In a lineup of siblings, first-borns traditionally shoulder the heaviest burdens. Katae has always gracefully shouldered her world, praying that God would make her a good example, always considering her brothers and sister. In our home Katae would do what needed to be done; she'd find the holes and fill them; she'd enlist her siblings …
Category: Personal Journey
J is for Jesus
J has to be for Jesus because He's a game-changer. I used to think Bible thumpers were either 1. freaks or 2. recently lobotomized. It didn't help that my first lesson on organized religion was Jim Jones and his deadly Kool-Aide. I thought that feeling or showing any zeal for god would land me square …
I is for Invictus
The first words ever to move me were penned by William Earnest Henley just after his leg was amputated. "Invictus" was put on a screen in my 8th grade English classroom for a rhyme scheme lesson. I furiously copied every word, oblivious. Henley's words challenged my view of myself as a leaf in the wind. It …
H is for Homeschooling
H has to stand for homeschooling because we've been doing this gig for seventeen years. When we got on the homeschool road it was legal, but it was something only weirdos did. For us it was a grand experiment and had all the attendant insecurity of such. Now homeschooling is like breathing. The year we …
G is for Gabe
Gabe. At 11 he's already a gentleman. I've lost him behind a held-open door thinking he's coming. A Wendy's double burger with cheese, mustard, pickles, and lettuce will make his day. He could easily stuff down a Wendy's triple, if he could just dislocate his jaw like a python. Gabe will share his last Swedish …
E is for Excellence
I love excellence. I chase it. But there's nothing special about me. I'm not particularly strong in mind or body. What I find difficult, that I do. My difficult and your difficult may be worlds apart. No matter. Increments. That's how I chase excellence. Eric Liddell is one of my heroes (Chariots of Fire), and I …
D is for Darwinism
Warning: some readers may find the following childhood memories too graphic. Darwin and I don't agree on everything, but that didn't stop me from acting out his theory of survival upon my brother. Yesterday I told you about Grandpop's train set and how Kev and I would use it as a trouncing platform. For the …
C is for Conniver
Conniver, third generation. That was me, per my grandpop. He used to tell me I was just like my mother and her mother. Even at ten years old I knew that wasn't a compliment. To be fair, Grandpop was right. My genetic predisposition for conniving would rear its ugly head whenever my little brother and …
A is for Albatross
I received an email* from one of my students. His problem: writer's block. I think he knows there are better-written articles on the subject by better-written writers than me. But I've been where he is. I'm there right now actually. You see, were it not for that A, I wouldn't be here. I'd be watching …
Carpool*
Carpools. Whatever responsibility they take from you in terms of time-on-road, they drop back on you in burden-for-others. The half hour stint in rush hour is often fraught with excitement: Thanks to the idiots who use their commute to act out Grand Theft Auto and the crashes they leave behind, or the excitement of a …
KL Griffiths 