I never remember to call her on her birthday.
Ever.
We’ve been friends for 17 years, and I always call the day before or the day after, but never on the actual day.  I’m pretty good at remembering dates, I’m just rarely aware of what the date is today.
I think we’ve been friends for as long as [...]

My family is having Thanksgiving dinner without me today.
My mom and my brothers, along with the rest of their families, will gather around a table and turkey, 1400 miles to the north of me in a small ranch house in Iowa.  They’ll laugh and they’ll eat and they’ll make fun of one another.  They’ll take [...]

“Is being a mom hard?” she asked.
“Yes.”
I answered without hesitation.  Fear and a desire to understand better washed over her face almost imperceptibly.  She mentioned something about working and the things we do.
“It’s not taking care of them that’s hard.  I mean, you figure that out pretty quickly, just like with anything else.”
“Right,” I saw [...]

It is said that somewhere in Iowa, a small town’s football team still takes a knee before each game.  The players and coaches join hands and bow their heads, and they defy the laws that tell them that they cannot pray together.  It is rumored that they kneel together and recite the Lord’s Prayer.
“Our Father, [...]

I am from Parkersburg, Iowa.
I wasn’t born there, I don’t live there now, but it is, without a doubt, where I am from.
It is – and will always be – integral to who I am.
On Wednesday morning, that part of who I am was once again hit by tragedy.  But this tragedy was far, far [...]

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“Mom, when are we going to change houses again?”
Emma doesn’t speak to me for the first half of our morning drive to daycare.  I think it takes her that long to get over being pissed about having to get up in the morning.  I can tell she’s over it when she suddenly launches into conversation.
“I [...]

I’ve heard a million stories about the tornado that wiped out my hometown, Parkersburg, Iowa, last spring.
I’ve seen pictures and books and newspaper stories. I’ve sifted through the rumble and walked through the war zone.
And none of it prepared me for this video.

The woman holding the camera and her husband owned the restaurant where [...]

The longer we’re away, the more bitter and sweet it is to go back.
While being with our oldest friends is a stark reminder of what we could never have in another place, it is also difficult to be anything but grateful. Grateful because somewhere, always, there is a place where we can go back [...]

I spent several hours yesterday uploading 500 pictures – and I’m still not done.
I then proceeded to spend several more hours painting the front entry and hallway of my house – because that totally makes sense to do right after you come home from vacation and should be getting ready for work.
What that means [...]

Adam here again.
I haven’t talked to Britt tonight, but I spoke to her a few times during the day and she’s helping her in-laws and friends gather whatever belongings they can find. Sometime soon she’ll be figuring out what supplies will be helpful and I’ll post that info here. For now, though, if [...]

Adam here.
For those of you who don’t follow Britt on Twitter, she and Jared and the kids left this morning to drive the 24-hour drive up to Parkersburg, Iowa, so that they can provide help and moral support to his family and their friends who have lost their homes.
I’ve been talking to her off and [...]

If you follow me on Twitter, you already know.
Yesterday what is being estimated as an F-4 Tornado hit Parkersburg, Iowa. Our hometown.
Our town. The place where we grew up. The community where we know the neighbors and the businesses and the streets.
Or at least, we did. From what I’ve heard, even [...]

If there was ever a reason for navel gazing, this is it:
My 10 year class reunion is in two months.
I’ve gone back and forth on whether or not I’m attending. On one hand, I haven’t seen my mom in six months. On the other, well, I’m not sure what exactly is on the [...]