Bloodbath

The Water Shimmered So.  “Your Father begged me to teach you to steer clear of that lake,” Mama said. “I know it looks clean, cool, and inviting–lots of fun. But if you swim in it, it leaves a terrible stink on you. It’s dangerous. You need to stay away from it” I shrugged. “Okay, Mama,” […]


Flyaway Heroine

Cadence and Elaine. Wife. Mom. Patriot. My daughter Elaine and our grandson Sawyer are flying home to Hawaii today. They’ve been visiting in California for a month now. The family arrived in a single piece: Elaine, her husband Rob, who’s a chief in the U.S. Navy, older son Cadence, and toddler Sawyer. Rob flew back […]


Dreaming up Delights, Part Two

Dad and Houston, Pre-Ceremony. [Part Two in a series of three posts celebrating the July 15 wedding of my dad, Rod Seiler, and Mercedes Garcia. You’ll find Part One here.]Social GracesIt can be hard to know how to act when you’re five years old and attending your great-grandfather’s wedding–these fancy occasions seem to have mystical […]


Counting the Cost?

T-Ball. Count the Value A few weeks ago we watched our grandson, Cadence, play T-ball. The game was like most T-ball games: small children with vague notions of the rules ran around for an hour under the patient supervision and loving instruction of lots of parents. Cadence Tearing Up the Baseline. One particularly common move for […]


Beauty from Ashes

The Rings I Won’t be Wearing “What would you like to drink?” I asked our new pastor as he and his family arrived for lunch at our home last spring. “Water,” he said.Later the conversation turned to tea. Pastor Robert and his wife told us about some of the teas they had enjoyed in Russia. […]