The Thing About Middle School
Tell me about middle school. As the parent of three kids, who on the surface at least, appear to have made it through middle school relatively unscathed – or at least without any visible scars – I should be able…
What – Me, Worry?
My youngest daughter, who is sixteen, would make art all day if I left her alone but is not in love with reading. Unfortunately, like her mom, she suffers from chronic and recurring 2-page narcolepsy – accompanied by a tendency…
On Being a Mom
Shortly after giving birth to our first daughter, my husband looked deep into my bloodshot eyes (the whites of which were now red from the hemorrhaging that had occurred while pushing like a crazy woman to eject a tiny human),…
12 Tips of Christmas Parenting
Sorry folks! No partridge, no pear tree, and not a single turtle dove. No swans a swimming or maids a milking, and not one lady dancing (let alone nine). Truth be told, I wanted to call this piece “Twelve Things…
Celebrate Good Times!
Don’t you just love a big family wedding? “Absolutely!” says my nephew, when the minister asks if he takes this woman to be his lawfully wedded wife. His answer is loud and clear, and the entire assembly chuckles softly and…
Spring is in the Hair!
Whether it was Aaaaaugh! or Eeeeeek! or Ooooooh! no juxtaposition of letters would have done that shriek justice. Hot iron? Puncture wound? Home intruder? Those were the thoughts I remember spiraling through my head. And yes, this shriek actually lasted…
Aller-geesh!
When my firstborn, Sam, was a month old, my parents came to Richmond to meet their new granddaughter. My baby girl gazed upon her grandma who had just driven eight hours to hold her and let out a scream, the…
Dancing Through Life
Have you heard about the studies that connect the amount of money spent on a wedding to the length of the marriage? The research suggests that couples who splurge on a grand affair tend to end up in front of…
Joy-filled New Year
As far as my husband, Scott, is concerned, one of the most desirable qualities about his life partner is that she’s frugal. Romantic, I know. “You’re not cheap,” he’ll insist. “You do a wonderful job managing our family spending.” Talk…
Another Side of Christmas
Wait, what just happened? For a very long time, that’s what I asked the first week of January, when the holiday season was finally, thankfully over – or at least those lights at the end of the tunnel weren’t Christmas…
