Life Without Biddy, 7 Weeks Later

September 7, I made the heartbreaking decision to lay Biddy to rest. Biddy was my cat for over 16 years–my first animal companion–and he’s also the first animal companion to whom I’ve had to say goodbye. It’s been a difficult 7 weeks. Life continues, and of course there are many good moments unrelated to Biddy. … Read more

Time Travel on Father’s Day

My dad passed away a year and a half ago, so this weekend will be my second Father’s Day without him. I miss him, and I try to celebrate him by remembering the 40+ years we had together and trying to live by the best of the principles he exemplified. For the last week I’ve … Read more

My 20th College Reunion

My 20th college reunion was this past weekend. I must admit that I didn’t think much of it, but I appreciated that several friends and former roommates/suitemates were coming into town for the festivities, and I wanted to see them. I didn’t attend any of the official events, but I still got to see the … Read more

Happy Adoption Day 2023!

42 years ago, I was granted the incredible gift of not just two, but four parents: Two biological parents who were no longer dating and just weren’t ready to raise a child, and two parents who chose me as their first child. I was 3 days old at the time, so I don’t remember any of this. … Read more

A Frozen Christmas Debacle

I’m not even sure where to begin! This Christmas weekend was quite a doozy. Last Friday morning, with temperatures in St. Louis dipping into the negatives, we woke up to a broken furnace. We’re on the third floor of a three-floor building, so we have tall ceilings and nearly direct exposure to anything above us … Read more

Have You Ever Lost an Hour?

Yesterday I had the completely surreal experience of losing an hour. Walter (cat #2) woke me up at 6:45 for some food, and my day began. By around 8:00 I had answered most emails in my inbox and done my daily checkup of social media, and I got to work on my Monday Stonemaier blog … Read more