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My Kid and Money

I see my 48th birthday on the horizon, and I begin to take stock again of where I am in my life. The stock I’m taking is not so much about retirement savings, or professional accomplishment (although, I’m human, and there’s an element of that). Rather, it’s kind of a “am I walking the talk” […]

The Six Ponies of the Apocalypse

I have seen the future, and it’s so pretty that I’m scared for our children. It’s pretty, perfect, fun, and just the BEST EVER!
I’m talking, of course, of the current run of My Little Pony at the JPJ Arena in Charlottesville. To your kids, it’s just another opportunity to squirm and eventually leave their […]

Little Sister/Big Sister

Blake and I went to the Short Pump Mall last week. He likes to go there to ride the train, and to play in the food court. He always meets new kids when we go there. This time, we saw two tweens playing with their respective little sisters. On the way home, Blake was silent, […]

Blake’s Song

I would never presume to understand the depth of Blake’s experience of having been adopted. I see his questions unfold day to day, his puzzlement over who is Jenny (his birthmother) vs. who is me. I got the “how does a baby get in your belly?” question in the car the other day. This is […]

Thomas Joseph: Gone 18 Years Today

My Dad passed away on July 6, 1989. Hard to believe it’s been 18 years.
His name was Thomas Joseph Finn. He was an athlete, coach, eventually a hospital administrator, and a frustrated singer.
My father and I had a distant, and at times difficult, relationship. There was a large age difference (he was 49 when […]

“Family Balancing”

Every once in a while, I hurt myself on purpose by looking up current fertility treatment technology to see if things have progressed to a point where it’s relevant for most families. Alas, such services are still in the category of boutique medicine, and, it would appear, that rather than advance the technology to the […]

Disappointment and Fantasy: Inevitable, or just a Bad Habit?

Well, we didn’t get the house. Turns out, the guy got an offer at UVa, and is staying in town. So, after a couple of days of indulging in the fantasy of having a backyard for Blake to play, I’ve come down, and I’m bummed.
What’s bumming me out? When you look at it objectively, we […]