Almost exactly 3 months ago, a massive tornado swept through St. Louis, narrowly missing our house…or so we thought. Our house (a condo, technically–it’s part of a house with multiple residents) has a sloped roof with a few old chimneys (purely aesthetic). The slope is really important to this story, as you may wonder in … Read more
Just over 1 year ago, I had my appendix removed in the middle of my beach family reunion. While it certainly wasn’t the best time or place to lose an organ, the hospital was great, I experienced time travel, and Megan was super helpful in carrying all our luggage on the trip home. For the … Read more
The last few days have been surreal for several different reasons. In the end, we were very lucky, and my heart goes out to those who were not as fortunate and are still struggling. On Friday afternoon, a massive tornado–estimated to be nearly a mile wide at some times–touched down in Forest Park in the … Read more
I recently watched a rom-com-drama called The Life List, in which the main premise is that the protagonist tries to check off everything on a bucket list she made as a kid. To its credit, the movie pokes at the relevance of using a list you wrote when you were 8 to influence decisions you … Read more
February 20…today would have been Biddy’s 18th birthday! Perhaps my phone knew this, as the random cat wallpaper it chose for today was of Biddy. Biddy passed away in 2023 after a tough battle with cancer, but he’s still around me every day. I have photos and art of Biddy around the house, his favorite … Read more
Megan has been out of town for over 3 weeks on an epic adventure with her mother to Australia, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore. This isn’t the first time she’s traveled while I’ve stayed at home with Walter (and Biddy), as her love of travel surpasses mine, but it’s definitely the longest. Over the last few … Read more
For the longest time, I’ve had the same photo on my phone’s lock screen: Megan eating while Biddy stares at her plate. I love the photo, but I’ve seen it so many times that I stopped really seeing it. Recently I realized there’s another option: On both iPhone and Android, you can have the lock … Read more
When I was growing up, we often used cloth napkins. I’m not entirely sure why, but it’s probably related to how my parents’ generation didn’t dispose things the way we do now–we’re in a single-use world. I’m pretty sure I’ve used paper napkins my entire adult life, typically in the form of paper towels. I … Read more
This is a repost from my company blog, but I’d like to share these stories with you too. Thanks! Yesterday was Father’s Day, so today I thought I’d share a few lessons my dad taught me over the years that I’ve tried to apply to Stonemaier Games. Dad is no longer with us–he passed away … Read more
I’ve made an annual tradition out of donating blood in honor of my late father in his birthday month of November. This year, today was the day to participate in a Red Cross blood drive at my climbing gym. But today was a little different than usual, as I gave a “power red” donation for … Read more