60 Feet 6 Inches To Home

Father's Day is usually a day filled with traditions geared around celebrating the fathers in our lives. Families get together for meals, take Dad to a ball game or out for a round of golf. They give gifts to show their gratitude for all he has done for them and continues to do. My family is no exception. We celebrate in the traditional way, but the man I celebrate is not so traditional. My mom was a teenage mother, married at 15, a mother of twins at 16. I had a fairly stable childhood and their marriage stayed intact until I was in Junior High. After they divorced we maintained a good relationship with our biological father. My sisters and I kept the typical every other weekend schedule for several years. And while I would say there were flaws in that relationship it seemed to work. As I entered high school, both he and our mom remarried. We found it harder to keep up our visit schedule and unfortunately his new wife was not very supportive of our relationship. We saw him le...

This Summer Even though my boys have been out of school for almost two weeks, my summer break officially started today! I am fortunate to have a job that allows me to be home and available for all of the excitement summer brings. This summer I am looking  forward to having this time more than ever before.   As a child, my sisters and I spent most summer days at my Grandmother's house. Cousins would visit, we went fishing, ran through the sprinkler, ate Bologna sandwiches and waved down the ice cream man for Bomb Pops. We helped her with her garden and took naps in front of the floor fan. We attended very few organized activities other than swimming lessons or Girl Scout Camp.   Most weekends were spent camping at one of the local lakes with family and friends. We swam, played board games, ate s'mores , listened to the Royals on the radio and visited around the campfire. Summer was a time to relax and get recharged f...