I was working late a few nights ago, so my family came to meet me for dinner at McDonald’s. I was sitting in my car waiting when they finally pulled up in the minivan. I could see Gideon’s face light up through the tinted side window as he saw me approach the car. I slid the door open and unbuckled him from the seat as he squirmed in excitement and wiggled his arms free. “Mom said you were at work today, but you were HERE all the TIME!” He laughed, looking over my shoulder as I lifted him into the parking lot. “At McDonald’s?!” he doubled over laughing and slapped at his knee. “Mom said you were at work, but you were HERE!” It…
A father's struggle to capture his children's brief moment of youth in words and pictures
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I woke up the other day to the sound of a squealing little girl exploding through my bedroom door. She tumbled into the side of my bed and hopped up and down waving a tiny green flag in the air. I sat up and recoiled backward into my pillow. “Lydia! Lydia settle down! What in the world is going on?” She held the flag towards me at arm’s length. “The Tooth Fairy Came!” She announced. In her hand was a five dollar bill. On it was Lincoln smiling with a wide toothy grin and a single gap in the bottom row. I blinked up at the little girl smiling behind it. As I watched she stuck her tongue through the very same gap in…
The kids were pretty worn out this evening when we finally arrived home. We had spent the day at their grandmother’s house and they rolled out of the car into the driveway with their tongues and cheeks sticky with jam and watermelon juice, and their hair stuck to their foreheads still sweaty from running outside and dancing inside. They were in good spirits, but they wandered through the house like aimless ghosts haunting their own bodies, quietly obeying my directions about getting ready for bed, but unsure about how to convince their body to act. On my way into their room with a cool glass of water, I stumbled into Clara as she was struggling to find the head hole in her pajama pants.…
Where Are We Here? 