The waterfalls in Iceland are awesome. Not “Awesome” in the sense that I used the word in high school (basically as a synonym for “Really good”) — but “Awesome” as in genuinely awe-inspiring, awe-inducing. Reading through all the guidebooks, I’d … Continue reading
I’ll never forget the rush of adrenaline and air blowing through the windows of our vehicle, as we hurtled down the Interstate, south toward Florida. “SPRING BREAK ’97!” We yelled into the night air. It was a battle cry throughout … Continue reading
Dear Elliot, I hate to procrastinate, but I didn’t get the chance to sit down and start writing this letter until 11:00 PM on the evening before your birthday (and I didn’t get to finish it until a week later!)! … Continue reading
My thoughts have been tugged back to last Thursday night for more a whole week now. The air was cool with the first hint of autumn. A group of young women stood in a semi-circle. They wore strappy, stylish clothing … Continue reading
Dear Olivia, You’ve probably noticed me organizing our family photographic archives recently. I mean, how could you not notice me, camped out at our family’s desktop computer, blocking you from access to the latest YouTube episode of Good Mythical Morning?!? … Continue reading
Happy Birthday, Elliot! Fourteen years ago, you were just 4 pounds, 13 ounces. Only 18.5 inches long. Today, you’re buying your own running shoes that are about the same size you were back then (men’s size 10!). And you’re making … Continue reading
I’ve blogged for more than a decade. Two or three posts per week. The pace has slowed somewhat over the last couple of years. Over the last week, however, I’ve had many impulses to blog: about paper cups… about orphans… about terrorism… … Continue reading
Dear Olivia, Happy Birthday! What a lovely life yours is to celebrate! To see you wiggle like a puppy when you see a puppy… to behold your creativity in putting a pencil to paper or a brush to canvas, thus … Continue reading
Dear Cor, Happy Birthday, my boy! Crazy to think that it’s been eight full years since that middle-of-the-night in the delivery room at the Onze Lieve Vrouwe Gasthuis in Amsterdam! What a night that was… What a special boy you … Continue reading
I feel caught between two leadership principles. On the one hand, I know that cooler heads prevail in leadership. I’ve learned to tame my tongue. I’ve experienced the folly of acting out with incomplete information and unprocessed emotion. Knee-jerk rants … Continue reading
