Latest Stories
Most recently published stories in Families.
Ablution
The path to the stream was overgrown and barely visible, but Walter knew the way. As a boy he had fished there for brown trout with his father, and later brought his sons with their fly rods and wicker baskets. Standing for hours in cool moving water, threading out the line, flicking the bamboo tip so the tied fly landed precisely, freed the mind and refreshed the spirit.
By Banning Lary5 years ago in Families
My Journey
I started college with a boyfriend who went to a college 6 hours away. High School sweethearts. We could make it work...right? Christmas 1994 and I found I couldn't reconcile our belief systems and that it just wasn't working. We agreed to be friends. I'm not sure exactly where he is 26 years later, but I still consider him a friend. I went back to school after winter break, with the idea to casually date. I had very few rules for what I was looking for, but one was that I didn't want to date and then marry a future preacher, because I didn't want preacher's kids. You can laugh. I laugh looking back on it. I went to a small (less than 500 people) Christian college. My odds were not great. Enter Christopher, who my roommate was crushing on hard. Bible major, cute, kind of opinionated and stubborn. I fell hard. So hard that I believed and he believed that he wasn't going to be a preacher. He wanted to teach at the University level. Cool. Little did we realize that Bible professors supplement their income preaching, and life happens.
By Deanna Jessee Stampfly5 years ago in Families
Child Support: Right or Wrong?
There are rumors about my birth and who my father is, but I can not prove what is true. My birth certificate states that Angermeyer is my father and whenever I questioned my mother she adamantly agreed that the birth certificate is accurate. It's hard to believe though because she wasn't in love with him. She admitted that the only reason she married him was because she was pregnant with me. It's also hard to believe because two other people denied that he was the father. Of course, her response to their denials was simply "They weren't there when it happened. How would they know?" But they were around. My grandmother and my aunt were involved enough at that time to know more than I do and why would they lie about it? My grandmother did not know exactly who my father was, but she didn't think it was Angermeyer. My aunt said she believed it was a man named Margolis. I've looked in the mirror many times trying to figure out if I look more German or more Greek, and I really can't figure it out.
By Shanon Angermeyer Norman5 years ago in Families
The Tuffin Estate
Johnathon Tuffin the sixth, known as “John,” promised his twins he’d be home for their third birthday, and he was running late. The Tuffin Estate’s private jet’s Ottawa flight had a twenty-minute delay due to a high-pressure storm brewing down from the East. John was writing in an “old family heirloom,” his little black notebook trying to kill time waiting for the flight to land. Now entering the Tuffin Estate’s Airspace, his jet slowly started to descend, circling towards the private airport. The plane flying into the runway released its landing gear striking the tarmac glided to a halt as the propellers gently rotated.
By Suzanne Bennett Mcelroy5 years ago in Families
Single Mother
The day I become a single mother felt as if I had a significant weight lifted off my shoulders. I divorced my husband. Being married to my kid's father was like being married to a grown child. He couldn't do anything for himself. As he was growing up, his family did everything for him. Washed his clothes, cooked for him, picked up after him. They did everything. It was almost like he was a spoiled child. He got everything he wanted.
By Laura mclean5 years ago in Families
Not Ashamed of Shameless
I refused to watch Shameless. For years. The first time a friend suggested I watch it, I was put off. She told me about it and it just sounded too much like things I’d seen in real life. It wasn’t entertainment, it was sad. It was wrong to think that I’d want to watch the show just because I was like them in some way. The line was drawn, I wasn’t going there.
By Karen Diane5 years ago in Families
Buying Extra Time
Caw. Caw. Caw. Oh, Gerald, I thought to myself. Gerald was a crow who had decided to take up residence outside my bedroom window for the last ten years of my life. He also just so happened to be an early riser. I glanced over at my alarm clock, only to see that it was only three-thirty in the morning. Groaning, I sat up and walked over to the window putting most of my body weight under it to get the old thing moving. As the window slid up the track it made a terrible whining noise and I cringed, listening for movement elsewhere in the house. Once I knew I hadn’t disturbed anyone’s slumber, I returned my attention to Gerald.
By C. L. Henderson5 years ago in Families
