Memory Game
We were a ping-pong family. My mother had her own paddle that she stored in a velour drawstring pouch. My dad had a top-spin on his serve that made it nearly impossible to return. These are very clear memories from…
Parenting Nugget
Last fall, my husband and I marked twenty years of wedded-ness and to celebrate we ate gator nuggets in Everglades City. No small feat, twenty years together, so we planned this trip to Florida for just the two of us…
Resolution Revelation
I am not one for making resolutions. For me, the whole thing feels like a cloud hovering over my head until it finally dissipates, just in time for Lent, when I can repackage the same basic pledge. You might think…
How Christmas Works
Christmas is a lot of work. This is news to absolutely no one. Especially moms out there reading. And single parents. And dads who split holiday-making and child-rearing duties fifty-fifty with their partners. (Which means it’s only half as much…
Into the Box this Christmas
How did that whole baby-proofing story play out at your house? This can be quite a thing for parents, especially if one of them reads way too much and the other has access to entirely too many tools. Sound like…
Duly Noted
Some of the most smile-inducing parenting memories I can conjure up involve meeting my kids in an elementary school cafeteria for lunch. There’s something about elementary school that announces to us parents, You are welcome here! Yes, most teachers…
The Same Sky
At a back-to-school night what seems like eons ago, my oldest daughter’s science teacher explained his trademark assignment. Every nine weeks, the fifth-grade students would be required to read a magazine article, something science-related and timely, to help them…
Bully for You
It was my 6-year-old who set me straight on twenty-first century bullying. “Mommy, please don’t pack raisins in my lunch anymore,” she said flatly. “Nobody likes raisins and I shouldn’t eat them.” “But you like raisins. A lot,” I said.…
Just Winging It
“Funny how you’re the editor of this great parenting magazine and you’re really just winging it.” That’s what one of my daughters told me a few years back. I don’t remember the exact context. It might have been right…
Our Last Camping Trip
Whether or not it was part of an effort to process the trauma, our youngest daughter, Lindsey, drew an absolutely stunning picture of the ostrich that attacked her mother. On our last family camping adventure, the highly anticipated day trip…
