Mom: (phone rings 5 times) Hello? Me: Good morning! Mom: Who is this?! Me: (hurt and kinda pissed) it’s me, Mom Mom: Who’s me? Me: Zain. It’s Zain your daughter. How are you? Mom: Oh. What’s new? Me: Well, I had a birthday yesterday and didn’t hear from you and Dad. Mom: Huh. Well happy
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Chad the birddog: Up to more tricks
Our tradition was to sit on my folk’s back patio in warm weather at 5pm for happy hour. Dad rigged up a sound system and played classical music and opera. It was relaxing sitting there in the balmy evening air talking, eating mixed nuts and having a cocktail or a soda to strains of La
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She was crawl resistant
My daughter didn’t want to crawl. The pediatrician told me that it was important for babies to crawl. It contributes to their balance, problem solving, and coordination. But my girl was crawl resistant. She was dead set on going from tummy skydiving position straight to climbing. I would get down on the floor and crawl.
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How many stitches did you get?
When we were kids, parents were the exact opposite of helicopter parents. After breakfast they told you to go outside and play. They expected you to get dirty and not die. They warned (read: threatened) you about a whole lot of things not to do. You didn’t tell them if you played in the street,
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Poppa kept moving forward. How about you?
Oh my 2021 is coming in with a bang. Who hasn’t been shaken by the seditious rioting, destruction, death and domestic terrorism at our Nation’s capital? It made me start thinking back on how our country has changed over the decades. This led me to think about my Grandfather Clemet John Raymond McGinness, “Clem” but
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People who shop on Christmas Eve are a different breed
Long ago I lived with John in Ann Arbor. He believed in buying holiday gifts on Christmas Eve at 5pm at K-Mart, “for the rush of it.” I hadn’t ever considered heading to K-Mart on Christmas Eve but I was ready for adventure! K-Mart was strewn with cars parked at odd angles due to the
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Squirrels are eating our cars!
Conversations are all stories. Everything that comes out of our mouths gets filtered through the cheesecloth of our brains. Ick. I’m not sure I like that analogy but you get my drift. Here’s an example: Today I was making breakfast and noticed that Ken was tip toeing across our deck with a gun in his
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One Skunk, One Cat and Tomato Juice: Recipe for Disaster
My sister Mary called to tell me her cat Shaman had been been sprayed by a skunk. She said it wasn’t your regular gee-the-cat-stinks story. Oh no. This is OUR family. She knew she’d have to give Shaman a bath. She prepared the traditional skunk scent removing bath of tepid tomato juice, scooped up the
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Don’t tell me he’s harmless! He’s still big
I joined the chicken co-op here at the farm and the “girls” are laying eggs like crazy. I have Tuesdays which pretty much keeps us set with eggs until my next stint. I have a history with chickens. If you haven’t read my blog about being the alpha chicken, you can find it here: I’m the
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When aliens land, you don’t know me
I was the major caregiver for my parents before they died. I’m not cut out to be a caregiver. Not that Mom needed much care. She was 100% sharp and all there until she died. And Dad was in an Alzheimer’s unit and other than visiting him, there wasn’t much I could do. But Mom.
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Moe Saves the Family
The night after my first marriage there was a terrible tornado. So tempting to draw an analogy here but that would be a cheap shot. It was a small wedding in my parent’s backyard in June. It was a balmy, wildflower scent wafting, sunny day. But the next day was Midwestern hot and humid with
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Danger: Bored Creative Kids
My older brother was always getting into trouble and dragging me along with him. Worst of all was the cat and the laundry chute incident. Our house had two floors and a basement. In the hallway on the second story was a laundry chute for dirty sheets, towels, and clothing, all of which came out
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