Fatherhood
My earliest remembered taste of alcohol is of a sip of Black Russian given to me by my mother at a relatively early age — say, ten. Thinking of it brings to mind an old …
"Matthew? Matthew! Fin's in the middle of the road!" Wheneer we go out for breakfast at the Antique Row Cafe on Adams Avenue — California omelette (hold the olives), homestyle potatoes, English muffin, orange juice, …
It's good that we went away now, because Fin's till too young to voice any objections." My dearest wife Deirdre, whose devotion to our son is a constant lesson to me, had done it again. …
Just before I hit puberty, I think it was sixth grade, our gym teacher corralled us boys into the boys' locker room to see a movie describing the dramatic — not to say traumatic — …
“Don't push!” The command leaped from my lips as it had countless times in the past nine years, but this was different. The perineal skin blanching white just two feet from my face belonged to …
Let me explain. I managed to make it through about 19 years of life without ever seeing a roach in the horrible, hard-shelled flesh. On a visit to my brother Mark, who was living in …
Finian Thomas Lickona turned one year old on May 6; he celebrated with a small group of close friends. After he had eaten his strawberry shortcake, homemade by Mama and overburdened by whipped cream pseudo …
Last month, I ended this column by wondering what part (if any) of my East Coastness I would pass on to my California-born son Finian. Now, as he approaches his first birthday, I have had …
Da's star is ascendant. Finian is making his first tentative tugs on the old apron strings. He is venturing from the bosom of his mother, working in the kitchen — the bosom of the home …
Back in those heady days at college — before engagement, before marriage, and before Fin — I helped Deirdre through a stressful study session by reading her Freud on feces. We were in a classroom, …
At eight months, Fin has taken a turn for the mysterious. Who can know the ways of Fin in his babyness? Who can know the source of the straight-faced, emotionless screams that fly from his …
He's up. Finian is up on all fours, rocking back and forth, mouth open, eyes alight with desire for Da's keys, just out of reach. He rocks because the legs are willing, but the arms …
Christmastime is here, and to commemorate the Father's gift of His Son to the world, fathers everywhere are buying loot for their kids. Oh, what a generous God; oh, what a generous Dad. This is …
When I was in college, some of the tutors would bring their families up to campus on Sundays to attend Mass and stay for brunch. When your school has only 200 students, the influx of …
"Your wife has left you and taken your first-born son." "Shut up." That conversation, held between Jon (my roommate from college) and me, made up what it lacked in length in frequency of occurrence. At …