After a really lovely Saturday morning wandering around the Herbs Galore plant sale at Maymont (an annual tradition for me), then going for a long walk by the James River and perusing the art museum, I was on my way back to the house when I pull up at a red light and hear screaming coming from a nearby parking lot. I...

Funny how life has a way of coming full circle. Up until 2020 (ish...sometime early during the pandemic years) I had been very much under the influence of my evangelical background and upbringing. Church every Sunday, community group every Thursday; did my best to read my Bible and have a quiet time daily. Then the...

I know it's been a minute or two since I last posted here but my life took a wild turn and things are just starting to stabilize. It's been a long, difficult season that still has a great deal of uncertainty ahead but I'm leaning hard on my faith right now, with help from friends and family. It'll be okay, it's just...

Following up on my last post about my mother-in-law passing away suddenly from a massive stroke. I was just starting to emotionally regroup from that when a co-worker with whom I had become close, was fired suddenly the following week; the combination of these two losses in close proximity just sent me reeling and...

Ever have so much quiet time to yourself that you end up getting super introspective and "getting deep" with yourself? That happened to me the other day at work...several of my co-workers were off for various reasons and it was a slow day at the nursery, not many people around to talk to so I was basically alone with my...

I’m still riding high from the results of last Tuesday’s elections. I can’t remember the last time I felt relief and joy from an election rather than disappointment, anger, and anxiety. I fully expected Jay Jones would lose out after his text message scandal, and I still worried it would be extremely close between...

My wife and I just got back from a long weekend (Friday to Sunday) at the All Things Go music festival in Columbia, Maryland at Merriweather Post Pavilion. 11 hours a day of bands and artists ranging from folk to country, to pop rock, and soul, rap, and R&B. We had a fantastic time and heard a TON of fantastic music we...

Another solid therapy session today. Most of the session was about how rattled I was over the President declaring martial law in D.C., and the impact that had on my anxiety levels. I also shared how it feels like ever since the pandemic, my “baseline” mental state (how I feel when there’s nothing I’m actively worried or...

Much has been made over the last year about Substack’s tolerance of neo-Nazis and other extremists on their platform. Every week I see new posts offering up alternatives like Ghost, Write.ly, and others, where supposedly there isn’t a significant presence of “red hats.” And while I sympathize with the desire to not...

Time travel remains near the top of my general “wish list” for global technological achievement, if for no other reason (and there are certainly no shortage of reasons) than to go back in time to 2019 when my wife and I were looking for a new house and strongly impress upon my past self that it would be a good idea to...

This week is off to a great start! The oppressive humidity and constant barrage of thunderstorms have finally ceased, so I was able to get some long-overdue yard work checked off (mainly, ripping out scores of mulberry tree saplings distributed by birds munching on the fruits from a neighbor’s tree). I continue to...