Happy Birthday, Dad!

Dad would have been 57 today and I can't help but think of what he might have done with the last 22 years of his life.  Since my dad was a wild soul much like myself, I know that we got robbed of all the creative genius he would have brought into the world.  I...

Holiday Grief

Let's be real, the holidays are tough.  Some of us travel hours to get home to find ourselves sleeping on couches that are available for free.  Many of us are responsible for ensuring that the small people we've created wake up to a joyous experience.  Others of us are running around to make sure that...

Meet Me On The Mountaintop

"And, for the first time in as long as I can remember, I had no pain in my chest today.  Just like that, 21 years of pain all washed away on a mountaintop by a castle with my dad." - My Journal Entry 10/3/17 - Germany: Day 3, Heidelberg: Day 1 My third day in...

Vacation With My Dad

One of the things I specifically remember about my dad is how much he loved his time in Germany.  He spent about a year there when he served in the Army and he always talked about how amazing he thought the country and its people were.  He kept a photo album of his adventures in...

The Truth About Being Fatherless

Being fatherless left a hole in me that I couldn't even begin to process until nearly two decades later.  I had recited the words "My father passed away when I was young" more times than I can count to strangers, new friends, potential love interests and anyone who innocently asked about my parents.  I hated...

Pictures in His Wallet

I found your wallet, dad.  It had been hiding in the box of your things I've been carrying around all these years and never opened.  I recently decided it was time to find out anything and everything I could about your life and doing so meant opening the box.  I finally felt strong enough to...

My Costa Rican Dad

This time 3 years ago, I was heading home from a mission trip to Costa Rica.  I decided to travel to this beautiful country with a group called e3 Partners on a trip where I thought I would be used to change lives.  I could not have been more wrong about how that turned out....

Surviving Father’s Day

I have spent the last 20 years without my dad on Father's Day and I know firsthand that all of us who are fatherless dread this day.  Some who are fatherless would give everything they have to be able to hug their dad one last time and tell him how much he means.  Others are...