I suspect every father, every parent, has a mental list of those unforgettable questions that a child asks. I'm referring not so much here to actual questions that seek factual answers. I'm referring to the moment that is frozen in time by the excited outburst of a son or daughter. Let me explain. Our oldest daughter, age nine, takes horseback riding lessons. She loves it. During one of her first … [Read more...]

Sometimes it's the words not heard that are either the most meaningful or the most forlorn. One morning not long ago I stood with our 18-month old daughter as she looked out an upstairs window. It was dark, but she could see the lights of a school bus in the distance. As the bus came closer to our home and then drove by, she waved and said in the sweetest voice imaginable: "Bye." She didn't know … [Read more...]