A couple weeks ago, my wife, kids, and I packed into the “family truckster,” i.e., our Sonata, and set off on our Annual Brkich Family Road-Trip Adventure. The first year took us to New England; last year it was the great Southeast. This year we decided to head west—Midwest, to be precise…(Read More)
Last weekend we held our annual family yard sale. If you’ve never experienced the pleasure of dragging your junk out in the front yard, pricing it for practically nothing, and then quarreling with strangers over pennies…boy have you missing out! We’ve been repeating this springtime ritual for several years in a row…(Read More)
Seven years ago when we moved into our new home along Beaver Street, it was the dead of winter — February, in fact — and there was more than three feet of snow on the ground. What I’m trying to say is, we didn’t buy our house for the landscaping. Three months later, we were…(Read More)
Of all the great mysteries of the universe — dark matter, black holes, the allure of daytime television, etc. — two in particular have me utterly perplexed: Minecraft and Pokémon. It all began when my son, aka The Animal, went to school with a $15 Minecraft action figure and then came home instead with four beat…(Read More)
Warmth. That’s all I wanted from my vacation. Sure, as winters go, this one’s been relatively mild. But when you live in an old house like mine — one with zero insulation, and in which you have to wear a tossle cap and at least three layers of wool daily beginning in November — come…(Read More)
For anyone who might be interested, here’s a brief recap of my recent experience as a chaperone for my son’s first grade class on their field trip to see Disney on Ice: 8:05 a.m. — I don’t actually need to be at the school until 8:15, but I figured I…(Read More)
I have come here today to make a declaration: I’m officially off typewriters. (Pretty sure I’m the first person in the history of words to pen that phrase.) That’s right, I’ve got a whole new passion now: vinyl. Don’t get me wrong, I still love typewriters and always will. But…(Read More)
Previously I’ve written about some of the crazier coincidences I’ve had over the years. But this one might just take the cake. It happened the other night, just as I was tucking the kiddos into bed. Both claimed that they “weren’t tired” (big surprise), and Boogieface asked if she could read her…(Read More)
Chinese water torture. That’s the most accurate way I can describe what it’s like having two, sometimes three kids, fresh out of school, all hopped up after sitting in class all day, coming home and invading what for the previous seven hours had been a quiet, peaceful sanctuary. It’s actually kind of…(Read More)
So I’m sitting here in the café, trying to write something, anything. But it’s not going very well. I came in a little while ago and plopped down in my favorite seat right by the window. That’s when I first noticed the young couple next to me—he, looking uncomfortable in his…(Read More)