Family Life

A wonderful opportunity presented itself today: a friend offered to babysit so we could go out to dinner. We rarely eat out, and we’re kid-free even less often. Needless to say, we jumped at the opportunity. Debbie already knew where she wanted to go, which led me to question whether she has this mental list [...]

We had invited several of our neighbours to come sing Christmas carols with us tonight. I printed up some song sheets, Debbie made snacks, we hurried the boys through their dinner and rushed around tidying up. And nobody came. I didn’t know whether to be relieved or disappointed. So we gathered our three children around [...]

One of the things Debbie likes most about Saturdays is that she doesn’t have to look after all three kids at the same time. She gets a break from heavy-duty parenting. One of the things I like most about Saturdays is that I can give Debbie a rest by looking after the children. It’s late [...]

We had swimming class tonight. It’s always a rush to have dinner, get the boys ready, out the door, in their swimsuits and lined up for class on time. Today it was more difficult than usual. Tomorrow I’m going away on business, and after work I had to pick up a rental car for the [...]

It’s been a terrible week, with long hours at work, brutal politics, and never enough sleep. Debbie has also had a stressful week, difficult with the kids, and often even less sleep than me. And yet in the turmoil of these past days she cares for me, comforts me, shows kindness and gentleness and patience [...]