How do you feel when finally arriving at a moment you have been anticipating all year? I couldn’t wait to experience something similar to my favorite stretch from last year - traveling with my wife and daughter. We thought our road trip to national parks was special even as it was happening. A few months later, we were still talking about those invigorating weeks. Fast forward a year, and I was getting nervous.

The summer vibes have been as hot as the midday sun for our family in July. Swimming, camps, fresh cut grass, more swimming, barbecues with friends, late evenings looking at the stars, and even more swimming. I feel like my summer bingo card is almost completely checked off. Here are some of my favorite scenes.

Stopping at my wife's favorite sandwich shop, I observed something that made me pause and smile. I witnessed two employees flirting. They were the only two working, and I think they were happy about that. The scene started innocently enough. Only the guy was out front when I walked in, and I could tell he was a good employee. Kind words floated toward me as I approached the counter, where I was greeted with a warm smile.

“How long have you known the bride and groom?” Whenever I hear this question, I feel like I have done a good job officiating. Usually the intonation of the questions bends toward a belief that I have known the couple for a long time. It is poignant when it comes from a family member, especially a grandparent.

One of the most memorable weddings I ever officiated was also the most unique. Most weddings are attended by a mixture of loving family and special friends. Large or small, the couple gets an audience. The bare minimum you need for a lawful wedding in most states is five. There are the two mates, an officiant (or judge), and two witnesses. Every five person wedding I have officiated made my heart happy. Maybe it is the intimacy of it, or perhaps I just got lucky enough to meet some really awesome people. Either way, they all left an impression.

I have officiated over 300 weddings in my life. From the title, you may have thought I merely attended a plethora of weddings. But no, this is just the number of times I stood up with happy couples for that important juncture in their lives. So I’m going to spend a few weeks talking about weddings and marriage.

Most of the time, life is a series of seasons that blend into one another. Transitions are pretty fluid, and you can’t really define a specific time until you reflect on it years later. Sometimes though, you go through things so definitive that they become a chapter. The events of that time carry a different kind of weight. Having just closed the page on one such occasion, I want to share. The main reason is that so many have cared for my family that I want to say thank you, and let everyone know the great news that brought this to a close.

Growing up in the northwest, I’ve always considered the mountains home. When I travel to new forests, thick with trees and rocks, I breathe easily. I don’t want to see far, unless I scale that hill. A view requires some work, and that feels right.

Is there anything better than Saturday morning as a kid? The week is finally over. Time to sleep in and have some fun. Unfortunately, our kids are missing one vital thing we experienced in our youth - Saturday morning cartoons. Sure, they have access to more entertainment than they could ever consume at any moment, but that makes it less special. When I was a kid, event TV meant TGIF and Saturday morning cartoons.

I’m honest when I talk to customer service. I tell them what I am really thinking. Here’s a rundown of a conversation I recently had with the United States Postal Service:

“Thank you for all of your help with this issue. I know this is not your company, and not your personal decision. I also know that you are trying to be helpful. I am just utterly confused right now. You (meaning USPS) damaged my package in transit, and then sent me a note saying that you damaged the package and can’t deliver it. But you didn’t send me the damaged package. You didn’t send it back to the seller. You didn’t tell me what you were doing about it. You didn’t offer to pay for the damage, or replace the item. I actually have no idea what is happening, because you left me a note in my mailbox that says, ‘sorry, sometimes things happen.’”

Last week was the first time I hadn’t written anything in six months. It feels strange to reflect, because I’m both happy and frustrated. It’s great that I have been consistent at a new hobby for half a year. I’ve been enjoying the process - the days when the words flow so easily, and even the times I’m left frantically putting something together on a Sunday evening. So what changed this week? My tired and heavy mind couldn’t think of anything useful to say.

How often do you reflect on those important people in your life that have passed? On Friday evening I was eating dinner, and out of nowhere I suddenly remembered that a friend named Bill had passed away this year. It sent a rush of emotions coursing through my memory banks. I paused eating, and began to remember the different pillars in our community that have passed. Diana, Betty, Mark, now Bill, just to name a few.

I don’t ever read introductions. Let me fall in love with the story before you tell me about your third grade teacher that inspired one of the characters. Once you get invested - that’s when you want to know more. So don’t waste my time in the beginning. I’m hanging by a thread of interest as it is.

My daughter's bus driver gave her a flower. A rose, in fact. Was it a special occasion? Doesn’t matter in my book, because it’s her bus driver. The one who picks her up and drops her off at school. My daughter speaks a few words to her each day, sits in her seat, and that’s it. What would cause a person to make such a kind gesture?

Here is some great news - I’ve lived enough years to stop caring about a few things. These are things no one cares about but me. And yet, I’ve felt a compulsion to do them most of my life. Now I get to stop. No more shame. No more worrying about what someone might think.

I’ve noticed a couple habits that are deeply troubling when analyzed. Not because they’re anything bad. In some cases they are quite common. The problem is that they make no sense. Mine are going to be different from yours, but we all have some version of them. The things anyone else would deem absolutely nuts. But that’s part of the fun of being a person - our strange little quirks. Let’s begin.

Why does receiving wishes from a genie always have to include epic requests? Can’t it ever be simple things that receive a petition? Not the biggest and the best, just the small things you wish you could change? Here are three obscure things I would wish for. Oh, and obviously for this exercise we aren’t focusing on things like world peace and social harmony, which of course all my wishes would go toward if genies were real.

Do you have a picky eater at home? We do, but it feels fair on the universe’s balance sheet. My wife and I were picky eaters growing up. Grilled cheese for her, PB&J for me. We did have other entrees from time to time, but it was an exclusive list. Candy always made the cut. As Jerry Seinfeld once explained, “All children’s lives are driven by one all-consuming thought, ‘get candy, get candy, get candy.’”

My wife loves looking at the stars. She found one of those cool apps that lets you point your phone in the sky and see the names of every heavenly body. It even shows you where things are supposed to be that you can’t see. What a friendly app.

My daughter has adopted a strange behavior from my wife. She sometimes needs me to decipher what she wants to eat. Not in an authoritarian way. She doesn’t want me to decide for her. She wants me to reach inside her head and figure out what she wants. Like some sort of mystic-mind-meld, she expects me to do the work. And if I don’t, oh boy.