Change

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Haircuts and X-ray Vision

October 10, 2010 | No comments

Every four weeks, Squirts and I head to Shannon’s place to get our hairs cut. Since Squirts started going to a salon instead of the local SuperCuts, we haven’t had any complaints from him on hair cut days. It may be that as one of the first clients in the shop, Squirts has the undivided attention of Shannon (or as Squirts has named her, “Queen of the Hair Place”) and two or three other ladies who happen to be in that early. I’ve heard that little boys don’t like to have their cheeks pinched and be fussed over—you couldn’t prove it by my kid.

On the other hand, it could be that our monthly ritual also includes a stop at the donut shop after our hair cuts.

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Father/Son Thrill Ride

July 18, 2010 | 1 comment

We were at Target buying a couple of birthday presents. Squirts had recently turned two and was standing in the cart as he and I headed to the toy section. Yes, I said standing in the cart, OK? And yes, I saw the pictogram with the slash through a child standing in the cart. But the people who draw those pictures have apparently never had a 2-year-old who wanted to stand in the cart. That’s not even the point of the story, so you can stop wagging your finger and read on.

Squirts’ mommy is hunting down a gift in another part of the store while we hit the toy aisle. As Squirts looks in awe and imagines what a life with this many toys would be like, I turn to the wall of Yu-Gi-Oh games we’ve come to pick up. While I try to decipher exactly what a Yu-Gi-Oh is, Squirts rattles on behind me about some toy he needs to take home.

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Out of Control

May 2, 2010 | 6 comments

Nothing shatters the illusion of control like being a parent. It starts the moment that baby comes screaming into the world (at least for dad; for mom, the feeling might start some nine months earlier). We knew we were in for an adventure when the delivery nurse—a woman who had witnessed thousands of births—responded to Squirts’ noisy arrival by saying, “Well, isn’t he dramatic!” Let the fun begin!

From there, the appearance of control has continued to crumble:

  • You never really appreciate the simple ability to decide when to sleep, eat or use the facilities until your carefree life turns on a dime to an hourly schedule of all those things.
  • Shopping for a birthday gift at Target takes on a whole new meaning when you turn back to the cart just in time to see your two-year-old projectile vomiting into the basket.
  • Driving to church becomes directed by a map marked with every easy-in/easy-out restroom to avoid another commando Sunday.
  • The five minute trek across the amusement park to the Shamu show takes 25 minutes because there’s so much for a four-year-old to see. Daddy, look at that rock! Mommy, I found a stick! Hey, that guy is old!

And those are just a few of the moments from the first four years. I’m in denial about what the future holds.

Last summer, DeDe and I met some people who have their own unique perspective on the illusion of control when we traveled with her church praise team to Northern Ireland. Read the rest of this entry »

The Big Picture

April 18, 2010 | 1 comment

[My wife DeDe has more faith in her little finger than I can muster in my whole arm some days. Add to that that she has more talent in her little fingernail than I have in my whole body, and it almost doesn't seem fair. The only thing that makes it OK is that she recognizes her faith and talent as gifts from God, and she happily shares them to glorify God's name. This week, she wrote a beautiful and insightful article for her church newsletter. I asked for her permission to include it on SoulSquirts as a guest post. She said yes! So, enjoy!]


To those who say, “Let God hurry, let him hasten his work so we may see it. Let it approach, let the plan of the Holy One of Israel come, so we may know it.” – Isaiah 5:19

This past week I had the privilege of going to a quilt show that my mother-in-law helped put together. Quilting is not something I am great at, but I am totally amazed by what these ladies do with fabric and thread. My mother-in-law had been working on this beautiful quilt for months, and I mean months. Last year, at this time we were at the lake house and she had this tiny piece of material about the size of a half dollar. She spent hour after hour on pieces that same size. We would be together a few weeks later and she would be working on a different piece, but it was still just an individual, tiny, half dollar-size piece of material.

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