Matt Mooney's Blog, page 16

our toddler Christmas wish list:: a letter to the grandparents

Christmas is a time for tradition, so below is the letter to grandparents from last year…

After much cussing and discussion on Christmas’ nearness, Gin and I spent some time hashing out how we were going to do Christmas different. Everyone I know wants Christmas to be more meaningful and less hijacked. Turning that desire into action has been another thing altogether. In order to align our thoughts and our own families, we wrote a letter to both of our parents. Now you gotta know some things b...

in the midst

I believe one of the hardest realities for me to grasp is this one:

To live fully within the moment that I occupy.

To me, that last sentence sounds a bit like a weak attempt at eloquence. It is not. I can’t seem to put a good one-liner to it; maybe I need to inquire of some southern pastor who bellows better. They seem to come up with zingers for a living. Since I cannot seem to encapsulate it, I’ll explain it.

Over these last two years (read “since we adopted Lena & all sense of rhythm and bala...

the humble pie of parenting

For some reason, she had been having a hard time as of late. Though typically slotted as most apt to obey under our wild roof, she had recently shed the title like a snakeskin and slithered straightway toward monikers such as Eve or Miss Demeanor instead. Ginny and I spent several conversations backtracking to sift through what we had done or what had changed and had she been getting enough protein? Enough sleep? Sufficient attention? Maybe some other student at her school had said something...

Death to the Marlboro Man

I am writing over at Mark Merrill’s blog today. Mark started and runs Family First- an organization, that among other things, encourages moms and dads. Now that sounds like a good idea.

I was always aiming for self-sufficiency.

When I found out I was going to be a father, I felt an unseen magnetic pull that certainly bolstered this already alluring concept. The billboard father that I placed on a pedestal and unconsciously sought to become had it all under control while simultaneously seeming t...

7:: cussing the calendar

This Sunday the calendar will tell me it has been seven years since I held him. I will call it a bold-faced liar…a son of a motherless goat…a deceitful devil- cause there is no way that so much life has passed since I gazed in his almond eyes. And then I’ll feel foolish for cussing at a calendar and I will come to accept that it is not the calendar but me that needs adjustment. But I am inflexible- always have been; the type that counts the sins of calendars though everyone knows better. Grow...

Troubles

This is a guest post for Tanya Marlow. You can find the rest of it by following the link to her blog.

I’ve made so many people feel awkward since I lost my son.

I think I used to be more couth- maybe even suave- but not anymore. And I’ve quit with the trying- too tired from years of grief now to catch back up to normal.

I’m the guy who stops conversations at parties when the other asks what seemed a simple enough question about kids.

And here’s what never ceases to amaze me.It’s the Christians th...

reduce or revere

I have been stewing lately on an idea- one that was driven as deep as my soul goes. A particular one of the many from days gone by when I held my first born with one arm- his lack of weight unable to even awaken my bicep. He was so small and yet in him came such monolithic lessons from afar.

Ideas came in coveys with Eliot and even in the throes of grief, but now I seem to struggle to keep up with the every day affair and busy myself fighting off the guilt bastard that likes to take up residen...

interview with publisher

Here’s a recent interview I did with my publisher for A Story Unfinished. There is nothing more painful than hearing and seeing yourself, so I can’t watch it, but if you’re a glutton for punishment- by all means- go ahead.

“I’m back & I’m ringing the bell

…rocking on the mic while the fly girls yell.”

- Vanilla Ice

tomorrow….GOOGLE HANGOUT

Everyone…just letting you know: Thursday, Sep. 26th my publisher is hosting a google hangout where you can tune in and ask questions- or just be a wallflower and watch me struggle through answering questions from A Story Unfinished. I wanted to throw it out there because we have had great fun with launch events locally, so this is a way that anyone can delve a little further into the story.

Would love for you to...

If not us….

I have the honor of getting to be a part of the upcoming Idea Camp in Austin, and I can say I am truly looking forward to gathering together and listening to the folks that gather.

The blog post below was one of- if not thehardest- blog posts to ever hit the submit button on. Though I believe in the words that are written within it, I fear it can be or will be taken in a way I did not intend. I decided that these feelings could either lead me to remain silent or I could wade into the forebodin...