More Family Stories
- I tried to negotiate a later curfew for my teenager using a carefully rehearsed argument about trust and responsibility. He agreed immediately, no pushback at all, which somehow made me trust the whole situation even less.
- My daughter wanted to learn how to swim, so we spent the whole summer at the pool practicing. By August she was swimming laps better than me, and reminded me of that fact at every possible opportunity.
- I bought a treadmill with genuine intentions of using it every day. Six months in, it's become the most expensive clothes rack in the history of our bedroom, and I've made peace with that outcome.
- My son asked to help wash the car, promising to be extra careful. He was extremely careful with the car and extremely not careful with me, the hose, and most of the driveway.
- I volunteered to give the toast at my brother's wedding, confident in my public speaking skills. I practiced for weeks. On the day, I forgot the entire speech and improvised something about how he used to steal my cereal as kids.
- I decided to teach myself guitar using online videos, confident I'd be playing songs within a month. Three months in, I've mastered exactly one chord and a version of 'Happy Birthday' nobody's actually asked to hear.