When I reflect on the unexpected detours my life took when my wife, Cazandra, and I had children, I cannot help but feel gratitude for them. They led me to where I am now. The author and teacher Joseph Campbell once wrote: “We must be willing to…

Dinner with friends is a delightful escape from the daily grind, a precious opportunity to share moments of love and presence. Recently, another couple invited my husband, Joe, and me to dinner at their home here in Las Cruces, New Mexico. The prospect of spending quality time with them and…

I can already tell this journey will be long, and that sucks. I remind myself to breathe. Inhale for a count of three, hold for a count of four, exhale for a count of five. Repeat. I wring my hands, fight back tears of frustration, and try again. I name…

The other day, I watched my husband, Jared, handle a parenting moment in a way that surprised me. He didn’t scold or lecture our young daughter. He didn’t swoop in with a tidy “lesson learned” speech. Instead, he did something that some parents might find unconventional and even controversial: He…

My recent columns have focused on my experience at the National Bleeding Disorders Foundation’s (NBDF) annual Bleeding Disorders Conference, held Aug. 21-23 in Aurora, Colorado. I wrote about fun times with colleagues and new friends, and offered my gratitude to salespeople who truly care. I shared that my…

I bought a new mattress and anxiously awaited its delivery. At last, the furniture truck rumbled in the cul-de-sac and stopped in my driveway. Seeing my new, plush, dreamy mattress rolled up like a carpet and crinkling inside its plastic wrap was odd, but I knew it’d soon offer a…

Doubled over in pain, I can barely walk, and just breathing hurts. A tight, squeezing sensation like a vice grip envelops my stomach. I repeatedly call to try to schedule an appointment with a specialist. I eventually set an alarm every Friday to try again, believing that perhaps a squeaky…

My wife, Cazandra, and I enjoy speaking on topics critical to the bleeding disorders community, as both of our adult sons live with hemophilia. A few weeks ago, we had the chance to lead a seminar called “Telling Our Stories” at the National Bleeding Disorders Foundation’s (NBDF) annual…

Over the years, I’ve expressed my creative side in ways I never imagined possible. The space intended to be the formal living room in my home is, instead, my quilt room. Sewing machines (yes, plural), fabric, colored markers, pens in Mason jars, paper for greeting cards, and brightly colored yarn…

Lately, I’ve been toying with the idea of starting a social media channel that captures slices of my everyday life. On the surface, that might not sound unusual. Plenty of people create online spaces to document what they love, what frustrates them, or what they’ve learned. But for me, the…