He had enjoyed ten years of being totally irresponsible, living at home with his boring mother. She wasn’t always boring, but as she approached her seventies and without a husband at home to occupy her, she was as dull as you could get.

Complacency was something he had grown accustomed to, but all that was about to change. He could feel it as he woke up one morning, expecting the usual waft of a fresh cup of coffee from the kitchen.

There was, however, no sweet smell of those Columbian beans, and the silence in the house made him uneasy…

The other night I found myself in a strange city with a musician and an actor. Both of which arguably have found more success than I have had as a writer. None of us had “hit it big”, but all of us were still toiling away at our craft.

It got me thinking a lot about what I want to make of this writing career. …

Remember the good old days? That’s a phrase only old people say. And I’m here to tell you I’m getting there. I turned FORTY this year and as I get used to it, I am starting to reflect on some of the things that no long mean as much to me.

One of those things is putting bumper stickers on my car. I realize now, the value of the car is more important than a few stickers.

As I go along, I’m noticing more and more things like this. The one I stumbled across the other day was kind of…

This is my call to all you fellow humans out there. This isn’t going to come as a shock to anyone, but life is hard. I mean really hard. And most of us are doing our best.

But what if that just isn’t good enough?

Kids, pets, jobs, friends, family, dishes, laundry, hygiene. This stuff adds up and when it does, you have to prioritize. Sometimes that means that the kitchen floor doesn’t get swept.

And here is the thing. The floor is never clean anyways. I’ve seen it first hand. The kids are playing with playdough on the kitchen…

http://gf.me/u/y24twa

I’m turning 40 years old this year, and this is what my teeth look like. It’s something that has always been a source of anguish for me, spawning insecurity, anxiety and a lack of self-confidence.

I have never fully shared how this has affected my life. But I would like to try. In no way do I overlook the fact that I am still a white male that has been afforded privilege beyond anything I deserve, but I will say that I have seen what it’s like to be silently judged and have people make assumptions about how you live…

We used to know everything about each other. We shared everything, our fears, our crushes, our lunch. Our Mom’s couldn’t even tell us apart on the phone. We were inseparable.

Then life started moving, one of us went to college here and the other there. We didn’t hang out as much. You met a girl, I worked crazy hours. This is not an uncommon story.

Fast forward several years and I still consider you my friend. We keep up on social media, though rarely like each other’s posts. I still get a Christmas card from you. …

I had just finished scraping the last of the egg yolk from my plate with a small square of toast when I heard her scream my name.

The restaurant was barely full, so the syllables individually bounced off the walls and found their way into my booth. I knew it was meant for me immediately and slumped down in my seat, hoping she would leave.

“Garrett! I know you’re in here!” The voice seemed to be moving further inside the confines of the Denny’s. …

If there is one thing in my life that can mess up a vacation it’s my anxiety, specifically my over-focus on time. It’s something that drives my wife crazy and something that even medicated, I have yet to master.

It all came to a head over the holidays when we agreed to go on a small trip after Christmas with a group of friends and our kids.

We travel with this group fairly regularly and my anxiety creeps in on those trips too, but this one was different. …