Merry Cornholey Night
Tonight, my family will play cornhole. If you don't know what cornhole is, shame on you. This marks one of the two major cornhole events on the Shea family calendar.…
Are We There Yet?
With the holiday approaching, I know we will spend a lot of time together in the car. I start to have flashbacks when that happens.
As a kid, we did a ton of traveling. We drove pretty much all up and down the East Coast. I think I had visited every coastal state by the time I was 6.
I’ve done my time in the car.
Peanut Butter Jelly Time
I came home the other day to an empty house. Maria had not yet returned from dropping Bridget off at her Brownie meeting so I had some time to relax before I ate.
Two nights a week, I have to fend for myself. Bridget has to leave for activities before I get home so we don’t get to eat as a family. Sometimes, Maria has made something for all of us, and I heat it up. But most times, I make myself dinner, which is fine.
This was one of those nights. I like to take some time to think about it before I have to hop in the car and go pick Bridget up. Like a lot of times when I think about my meal, I get distracted easily and don’t eat right away.
Maria came home, and we sat on the couch watching episodes of “Scrubs” for about the 23rd time. At some point, I had a brilliant idea.
I asked my wife to make me a sandwich. Well, I thought it was a great idea.
Bread from Heaven
Some people say that marriage is more like a marathon than a sprint. If that’s the case, I won the bread portion of our marathon a few weeks ago.
For a long time, I have wanted us to get a breadmaker. Since I would have very little to do with the actual machine, the decision didn’t rest with me. I knew I would enjoy the end product, but that didn’t carry enough weight.
Maria insisted we didn’t need some contraption to make bread. She could make bread just fine on her own. And she could.
Music to My Ears
A parent has many proud moments as they watch their child grow up. Their first words, their first steps, their first day at school.
I recently watched as another milestone in Bridget’s life passed by – the moment I realized she might have good taste in music.
These Jeans Were Obviously Made for Walkin’
Before Maria and I went on our trip to New York a few weeks ago, I had to pack my bag.
I packed plenty of shorts and casual shirts. You know, the things you need to wear to a tennis tournament.
Then I went to pack one final thing I thought I might need for the weekend.
Unfortunately, I couldn’t find it. I looked all over our room. Both of us knew where it had been a few days before. I remembered putting it in a very specific place, but it wasn’t there.
I could only come up with one explanation. My wife stole my good pair of jeans.
That Stinking Tooth Fairy
Sometimes, we have good intentions when we make promises. Then, when we have to pay up, we wonder what went through our minds in the first place.
All of this started a couple of months ago when Bridget lost a tooth. She got all excited as usual, but she had something different to tell us this time.
The Tooth Fairy (that’s me and Maria by the way) was going to bring her a prize, she said.
Twelve Years and Still Going Strong
I really don’t know how it all started. I guess we figured that because we were celebrating our first anniversary, we should take a trip.
So we packed up and went to Wilmington, Del., so Maria could indulge herself in some of the DuPont houses in that area. Almost 11 years later, we’re still hitting the road every year by ourselves to celebrate the milestone. The only difference is now Bridget gets a vacation of her own at Granny’s house.
I remember that first trip for a couple of things. First off, I liked the houses a lot more than I thought I would. Secondly, some restaurant near our hotel in Wilmington had an amazing Buffalo chicken breast sandwich that pretty much changed my life.
We took our trip a little early this year and, while the food didn’t move me this time around, we had our usual fantastic time.
In a new tradition, Maria got to pick this year’s destination so we took the trip a little earlier than usual and visited New York to watch the U.S. Open.
A Year Without Breakfast
Today was the first day of school. To make sure Bridget got started on the right foot, Maria made pancakes for all of us. They were delicious. As she was…
A Sad Day
Today is the anniversary of Elvis Presley's death in 1977. I am not that big of an Elvis fan, but I grow to appreciate him a little more every year,…