“That’s all of that I can take,” I muttered under my breath as I clicked the remote control to turn off the evening news. Watching the news these days can leave you depressed, fearful, apprehensive, and stressed out. No wonder I often prefer the vintage reruns of the Andy Griffith Show to harken me back Read More…
Nineteen Years Old
Nineteen. Where did the years go? My son turns nineteen years old today. I remember that tiny baby boy that I would position on my chest with his head on my shoulder as we sat in the recliner. I still vividly recall all the times I came home from work and he was bouncing Read More…
His senior year will be different
Senior year. I remember wearing my letter jacket practically year-round that year as I wanted everyone to know I was on the basketball team. Friday night football games, followed by a school dance. Basketball games followed by gathering with friends at Pizza Hut. Late night meetups at the local college tennis courts to hang Read More…
Brothers in Arms
We sat around the table over mounds of onion rings and chicken wings. White collar, blue collar, and no collar. Two dozen dads who couldn’t be more diverse or different. Our one thing we all have in common is that we are all dads of children with special needs. Some have been on Read More…
The Fork in the Road
White collar. Blue collar. No collar at all. Some are just starting down this journey. Others have been on this road for many years. Some are youthful, energetic, and engaged. Others are tired, weary, and passive. I look around the room and down the table and I’m struck by the thought that most of Read More…
From Good Riddance to Goodness
“What I ought to do is take a flame thrower to this place!” I saw an article the other day where the author essentially asked of the reader, “Have you ever wanted to just rip a year down off the wall and burn it?” This past year had been very unkind to the writer Read More…
Renewing Our Vows
This morning Becky and I are renewing our vows. We’ve been pointing to this day for some time now. What should we wear? What will we say? I still remember the day we stood in the church and made a covenant before God. “For better or worse, in sickness and health, till death do Read More…
I Never Dreamed
This week one of my good friends accompanied his eighteen-year-old son off to join the Marines. Another friend sent his eighteen-year-old child off to college. My son turns eighteen this month. Last night he peed in the bathtub. The gap between our life and the life of a typical family is sometimes so Read More…
I’ll Never Let Go
I remember holding him in my arms for the first time just minutes after cutting his cord in the delivery room. I would place his sleeping form on my chest, his head gently laying across my shoulder, as we sat in my chair at night. I would rest contentedly when, as an infant, he Read More…
Warning Signs of Becoming a Vacant Dad
I first used the phrase “vacant dad” a couple of years ago to describe a phenomenon we’re seeing in the special needs community. As I interact daily within the special-needs community, I am convinced that we have an epidemic of vacant dads. I call it the Vacant Dad Syndrome. What exactly is a “vacant Read More…