My grandfather had story for every situation & obstacle in life.  He constantly used his past experiences to help me (try to) avoid mistakes and guide me.  My grandmother never shared many personal stories.  Most of her parenting was through the muse of prayer and bible study.  My grandfather on the other hand rarely used religious teachings to get his point across to me.  For the most part he was a pretty proud Christian, but was also at his best when he used his own familiarities to relate to me…Read more

I remember vividly my pop’s words to a friend who tried to console him at my grandmother’s funeral, “It hurt bad having to burry my daughter but losing my wife is different.  I’ve never went through anything like this.” 
Growing up I had the pleasure to see the mechanics of their marriage but I greatly underappreciated how special it was.  It was a mixed bag of traditional roles and things that worked uniquely for them.
*Pop paid all the bills except for grand ma’s credit cards and the telephone bill.
*Grand…Read more

     Ok wifey, we are here again. Your birthday and our anniversary and I'm left stitching words together hoping they make sense. Hoping that they can somehow justify how I feel. So instead of writing a poem, letter, or something fancy. I'm just going to “rant” it out; and pray you can make sense out some of it.

     I don't how it works in other marriages but this husband still daydreams about making love to you as if I've never made love to you before. As if you're making me wait to make sure that I'm…

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If you know me or have read any of my earlier blog posts than you already know domestic violence has affected my life.  I lost both parents to a domestic violence situation that has never been officially comprehended.  But this not solely about me - lets look a layer deeper into domestic violence in this society. 
Historical Perspective
 
For hundreds of years in western culture; most cities/states and law makers refused to properly acknowledge domestic violence.  You could start as recent as 1920 through the…Read more

 

 

 

 

 

I know happy marriages where one spouse practices a differently religion than the other, some where one spouse doesn’t practice a religion at all, and others where couples are opposite in weight, height, color, income, careers, interests, or health.  I know happy marriages that have survived addiction, incarceration, inconsistency, and infidelity.  I don’t use the word “happy” loosely.  These are not observations but actual details shared with me during conversations with folks who have been…

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Though I love my wife, I do forget to tell her on an everyday basis. Not because I’m negligent, but more because I take it for granted that we will see each other the next day. I leave my shoes in the middle of the floor sometimes. I forget to cut off the lights in the basement. I hide food. Some days I just don’t/won’t clean up. When I “put things up” – I usually end up forgetting where I put them. Some days I get so caught up in ambition that my wife may not get a decent dose of quality time from me. Some…Read more

A week ago I was hired to photograph a family session. The shoot took place at an assisted living home where my client’s mother resided. My client was the youngest of 9, it had been years since a family photograph was taken, and her mother’s age and health made an updated family portrait a priority. After a quick survey of the facility we decided the most appropriate place would be in the main dining hall in front of the Christmas tree.

As I set up, I noticed an elderly couple cuddled in the back. I didn’t…Read more

A young girl, no older than 8, wrapped in berets, uniform blues, and goodness - crossing a hectic road in a not-so-safe part of town on her way to school. I asked God to watch over her travels and thanked Him in the next breath that my daughter never has to worry about such. I also tried to imagine that little 8 year-olds back story: Is mom at work, working 2 jobs? Is dad around, is he alive? Is she happy? Does she get good grades? Can she recognize the bad guys, how to sidestep danger, how to run like…Read more

I’m not a statistician, or a crime reports enthusiast but I’m sure when my father murdered my mother in 1977 – it was considered a rare crime. Till’ this day I still wonder what the back story was. What was my father going through? What was on his mind? What kind of demons did he have? Was there a psychiatric issue? All unanswered questions that pop up in my head from time to time.

To be honest; these are unwanted thoughts. I’d rather not think about such but I can’t stop because it seems every month I’m…Read more