More Family Stories
- My son's first attempt at writing a thank-you note to his grandparents was three sentences of genuine, unfiltered honesty about exactly why he liked the gift. Everyone found it more charming than any polite phrasing could have been.
- My daughter's homemade puppet show for the family used socks, buttons, and a plot that involved a surprising amount of political intrigue for something performed entirely by an eight-year-old before bedtime.
- Last Father's Day my kids surprised me with breakfast in bed. It was cereal, served dry, in an actual bed — mine. Turns out 'breakfast in bed' was taken very literally, and I found Cheerios in my sheets for a week. Ten out of ten, would recommend.
- I told my kids we were 'going on an adventure' instead of 'doing yard work' and got surprisingly good cooperation for two hours. I'm not proud of how well it worked. I'm already planning to rebrand 'cleaning your room' as 'a quest' next weekend.
- I spent twenty minutes explaining to my daughter why we don't just 'print more money' to solve our problems. She listened carefully, nodded, and asked if we could at least print some for her. I don't think the lesson landed.
- I once told my barber 'surprise me' and immediately regretted every life choice that led to that sentence. He did not disappoint. Or rather, he disappointed enormously, with real commitment and technical precision.