Archive for Parents/Children/Family
Here’s the second installment of my childhood-stories project. I intended to post this yesterday, but the day got away from me, so here I am again with #TBT on a Friday. If I don’t manage to switch to Thursday by next time, then maybe I’ll just make it always on Fridays. In 1972, after graduating […]
Mary Anne recently indicated that she hadn’t heard many of my childhood stories. So it occurred to me that it might be interesting/fun to write up some of them in the form of a new #TBT series—not exactly a memoir or autobiography, more just a collection of anecdotes and memories. This first installment is only […]
My father would’ve been 81 years old today. And today is the 40th anniversary of my mother’s death. This is often a rough time of year for me because of those anniversaries, but this year I seem to be more or less okay. Shoulders tense, a little irritable, not sleeping well. But mostly fine. (Though […]
Today is the fifteenth anniversary of my father’s murder. (For anyone who doesn’t know what happened and wants to know, here’s the writeup that I posted in 2006, on the first anniversary. Content warning for a fairly detailed discussion of his murder, and a brief discussion of his SO Nancy’s suicidal depression.) (…Something that I […]
Mostly good day. Today (the 17th) would’ve been my mother’s 76th birthday. I wasn’t as fragile or distressed as I sometimes am this time of year, but nonetheless decided it would be good to keep social interaction relatively minimal with people who I don’t know. In the morning and early afternoon, I helped Mary Anne […]
Mother’s Day is complicated, and different people have very different reactions to it. Sympathies to all for whom Mother’s Day is a difficult, painful, or complicated day. Happiness to all for whom Mother’s Day is a joyful occasion to celebrate. To those who have no strong feelings about it either way, and to those experiencing […]
I recently came across my printed copy of “A Hundred Necessary Rules of Conduct for Children,” by Christopher Dock, Mennonite schoolmaster, originally published in 1764. Occurred to me that (a) perhaps various parents of my acquaintance might find it useful in teaching their children how to behave :), and (b) it might be available online. […]
Today is the 14th anniversary of my father’s death. I’ve been mostly okay the past few days, but kind of fragile and mood-swingy. Have gotten some important overdue stuff done at work this week, but have also had multiple instances of getting too anxious to read specific emails and thus ending up being later than […]
In my digitizing-family-history files, I have a fair number of text pieces written by or to my paternal grandparents, George and Helen Hartman. At some point, I may create another blog for that material; but for now, I’ll post one particular letter here. This one was a handwritten two-page note from George to Helen, on […]