Happy Father’s Day

To my birth father: I never knew you. I’m told you were very excited when I was born, and then you just abandoned us. I guess in those days it was just not accepted to have a child out of wedlock. And then you were murdered, so I never got the chance to meet you in later years. I don’t know where you are—heaven or hell—but I want to say thank you for giving me life. It hasn’t been a perfect life. But it’s been my life, to become what God planned for me from the foundation of the world…. Continue reading

Daddy Deficit

Thank God for any man who steps in to fill in the vacant spots left by absentee dads, because I have witnessed first-hand the struggle children face when their birth father is not present in their lives. I’ve seen the anguish and rage of a young man who wondered why his birth father had once again lied to him. I’ve watched the face of a little guy whose father promised to call, yet after waiting many hours by the phone that didn’t ring, this child states simply and sadly, “He don’t love me.” I’ve witnessed the confusion in a little… Continue reading

Life Under Construction–Home School Style

Recently, Dave and I made a retirement-altering decision regarding one of our grandsons. After learning that he has made it all the way through 5th grade without knowing his multiplication table, how to divide, basic parts of speech, etc., we have decided we will home school him for a year with the prayer for bringing him up to speed with his contemporaries–and who knows, maybe even surpass them! When we talked to “A” about this, he loved the idea immediately. He simply can’t learn in a classroom environment. Some of it is his inability to sit still for more than… Continue reading

Life Under Construction–Parenting is SO Easy

Parents, do NOT let other people guilt you into being “their” kind of parent. I had a neighbor once whose son was in his playroom and dropped his glass of milk. When he tried to pick it up, he cut his palm. This precious mother was so guilt-ridden over what other parents would think of her for leaving her son alone IN HIS PLAYROOM, that she was considering plastic surgery for the little scar that would be on his palm. For most little boys, scars are warrior trophies, anyway. “Oh, this scar? It’s nothing. You should see the other fella.”… Continue reading

Growing Old Together

Imagine being married to the same individual for 51 years. Now, imagine your spouse has died. Your children are grown and live in other parts of the city, or in another state. You go home from the funeral, and the sense of loss is overwhelming. Oh, the kids call. They visit and spend some quality time with you. But at the end of the day, at the end of the visit, they are gone. And you are once again alone in the home you shared with your lover for 51 years.