old walks around a huge buffet featuring a variety of food. Like most Thanksgiving spreads, there is an abundance of food with too many offerings. He’s first in line because he’s starving. He sits down with two pieces of ham, some broccoli, three rolls and an orange Gatorade. Though trying to sneak… Read more »

It was a super busy week at the paper on a short holiday week. Therefore, I am sharing an outstanding article a reader sent in response to last week’s column about my family’s adoption journey. The article, headlined ‘What The Books Didn’t Tell Us,’ was written by Matt Forck and available at adoptivefamilies.com.Many years ago,… Read more »