Category Archives: 2021 Reflections

My voice is hoarse.  My cheekbones ache.  My heart is full.  No, these aren’t symptoms of Omicron.  They are just the side-effects of a magical Singalong Season.  This December was special for Jordan and I in so many ways. We made new Holiday memories with the people we love, hosted both of our families onContinue reading “December 2021: Singalong Season”

I sat down for Thanksgiving Dinner this year happy, healthy, and blessed.  Thanks to great people, supportive systems, groundbreaking innovations, and a whole lot of luck, I’m fulfilled and comfortable.  I’m so grateful for the joy and meaning that my family, my friends, my home, and my job bring me every day.  These are theContinue reading “November 2021: What I’m also thankful for”

“Get in your damn car seat, Charlie. We’re going to be late for the pumpkin patch.” Yes, these words actually came out of my mouth. And yes, this is precisely what two toddlers and too many Pumpkin Spice Lattes can do to a dad by mid-Autumn. This October, I often found myself beaming with prideContinue reading “October 2021: Growing up and melting down”

Jack, Today on your first birthday, as I think back on your year, a few things come to mind. I hear the pitter patter of hands and knees as my “Silly Bud” sprint crawls across the Daycare floor when I pick you up at the end of the day. I hear the joyful squeals ofContinue reading “September 2021: One year with Jack”

I smoked my tee shot 185 yards up the right side of the fairway. I was pumped. My trusty 4-hybrid put my Pinnacle 3 in a great location to clear the pond with an iron and reach the green in 2. I had already donated too many golf balls to the South Carolina waterways throughoutContinue reading “August 2021: The Lord Duffington Classic”

Since our trip to Colorado, Jordan and I have been on a “Rocky Mountain High.” A few things might have contributed to this feeling. Maybe the high came from the rare opportunity for a kid free vacation with Jordan, my parents, my sisters, and my brothers-in-law. This was only made possible because the Bonders steppedContinue reading “July 2021: Rocky Mountain High”

When I woke up on the morning after Jordan’s 30th birthday party, my mouth was dry and my head was pounding.  The symptoms were a result of my attempt to make up for a year of missed celebrations in just one night.  And while it was not a feeling that I typically enjoy, there wasContinue reading “May 2021: We Back!”

“Ain’t it funny how life changes?” Thomas Rhett sang the words, but I’m certainly living them. Jordan and I are sharing 30-packs of diapers with the same friends we used to share 30-packs of Natty Light. Instead of hanging at the pool bar in Punta Cana with Penn State Greek Life, we’re spending Saturdays atContinue reading “April 2021: Life changes”

There are some moments in life that you just can’t miss. As the sun was shining, the waves were crashing, and the engagement ring was sparkling on Newport Beach, my family was experiencing one of these moments. My sister’s boyfriend had just proposed and unbeknownst to her, we were getting ready to celebrate only aContinue reading “March 2021: The one where Casey and Mikey get engaged”