Category Archives: Family “Fun”

Keys to Our Marital Happiness

Posted on July 14, 2012 by russtowne

A friend commented something to the effect that it sounds like communication is a key part of what makes our marriage successful. I thought I’d share my response with all of you and augment it in this post: Yes, communication … Continue reading →

Posted in Family "Fun", Gratitude, Growth/Learning, LIfe Lessons, Relationship Lessons Learned | Tagged beloved, bliss, blog, budget, communication, finances, focus, gender, genre, Happiness, happy, imperfections, investing, Love, lyricist, marriage, Money, music, read, respect, Special Ed, time, wedding, wedding rings, wife, writing | 12 Comments

The Dreaded Couch

Posted on July 14, 2012 by russtowne

A recent post mentioned a married couple sharing a bedroom and in a comment an internet friend said something about being married for 28 years and sharing the same bedroom all that time. That got me to thinking about an … Continue reading →

Posted in Anger, Choices, Family "Fun", Forgiveness, Growth/Learning, Humor, LIfe Lessons, True Stories I've Written | Tagged angry, bed, bedroom, beloved, couch, disagreement, disagreements, motivator | 14 Comments

Treasure Hunt!

Posted on July 9, 2012 by russtowne

I collect coins that are in my pockets at the end of each day, and eventually count and roll them. When our children were fairly young, I’d keep the pennies in a big brass antique-looking container that looked like a … Continue reading →

Posted in Abundance, Creativity, Family "Fun", Parenting, True Stories I've Written | Tagged beloved, booty, children, clues, goblet, kids, pennies, treausre hunt | 13 Comments

A Rite of Passage

Posted on July 8, 2012 by russtowne

Beloved spent many of her formative years on a farm and knew what it was like to work hard. I chopped firewood for my grandparents who needed a lot of it as it was the only source of heat for … Continue reading →

Posted in Family "Fun", Growth/Learning, LIfe Lessons, Parenting, True Stories I've Written | Tagged beloved, big grin, Dog, hard work, knowing, lawns, mower, physical, physically, pride, proud, push mower, rite of passage, smile, son, sons | 6 Comments

Under 1 Roof: 12 Kids, 2 Women, and 1 Very Patient Man

Posted on July 8, 2012 by russtowne

When I was in my early- to mid-teens a maternal aunt and her 7 children moved in with our family of 7 into a 4 bedroom/2 bathroom house. They were from the east coast and none of the kids from … Continue reading →

Posted in Abundance, Family "Fun", Parenting, True Stories I've Written | Tagged 12 kids, aunt, children, dad, man, mom, Mother, patient, roof, twelve kids, women, worked together | 5 Comments

Clasped Hands

Posted on July 6, 2012 by russtowne

On a shelf near my desk are a couple of chunks of Paper Mache that I value more than if they were made of solid gold or chiseled by a master sculptor our of the finest marble. They were made … Continue reading →

Posted in Family "Fun", Gratitude, Love, Parenting, True Stories I've Written | Tagged arm wrestle, bond, brother, brothers, clasp, clasped, dad, father, Fathers, finest marble, FSB, Gold, grieve, hands, heal, Love, marble, pain, plnet, Relationship, respect, son, sons | 13 Comments

Get Your Stories Straight!

Posted on July 5, 2012 by russtowne

Like nearly all siblings, our sons sometimes got into quarrels. When that occurred, Beloved and I attempted to unravel how it started so we could create learning lessons as well as determine fair and appropriate consequences for their actions. Not … Continue reading →

Posted in Choices, Creativity, Family "Fun", Humor, Parenting, True Stories I've Written | Tagged beloved, boys, consquences, fun, funny, humorous, learning lessons, lessons, light, sons, stories, worked tother, working together | 2 Comments

A Dying Man’s Last Request

Posted on July 5, 2012 by russtowne

My biological father (I’ll call him “RP” for the remainder of this post) was an avid golfer. He always dreamed of playing the Pebble Beach Golf Course. He and another man wanted to play the course together, so they began … Continue reading →

Posted in Choices, Courage, Creativity, Family "Fun", Humor, True Stories I've Written | Tagged 18th green, 18th hole, ashes, beloved, biological, biological father, camera, clubhouse, Dirty Vodka Martini, drink, father, golf, golfer, golfers, gorgeous sceney, grass, guard, guards., last request, lawn, mission, mission accomplished, Monterey Bay, Pebble Beach, Pebble Beach Golf Course, purse, rocks, scenery, secret agents, secrity, security guard, urn, wife, wind champagne | 24 Comments

To Protect His Heart

Posted on July 4, 2012 by russtowne

My apologies to readers who saw this post not long ago. It is my favorite post. Many new followers and readers have joined my blog family since it was posted and I don’t want to wait a year to share … Continue reading →

Posted in Family "Fun", Love, Relationship Lessons Learned, True Stories I've Written | Tagged beloved, heart, Important, Love, men, protect, protect his heart, wife | 13 Comments

Knowing What I Need

Posted on July 4, 2012 by russtowne

There was a time when I expected Beloved to know what I needed and to provide it. There were multiple problems with that approach. First, I’ve come to learn that expectations are the cause of much suffering. When I reduce … Continue reading →