Again Forever Free

As I began writing this, I was anxiously waiting for our son Barrett to come home. We had some sad news for him.

A little more than an hour before, we had found his cat, Peach, on the driveway. He had been hit by a car and would die within minutes. He had tried to run [...]

Cat Names Can Be Complicated

They may be out there, but I've never seen a book called "999 Names For Your Cat." Without such an indispensable reference, how is one to go about doing the job right? For us, choosing cats' names has been anything but sterile. There's usually a twist of some sort that makes the process more "art" [...]

The Day We Tore Down The Treehouse

Not so long ago we tore down the treehouse. It had begun life as a short platform, a launching pad from which our son Barrett would propel himself through the air on the tire swing. It would eventually become a lot more than I would ever have imagined.

As Barrett grew older and bolder, repeated trips [...]

Farewell, Old Friend

I lost an old friend this week. Yes, we had our differences, and conflicts sometimes arose with inevitable clashings of two strong wills. Hers usually won.

Often a bit cantankerous, she had a gentle side as well. And despite an obvious feebleness in her last days, she was ever faithful in carrying out the earthly duties [...]