Reflections on marriage, parenting, family life, aging parents, and the relationships that define us. These essays explore the joys, responsibilities, and challenges of family across every stage of life. There are numerous letters to daughters all the way from birth through college.
What good is it to learn to do something without teaching it to others? As Dr. Samuel Johnson claimed, “He has learned to no purpose, that is not able to teach.” This has defined a large chunk of my life as an educator. This sentiment has equally influenced me as a parent, if not more so. I … Read more
It has been too long since I last posted, I know. Especially after having promised to work more on my personal website. Sigh. But, in my defense, this “Farch” (February and March of school year; the hardest time of academic calendar) has been an arduous one. There were more health issues (including shoulder surgery), and … Read more
Julia and friend as beginners at tennis. I remember trying to teach Julia how to hit a tennis ball when she was around three years of age. It was a disaster. A torrent of tears. Lots of blaming daddy. Julia was really too young still to hit a tennis ball with any success. Julia has always … Read more
MOTHER AND SON: 19 YEARS AND COUNTING Children think their parents know all the answers. Their parents are pillars of rock to which they can tether themselves in the storms of youth. When all falls to the ground in seeming ruin, parents still stand tall. It gives them comfort. It makes them feel safe. I … Read more
After a good friend was suddenly and unexpectedly run over by an “impaired” driver last April, we were challenged to perform the “ice challenge” or donate $100 to the Chris Prewitt Foundation.
These two videos are the result. I enjoyed making them, and I was happy to get some good video of my daughters.
I am always wanting to get more photos and videos of family, and I never seem to get/make the time to do it.
Sigh.
But I got these two videos… enjoy!
August 16, 2014 Dear Elizabeth, Well, it is the middle of August 2014 and this summer has just about ended. Your mother and I put you in gymnastics camp for one week in June, but you complained you would rather stay home with us – and from what I could see at camp, you pretty … Read more
A co-worker prepares to become a parent.“Before I got married I had six theories about bringing up children; now I have six children and no theories.” Lord Rochester April 14, 2012 Dear E-, Today is your last day of work before you go out on maternity leave, and I would say a few words to … Read more
April 14, 2012 Dear Julia, Happy birthday, my love! Today you turn five years of age. How well I remember the fear and excitement I felt around dawn of the day of your birth as your mother prepared for the final stage of delivery – the “calm before the storm.” That morning of April 14, … Read more
February 25, 2012 Dear Elizabeth Anne, Hello, my love! Today I sit down a week late to write you a letter on your birthday. You just turned two years of age, and I want you to know how much you are already such an integral part of our family. We are the following: Mommy, Daddy, … Read more
ELIZABETH ANNE GEIB 18 weeks, One Day My Dearest Elizabeth Anne, Elizabeth! Finally, I can call you by name! My second daughter, Elizabeth Anne Geib. It is now some two months since we were informed that we were to have another girl. As the doctor told me this I felt a bit dazed, immediately having … Read more
HELLO! 11 weeks, Five Days Oh, second child of mine! Three weeks until your mother and I can discover your sex. You are now some three months old, and I for one am impatient to meet and start to get to know you. Your mother has had a different pregnancy than that of your older … Read more
JOY! Flowers for My Family On the “Big Day” Dear Second-Born Child, Hello! Welcome to the world! We have not yet met, and, indeed, as I write this you are gestating in your mother’s womb: a quick online search describes you as the “size of a sesame seed” and “resembling more a tadpole than a … Read more
A DYING CHILDCheryl and Michael Haggard cradle their son, Maddux, before he died at six days old in 2005. I read an article in the newspaper this morning about “Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep”, an organization that helps parents to grieve the deaths of their infants by taking high-quality photographs of them. The … Read more
“You can never know. Not for sure – one gropes in the darkness and does the best one can – this incredibly humbling job of “parent.” It grieves me to my core to hear my daughter cry. I look at her tears and hear her plaintive sobs as she struggles to catch her breath amidst … Read more
It has been a long winter. The first week of this year 2008 I gnashed my teeth at trying to take care of a child with pneumonia at the same time as write no less than 20 college letters of recommendation. What an ugly blur of a week that was! I felt I had to … Read more
A SICK CHILD Bags under her eyes as Julia recuperates from pneumonia. There I was, the living stereotype: the worried parent hovering over his sick child and looking down with concern and fear. All day long Julia had not been her usual self. Her cheeks were flushed. She did not giggle or play with her … Read more
Mother with child on vacation in Pacific Grove, California. “CHILD-CENTERED”? The social changes stemming from women entering the workforce in large numbers towards the end of the 20th century and the rise in the cost of living find more American families nowadays juggling the world of family and the needs of family. American women, in … Read more
“It was as if the light falling to earth was put through an orange-colored filter, and the sun was a raging red orb.” AN UNUSUAL SUNDAY AFTERNOON Upon awakening this morning we felt and heard the vicious winds whipped up against the side of our house, as well as the trees bending and straining against … Read more
3:45 IN THE MORNING“…something tells me I shall miss these late evenings with daughter Julia.” Maybe it was the psychological trauma of baby Julia’s second day in a new day-care center. New faces, new noises, new smells – a new place surrounded by other babies and toddlers — it was a lot to take in … Read more
FATHER AND DAUGHTER DURING NAP TIME Summer of 2007 As a teacher, I have my summers off. To be more specific, my last day of work was June 15th and my next day will be August 15th (not including one college class I taught Tuesdays and Thursday evenings for six weeks). I will have had … Read more
“Both parents then showered crying baby Julia with kisses and loving words…” A Morning to Remember Forever Today baby Julia had her usual morning feeding at 9:00 a.m. She fed for some thirty minutes and then played and cooed for another hour or so, watching the world around her and reaching out for her toys. … Read more
Wife and daughter at the entrance to the Santa Barbara Zoo AN UNEXPECTED PLEASURE Today I did something I haven’t done in some 25 years: I went to the zoo. I went with wife Maria and daughter Julia to the Santa Barbara Zoo, to be exact. And I had a great time, much to my … Read more
Father and daughter three weeks into their relationship. “A PRAYER FOR MY DAUGHTER” I look down at my daughter and search for signs of what will be. Right now to Julia the whole world is contained in a feeding or in trying to digest food or conciliate sleep. She is only 23 days … Read more
E-MAIL READY On March 1st, 2007, exactly one week before her projected birth date, Julia Emerson Geib acquired her first e-mail address. A big moment in her life, obviously! It took place at exactly Pacific Standard time. Five minutes later she received her first email. It was from her father. Just you watch how the … Read more
“More men are killed by overwork than the importance of the world justifies.”Rudyard Kipling —————— In talking last week with a childhood friend who now lives in North Carolina, a yawning depression overcame me as he described his typical workday — it sounded exactly like mine: “I work steadily right through lunch and maybe grab … Read more
“That was the difference in why September 11th would fail. That was why bin Laden would lose.” It all started on September 11th, 2001. The Twin Towers fell in New York. Then, on September 12, 2001, I looked out at my period 6 Honor’s English class. My students were 14-years old, and they were confused, … Read more
PRESSURE I teach four high school Advanced Placement courses in two different disciplines, in addition to two other college prep English classes. Starting January I will also teach one undergrad college course on Monday nights, and in February I will teach a Masters’ Degree class on Wednesday evenings. (This is after my day job.) Around … Read more