Category Archives: Family

Another Year, Another Blessing

21 Sunday Jun 2026

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Happy Father’s Day! I hope all you dads had a great day.

My family and I spent the first part of our day at church, where our pastor of 40 years preached his final sermon. It was a bittersweet day for thousands of people. Yes, I said thousands. The sanctuary seats 2,500 people, and during the first service, people stood along the walls and filled the overflow chapel.

After church, we came home and had lunch together. I was able to celebrate Father’s Day with all of my children, and I couldn’t have been a happier dad.

After lunch, we loaded up and drove to my parents’ house to celebrate with my dad. Today was not only Father’s Day, but also his birthday. He is now 87 years old and is the last surviving member of his family of four siblings.

For his age, Dad is in remarkably good health. He still gets outside and works in his yard and tinkers with his farming equipment, even though he doesn’t do much farming these days.

We nearly lost both of my parents in 2014 when a woman who wasn’t paying attention crossed the center line on a dangerous curve and hit them head-on. Both of my parents spent several weeks in the ICU. After they were released from the hospital, they stayed with my brother and his wife for several months while continuing their recovery and medical treatments.

Mom never fully recovered from the accident. She still struggles with significant back problems, and Dad has balance issues caused by damage to his inner ear.

They both suffered serious injuries from the seat belts and airbags. While those safety features undoubtedly saved their lives, they can also cause severe injuries during a major collision.

I consider myself incredibly fortunate to still have both of my parents with us. At their age, I know every visit, every conversation, and every holiday together is a gift. I don’t know how much longer I’ll have them around, but I intend to treasure every day that I do.

Days like today are a reminder that family is one of God’s greatest blessings, and I’m thankful for every moment we get to spend together.

The Phone Alert No Parent Wants to See

19 Friday Jun 2026

Posted by in Family, Life, Retirement, Twins, Uncategorized, Weather

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I was under the weather yesterday, and honestly, I’m still not quite up to par today. As a result, I didn’t get much done in the garage. I’m not sure if my illness was related to the weather or not, but it rained here most of the day. Whatever the cause, I simply didn’t feel like doing much of anything.

The heaviest rainfall came around 4:00 yesterday afternoon. My daughter was on her way home from work. Normally, her commute takes about 50 minutes, but with the rain, it took much longer.

We use an app on our phones that shares family locations. One feature I both appreciate and dread is that it alerts us when there’s a sudden stop along the way. Usually, that means someone has stopped for gas or coffee. Unfortunately, your mind always jumps to less pleasant possibilities.

My daughter had been talking to my wife through her car’s hands-free system, but decided to hang up so she could concentrate on the road conditions. A few minutes later, her boyfriend called to check on her. While talking with him, she hit a section of roadway that was partially covered in water.

The next thing she knew, her car was hydroplaning. She spun several 360-degree turns before crashing into the center guardrail.

As you can tell from the pictures, her car is pretty torn up. The front, rear, and right side all have extensive damage. If the insurance company doesn’t total it, I’ll be shocked.

Thankfully, my daughter is okay. She has some bruising on her left hand, which we think happened when she instinctively braced for impact. Surprisingly, the airbags never deployed.

Now comes the fun part—dealing with the insurance company. Since she doesn’t have rental car coverage, she’ll be without a vehicle for a while. My wife has already volunteered her car so our daughter can continue getting to work until the insurance company decides whether the car will be repaired or replaced.

That leaves my wife and me sharing one vehicle. With both of us having doctor appointments and other obligations, there’s going to be quite a bit of scheduling gymnastics in the coming weeks.

Still, the important thing is that my daughter walked away from the accident. Cars can be repaired or replaced. People can’t.

There will be inconveniences, sacrifices, and more than a little juggling of schedules, but that’s what parents do. No matter how old our children get, when they need help, we step in and do whatever we can to make sure they have what they need.

She Said Yes!!

07 Sunday Jun 2026

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She said YES!

It was the first anniversary of their first date, so it was no surprise that they planned to spend the day together. What was surprising was how the day unfolded.

He showed up at her apartment with a dozen red roses, and the two of them headed a couple of hours north. They spent most of the day exploring antique stores and local shops. In fact, they even had lunch inside an old antique store.

Later, they made their way to Little River Falls and spent several hours admiring the beautiful waterfall and enjoying the scenery.

The next stop on the agenda was Cherokee Rock Village. I had never heard of the place before, but apparently it overlooks a lake and offers some breathtaking views.

The proposal was supposed to happen around 3:00 p.m., but when 3:30 came and went without a phone call, we started to wonder if something had gone terribly wrong.

We were on our way to my parents’ house to pick them up for the planned celebration dinner when the call finally came.

She was so excited and emotional that she could barely get the words out. As it turned out, the reason for the delay was simple: there was no cell service at the overlook. Her boyfriend had also arranged for a photographer to capture the moment, and they spent some time afterward taking engagement photos together.

Everything went exactly as planned, and I couldn’t be happier for the two of them.

She made it official this morning by posting pictures on social media. I had promised her that I wouldn’t say anything publicly until after she did.

What she still doesn’t know is that we’ve known for weeks that this was going to happen. I have a feeling she might be a little annoyed when she finds out that small detail.

Now they have us looking at wedding venues on Tuesday. Personally, I think that’s moving a little fast, but it’s not really up to me.

Congratulations to both of them. I wish them all the happiness in the world as they begin this exciting new chapter together.

A Much-Needed Day on the Water

04 Thursday Jun 2026

Posted by in Family, Fishing, Kayaking, Life, Nature, Photography, Twins

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Today was exactly what the doctor ordered—except for having to get out of bed at 4:00 a.m. I’ve never been much of a morning person.

Of course, it’s not just the early wake-up call that comes with a fishing trip. There’s all the preparation beforehand and the unloading afterward, both of which I could happily do without. Still, neither can be avoided if I want to spend a day on the water.

I’m always worried I’ll forget something important, and more often than not, I do. Today it was my camera’s SD card. I had removed it to download last week’s video and never put it back in the camera.

Despite that minor oversight, it turned out to be a great trip. Rick and I both caught fish, and that’s always a win in my book. In fact, I was already floating in the water waiting for Rick to launch when I decided to make a few casts. On my third cast, I landed a nice one-pound bass. It’s hard to ask for a better start than that.

The fishing trip couldn’t have come at a better time. We’re still waiting on AT&T to repair the damaged wiring in my parents’ neighborhood, and no one has been able to provide a timeline for when service might be restored. Dealing with that situation has certainly elevated my blood pressure over the past week.

Then there’s another situation occupying my thoughts.

My daughter’s boyfriend is planning to propose on Saturday. Quite a few people know what’s supposed to happen, and I guess that’s what’s making me nervous. The more people who know a secret, the greater the chance someone accidentally lets it slip before the big moment arrives.

I have a location-sharing app on my phone that allows my daughters to see where I am, and vice versa. Before Saturday gets here, I’m either going to turn my phone off or figure out how to disable location sharing. The last thing I want is for technology to spoil a carefully planned surprise.

I’m not in charge of the proposal, but I still feel responsible for making sure everything goes smoothly. There seems to be a hundred different ways things could go wrong.

As if that weren’t enough, my son spent this past week in Orlando, and my daughters have been taking turns checking on his two cats. During one visit, one of my daughters noticed the house was unusually hot and humid. After looking around, she discovered that one of the kitchen windows had blown open.

She did what she could, but when my son called, he asked me to stop by and see if I could secure it better. Once I got there, I found that both window latches were broken beyond repair. I ordered replacement latches and plan to head over tomorrow to help install them.

Saturday morning will be devoted to cleaning my truck inside and out. I managed to cut the grass yesterday, so either tomorrow or Saturday, I’ll need to finish the trimming.

Needless to say, there’s a lot on my plate right now.

That’s why today’s fishing trip was so important. For a few hours, I was able to leave the worries behind, enjoy some time on the water, catch a few fish, and recharge my batteries.

I’m looking forward to a stretch of days when life slows down a bit, and there isn’t quite so much going on. There are still plenty of projects waiting for me around the house and yard, and I’d like to spend some time working on them without feeling pulled in a dozen different directions.

Until then, I’ll be thankful for days like today.

Time to Take a Break From Life

03 Wednesday Jun 2026

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Time to take a break from life.

Tomorrow, I’m heading to the river to spend some time resting, fishing, and gathering my thoughts before I go completely nuts. It’s been a rough week.

If you’ve ever had to deal with AT&T, you probably understand my frustration. This is just one of the many things I had to deal with this week. The others will come in a later post.

When you call or chat with technical support these days, you’re often not dealing with a person at all. You’re dealing with AI. I’ll be the first to admit that AI can be useful, but it isn’t nearly as smart as some people think. It’s only as good as the people who program it.

If it doesn’t understand what you’re asking, it tends to circle back to a previous question, and before long, you’re stuck in an endless loop that eventually ends with the chat session closing without warning. And if you’re hoping to speak with a live person, you had better pack a lunch and prepare for a long wait.

This whole saga started last Friday when my dad asked me to come by on Saturday and help connect a new router that AT&T had sent him. According to them, the old router was bad.

As it turned out, the router wasn’t the problem at all.

Dad had already spent time with technical support trying to resolve the issue. Nothing they suggested worked. He asked repeatedly for a technician to come out, but AT&T seemed convinced that he could solve the problem himself. Eventually, they simply disconnected the call.

That’s where I entered the picture.

Friday evening, I spent an hour and a half trying to reach a live agent. After finally getting through, I was able to schedule a service appointment for Monday between noon and 5:00 p.m.

Monday came and went.

By 6:30 that evening, it was obvious that nobody was coming.

I then spent three and a half hours on hold trying to speak with someone, only to have my phone battery die before I ever reached an agent.

I called back and scheduled a callback for 9:00 the next morning. By 10:00, nobody had called.

Once again, I called AT&T and sat on hold for about an hour before finally reaching a representative.

To his credit, he was polite and listened patiently as I explained everything we had been through. By this point, the appointment had been moved to Friday, and Dad had discovered that the real problem wasn’t the modem at all. Phone lines in the area had apparently been cut—or possibly stolen—which explained why nothing was working.

I told the representative that, in my opinion, customer service had lost sight of the customer. If customers were truly important, there would be a way to speak with a real person without spending hours fighting through automated systems and AI chatbots.

There are some problems that technology simply can’t fix. Sometimes people just need to talk to another person.

The representative assured me that our conversation was being recorded and that he would escalate the issue. He said someone from AT&T would contact me regarding our experience, although it might take a week or two.

We’ll see.

After dealing with all of this, I am emotionally drained. The one thing I’m proud of is that I managed to keep my cool throughout the entire ordeal. I could have unloaded my frustration on the representative, but I knew he wasn’t responsible for what had happened. He was simply the person caught in the middle.

So tomorrow morning, Rick and I will launch the boat around 5:30 and spend a few hours on the river.

At this point, I honestly don’t care whether I catch a fish.

What I need is some peace and quiet. I need time away from hold music, automated systems, and frustration. I need to be reminded of who is really in charge.

And for me, there are few better places to find that reminder than sitting on a river at daybreak, watching God’s creation wake up around me.

Sometimes the best therapy isn’t found in an office, on a phone call, or behind a computer screen.

Sometimes it’s found on the water.

A Father’s Heart Isn’t Always Easy to Explain

31 Sunday May 2026

Posted by in Family, Fishing, Kayaking, Life, Twins, Uncategorized

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I’m fortunate that I don’t have any doctor’s appointments this week. That doesn’t mean I’m completely free from medical matters, though. I still need to drive across town to one of my labs to pick up a copy of the results from my latest MRI, so I can take them to an orthopedic doctor next week and have him take a look at my back.

Earlier this afternoon, I received a text inviting me to go fishing tomorrow. Under normal circumstances, I probably would have jumped at the opportunity, but I had already made plans to pick up my medical records. I politely declined and told him I’d try to make it another time.

The good news is that I had already told my wife I wanted to go fishing at least a couple of times this week. I mentioned that to my daughter today, and while she has commitments every morning, she does have one afternoon available. The plan now is to spend an afternoon fishing with her and then head back out the next morning on my own. One advantage is that I’ll be able to leave all my fishing gear in the truck overnight and won’t have to unload everything until the following day.

Saturday will be spent giving my truck a thorough cleaning. I don’t want my parents riding across town in a dirty truck when we take them out to dinner that evening.

As of right now, my parents have no idea why they’ve been invited to a nice Italian restaurant. To the best of my knowledge, the daughter who’s getting engaged is still somewhat in the dark as well. She believes it’s all going to happen on the 13th. The ring won’t be a surprise—they picked that out together—but walking into a restaurant filled with family and friends who have gathered to celebrate with her afterward certainly will be.

I’m very happy for my daughter, but if I’m being honest, I’m a little scared for her too. Marriage is a life-changing step, and like every parent, I wonder if she’s ready.

She left the nest several years ago when she and her sister moved into an apartment together. At the time, it felt like a major milestone. This feels different. More permanent. More final.

I’m having a hard time putting my feelings into words. There’s joy because I’m proud of the woman she has become. There’s excitement because a new chapter of her life is about to begin. But there’s also a touch of sadness because another chapter is closing.

Maybe that’s just part of being a parent. We spend years teaching our children to become independent adults, and then one day they do exactly that. We celebrate their success while quietly realizing that they no longer need us in quite the same way they once did.

I suppose that’s what I’m feeling tonight—a mixture of happiness, pride, excitement, and just a little bit of melancholy. It’s not a bad feeling. It’s simply the realization that life keeps moving forward, whether we’re ready for it or not.

More Than Just Fishing

30 Saturday May 2026

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I had the pleasure of spending a few hours fishing with one of my daughters yesterday.

The weather was less than ideal. The sky stayed mostly overcast, and we even had a brief rain shower pass through. Fortunately, it wasn’t enough to soak us, so we stayed on the water and kept fishing.

Like any fishing trip, you always hope for one of those days when the fish are biting, and everyone catches plenty. Unfortunately, this wasn’t one of those trips. I managed to catch two fish, and my daughter didn’t catch any.

I felt bad for her. It certainly wasn’t from a lack of effort. She tried hard all day, but the fish simply weren’t interested in what she was offering.

The day before our trip, I had contacted a friend who fishes that creek regularly. He gave me several suggestions on what the fish had been hitting lately. Wanting to improve our chances, I made a special trip to the tackle shop and spent what felt like a small fortune on plastic lures.

Wouldn’t you know it, the fish I caught were on an old plastic worm that had been sitting in my tackle box for who knows how long. Not one fish showed any interest in the new lures.

My daughter is still fairly new to fishing, so I’ve been letting her use one of my older rod-and-reel combinations with a Zebco 33 attached. If you’re a fisherman, you probably already know where I’m going with this. It’s pretty hard to create a bird’s nest with a Zebco 33. She used that same setup last year and caught three bass with it.

Later in the day, I asked if she’d like to try one of my spinning reels. I had four rods with me, three of them equipped with spinning reels. Within minutes, she was casting that spinning reel like she’d been using one for years. I think I may already know what I’ll be getting her for her next birthday.

At one point, I reminded her that fishing isn’t always about catching fish. It’s about being outdoors, enjoying God’s creation, and spending time with the people you care about. In this case, it was about a father getting to spend time with one of his daughters.

She’s a young adult, and I’m sure she understands that. Still, I know the trip would have been even better for both of us if she had managed to catch a few fish.

The reality is that her life is about to change. She’s getting close to becoming engaged, and before long, she’ll have a family of her own to think about. I don’t know what the future holds or how much time she’ll have available to spend fishing with her dad.

I hope she’ll still find the time.

As I get older, I’m learning that some of life’s most valuable moments aren’t measured by success, accomplishments, or even the fish we catch. They’re measured by the people sitting beside us while we’re trying.

Yesterday, I only caught two fish.

But I spent several hours with my daughter.

When I look back on the day years from now, I doubt I’ll remember much about the fish. I’ll remember who was in the small kayak next to me.

The Sunday Before Memorial Day

24 Sunday May 2026

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For the past couple of years, my son has taken it upon himself to grill steaks, hamburgers, and hot dogs for lunch after church on the Sunday before Memorial Day. Today was no exception—except for one small flaw. It rained the entire time.

That meant no standing over the grill, no smell of charcoal drifting through the yard, and no pretending we were all professional pitmasters for the afternoon. Instead, he improvised. The hamburger patties were fried indoors, the hot dogs were broiled, and even the corn on the cob ended up under the broiler.

No matter. He still did a good job.

My wife made brownies and cut up the watermelon she had brought. My daughters made a special dip that disappeared almost as quickly as it hit the table. There was food everywhere, and thankfully, there was more than enough for everyone.

My son invited his girlfriend over, and one of my daughters brought her boyfriend. My other daughter’s boyfriend had a prior church commitment and couldn’t make it this time.

This gathering was also the first time we had been back to my son’s house since the water leak. The contractors did an excellent job rebuilding the damaged walls and replacing the flooring. Honestly, it looked like nothing had ever happened—which is exactly what you hope for after a project like that.

It was also the first time my son had met my other daughter’s boyfriend. As a father, you quietly watch those moments. You wonder how everybody will get along, whether the conversations will flow naturally, and if things might feel awkward.

But everything seemed easy and comfortable. Everybody laughed. Conversations bounced around the room. People drifted from the kitchen to the living room and back again. It simply felt like family.

At one point, I caught myself sitting quietly and just listening.

I admired how much my family has changed in what feels like such a short amount of time. One minute, there were no boyfriends or girlfriends around the table. Now, one relationship is likely headed toward engagement, and another is already hinting in the same direction.

Life changes slowly enough that you hardly notice it day by day. Then suddenly, during an ordinary rainy Sunday lunch before Memorial Day, it hits you all at once.

The kids aren’t kids anymore. Families grow. New people find their place at the table. Traditions continue, even when the weather doesn’t cooperate.

And honestly, I wouldn’t have changed a thing about the day.

Common Sense; It Should Come Standard

16 Saturday May 2026

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I lost my temper with a stranger today. I’m not proud of it. In fact, I’m pretty ashamed that I let myself get that worked up. I guess part of the problem was that I expected a little common sense from a fellow human being. Apparently, that was asking too much.

Normally, I would’ve filled up my truck right after church, but since I won’t be attending tomorrow due to another commitment, I decided to get fuel while my wife and I were already out meeting our two daughters and their boyfriends for lunch.

The gas station in question was the fuel center at Sam’s Club. Around here, they usually have the cheapest gas prices, which also means they usually have lines long enough to qualify as a minor traffic event.

I noticed the two end pumps had shorter lines, so I eased into one of them. The setup beside a concrete median meant once you got in line, you were committed unless you could somehow back out.

There were three vehicles ahead of me: a small car, a pickup truck behind her, and directly in front of me, an SUV.

At some point, both the SUV driver and I noticed the pickup driver put the nozzle back on the pump. Naturally, we assumed he was finished fueling and simply waiting for the lady in front of him to leave so he could pull out.

Wrong.

The lady left, and instead of driving away, the pickup driver pulled forward to the next pump and started over. That’s when we realized something wasn’t right.

Turns out, the pump he had been using was out of order.

Now the SUV in front of me was stuck trying to get fuel from a dead pump, and I was trapped behind it. I tried easing backward, but another vehicle had already pulled in behind me.

This is where the story takes a turn.

I looked behind me and saw a woman sitting in her car. No one was behind her. All she needed to do was back up a few feet so I could get out.

I got out of my truck and motioned for her to reverse.

Nothing.

I waved bigger.

Still nothing.

I even yelled directions while making motions large enough to guide aircraft onto a runway.

Nothing.

At this point, I honestly couldn’t tell if she wasn’t paying attention or if she simply had no earthly idea what my “wild arm flailing” meant. I’ll admit, I was getting irritated fast.

Finally, I got back in my truck and started inching backward anyway. That’s when she honked at me.

That was the exact moment my temper left the building.

I climbed out, walked to her window, and very firmly — and not exactly politely — informed her that I had been trying for the last ten minutes to get her to back up because the pump was broken.

Her response?

“You didn’t tell me to back up.”

Apparently, years of directing traffic with hand gestures have failed me. Either that, or she had never encountered the universal sign for “please move your vehicle before I lose my religion.”

She eventually backed up… though not nearly enough. I somehow managed to squeeze my truck out and circle around to another line.

As I was doing this, a young guy in the next lane who had witnessed the entire circus was laughing so hard I thought he might need oxygen.

His exact words were:

“Your hand gestures were plain enough for a chimpanzee to understand. I guess you can’t fix stupid.”

Now, before anyone nominates me for “Christian of the Year,” let me say this: I know I was wrong for losing my temper. I absolutely was.

But I will also say this — while my mouth got ahead of my better judgment, there were several things my brain suggested that thankfully never made it out loud.

So maybe there’s growth there.

The whole thing could’ve ended much worse than it did. I may have shown my rear end a little, but eventually she understood the message I was trying to convey:

Put the phone down and pay attention to what’s going on around you.

Because if she had been paying attention in the first place, she would’ve noticed the broken pump… and the growing collection of trapped vehicles trying desperately to escape fuel-line purgatory.

The Catfish Was Huge. My Fish? Participation Trophy Size.

14 Thursday May 2026

Posted by in Arts and Crafts, Family, Kayaking, Life, Nature, Twins, Uncategorized, Woodworking

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I wasn’t expecting to make another post until the first of next week, but a few interesting things have transpired.

Yesterday, I went fishing with my fishing buddy Rick. The bite was extremely slow. So slow, in fact, that I honestly thought the day would end without me catching a single fish. I’ve seen funeral processions move faster than the fish were biting.

Rick decided to paddle straight to the first waterfall as soon as we launched. I stayed behind near the launch area and worked the lily pads for a while. After spending some time there without any luck, I finally decided to make my way toward the waterfall myself.

I wasn’t in any hurry, so along the way I stopped at several spots where I’d caught fish before. Nothing. Not even a courtesy nibble from a bluegill. At one point, I started wondering if the fish had all attended a secret meeting and agreed to ignore me personally.

When I finally reached the waterfall, I could see Rick already there, so I stayed along the banks to give him a little room. I was close enough to ask if he’d had any luck, and apparently he was having the same kind of miserable day I was.

Not long after I got there, I heard him paddling closer. Then I heard him call my name and say he had something to show me.

I asked if he’d caught something.

He sure had.

What he pulled out of the net surprised me. It was the biggest catfish I think I’ve ever seen in person. He asked me to weigh it since he didn’t have his scales with him. While he grabbed his phone for pictures, he handed me the fish.

That catfish weighed nearly 10 pounds.

Naturally, the only giant fish caught all day had to belong to Rick. If I had hooked that fish, people would still be hearing about it next Christmas.

Meanwhile, my luck still hadn’t changed much. I had several bites throughout the afternoon, but nothing would stay hooked. Eventually, I paddled back toward the launch area, slipped under the bridge, and fished one of the feeder creeks.

Right before it was time to head home, I finally caught one fish weighing about a pound and a half. By that point, I was so happy to catch something that I probably would’ve taken pictures with a goldfish cracker.

On the drive home, I decided to leave everything loaded in the truck and unload it the next morning.

That turned out to be a good decision.

While eating supper, I was informed that one of my daughters wants me to take her kayaking on Friday. I’m glad I didn’t unload everything. I did have to remove all the non-essential fishing gear because it won’t be needed this trip. I’ll still take my tackle box and rods because while my wife and daughter paddle around enjoying nature, I fully intend to conduct very important fishing research.

I really wasn’t planning on going back to the creek so soon. I was actually looking forward to spending some time working in my shop. But if my daughter wants to go kayaking, then I’m going kayaking. Those opportunities don’t last forever.

I haven’t told Rick I’m going back tomorrow. Otherwise, he’ll want to tag along. To me, this is more of a family outing, and I don’t want to be responsible for keeping up with my family and Rick, too.

Besides, Rick likes to stay all day. My daughter will probably be ready to head home after a few hours, especially if the weather gets hot or she runs out of snacks.

He may get a little upset that I didn’t invite him, but he’ll get over it.

And besides that… he already caught the big fish yesterday.