Photo Me: Age 13
Tuesday, August 23rd, 2011 Posted in Family | No Comments »Today is my sister Jean's birthday. Fifty-four years on this earth. So I dug out this old photo from a family trip, D.C. I think, perhaps Virginia. I seem to recall us heading down there to visit my brother John. ...
Overheard: “Dad, I just got a cool new app.”
Tuesday, July 26th, 2011 Posted in Family | No Comments »Gavin got an iPod Touch for his twelfth birthday. He just downloaded a new app. It's brought the whole family together. Let's hear it for technology. Come on, everyone, repeat after us: "BRAAAINS!" We think Mom has been working too hard. And ...
The 2011 USA Women’s World Cup Team: Helping to Restore a Little Faith in Sports
Thursday, July 14th, 2011 Posted in Around the Web, Family | 1 Comment »"You have to keep the fun alive -- if you are not enjoying it, what's the point?" -- Joy Fawcett. - Like a lot of folks these days, I'm loving the story of the American Women's World Cup soccer team. My family ...
Overheard: “-ish.”
Tuesday, July 12th, 2011 Posted in Family, the writing process | 2 Comments »It's how Maggie, my 10-year-old daughter, answers certain types of questions these days. For example, "Maggie, are you feeling better now that you've rested?" "-ish," she answers. As in, better-ish. Kind of, sort of, a little, not really. Or perhaps it's spelled "Ish." Hard ...
Overheard: “I Love You, Maggie!”
Wednesday, July 6th, 2011 Posted in Family | 8 Comments »Maggie is amazing. She's in the summer of her life, between 4th and 5th grade, healthy, strong, happy, popular. She's my third child, after two boys, so there's always a degree of otherness to Maggie. She's from the other side, across ...
Congratulations, Nick
Thursday, June 23rd, 2011 Posted in Family | No Comments »The creature in my arms graduates from High School today. His name is Nicholas Neal Preller and he's my oldest son. High school graduations happen every year for a million different families. The ceremonies are ordinary, commonplace, boring, and, for me ...
Dad’s Fertilizer & the Mortification of Us All: A Father’s Day Tribute
Wednesday, June 15th, 2011 Posted in Family | 2 Comments »Dad was the father of seven children, a veteran of World War II who served in the Pacific. After the war, he graduated from Boston University in two and half years, because why in the world would anybody want to ...
Couple of Snaps
Wednesday, May 25th, 2011 Posted in Family | No Comments »Yo Yo Maggie, 4th grade. Gavin, 6th grade.
Overheard: “Don’t try to write anything funny.”
Friday, May 20th, 2011 Posted in Family | 2 Comments »Ah, the joys of middle school life. Is anyone else out there in the midst of it? It's a really complex time for those kids. And they might be, possibly, out of their minds. Helplessly so. Anyway, the scene: Gavin, my ...
Overheard: “But Dad, it’s the mud room!”
Tuesday, April 26th, 2011 Posted in Family | 1 Comment »Quick story from this morning: Nick has already gone to school. Lisa, off to work. Maggie still asleep upstairs. And it's almost time to get Gavin, my middle schooler, out the door. Not a problem usually, as he's pathologically punctual, like his father. I ...