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Grandpa Tom’s Exercise Routine
Every morning I get up and run before the sun comes up. Sometimes, it seems that no one else in the world is awake. No one, except my dad. He’s always up before I make it out of bed. I can hear him in his room, moving around and sometimes listening to music. I know what he’s doing in there, as it’s what he’s done every morning for 22 years. He’s exercising. I’ve always thought little of his exercise routine, but as I mentioned it to more and more people here in DC, I started to realize how unique it actually is. So the other day I decided to interview…
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Lemonade
“I love lemonade!” Tommy declared, as he walked out of the restaurant where we’d just finished eating. “You love lemonade, just like your Grandpa Tom,” I said. My dad laughed. Thirty minutes prior, when we were waiting in line to order, my dad confessed to me, “I let them get a fountain drink when we come here without you.” I told him it was fine with me if they got something sweet to drink, and I let the kids order what they wanted. Tommy chose lemonade, just like my dad. So as we exited the restaurant, we both laughed as Tommy took the last sips of his lemonade and danced…
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Costco, the Cemetery, and My Dad
My dad loves Costco. In fact, I think he loves it even more than I do. He is a man who needs very little, but he is also someone who never likes to be short of supplies. As evidence, we currently have five gallons of milk in our fridge. (“Just in case the other four gallons get consumed in under 24 hours!” I told my sister the other day. She laughed. “I love dad,” she said.) In any case, when I mentioned that I needed to go to Costco to get some things for a party, my dad immediately said that he wanted to come with me. “Just so you…
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Grandpa Tom Returns
We counted down the days. Tommy, unable to understand the days of the week, would simply ask, “is it tomorrow?” every day. We cleaned the house and Claire made a cake. We were so excited, and when he finally walked in the door after a summer away, all three kids screamed at the same time: “GRANDPA TOM!!!” My dad was laughing. He was tan, a result of daily rounds of golf back in Oregon, and his white hair stuck out at the sides. He set down his bags and picked up each kid before giving me a hug. “We’re really glad you’re here,” I said, in the biggest understatement of…
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The Girl at the Coffee Shop
Is there anything better than writing on a beautiful day at an outdoor coffee shop? Not for me. I love it. And I finally had a few free hours to do it the other day. I sipped my tea slowly and listened to the wind in the trees. The silence was broken abruptly by the woman sitting next to me. She was young – probably a college student – and she was talking really loudly. I went to put on my headphones. But then I paused. “I guess she posted the photo of her dad in hospital because she wanted everyone to know what was going on,” the young woman…
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The Clark Family
“Austin can’t come to the phone right now,” my aunt Nancy said to me. “He’s skinny dipping in the pool. I told him he needs to do it fast because the girls will be out there soon!” I laughed, and I could see the smile on her face as well. “Okay, well can I talk to Claire or Tommy?” I asked. In the background, Claire ran by and said, “I can’t talk now!” as she fell over laughing about something. I could see her performing some sort of skit (or dance?) for my Aunt Terry. They were both laughing, and Claire’s enthusiasm was matched by Terry’s. Nancy yelled for Tommy…
There’s No Handbook for How to Do This
