Tag: Story Time

Small Tests, Big Rot

I stared at the slow cooker, vexed.  The mishmash of seasonings, broth, and chicken bubbled away, ignorant of the tragedy it unwittingly participated in.  I looked at the clock and frowned, hoping daylight savings had struck early this …

After Action Report: The Long Night

The first rumble comes at midnight, that witching hour when nothing good ever happens. My stomach clenches like a fist, and I know what’s coming. I’ve been here before. Decades of motion sickness have made me intimately familiar …

Llamageddon: Why Toddler Bonding Trips Always Go Wrong

My son and I whipped down the Utah freeway at exactly five over the limit, and I knew that I was about to take the crown as the favorite parent.  Since birth, he has made it clear he …

Turf War: Defeat and Resurrection in Suburban Lawn Combat

It’s late winter. I stare out my glass door to the backyard, looking at the grass as it starts to stir from its winter hibernation. Signs of life pop everywhere. Everywhere save one spot—the Patch. My nemesis, my …

Mud, Blood, and Life Lessons: My First Mountain Biking Crash

“This is not ideal,” I thought as I catapulted over my bike’s handlebars into the creek below. Time crawled as I plummeted off the small bridge, the three-foot drop now looking like a stunt jump from a Tom …

When Toddlers Rule the Zoo: A Lesson in Parenting Priorities

Toddlers love two things above all: chaos and the zoo. My son and I had a Dude’s Day at the zoo last week, and it proved to be a lesson in understanding priorities. Specifically, my priorities no longer …

Twinkle Trials: My Journey to Holiday Illumination

“When are you going to put up the Christmas lights?” my wife asked. I looked at her much like how a cow looks at an oncoming train.  In the eight years of our marriage, I had yet to …

The Caca Campaign: A Potty Training War Journal

Potty training.  Two words that stoke the fear of parents more than any others.  And yet, it is inevitable.  Thus were the thoughts of my wife and I as we entered this most trying of times.  Where others …

Through Fire and Fluff: How I Survived a Kitchen Calamity

The flash point for your average marshmallow is 200 degrees Fahrenheit.  I know this because my wife attempted to burn down our house with marshmallows a few days ago.  I was in our office when the cry for …

War is Gardening by Other Means: My Battle with the Weeds

I have never had much of a green thumb, but Colorado has done its best to remedy that.  Unfortunately, its tool of choice has been weeds.  It also decided to get a head start, with the weeds in …