All of my children love adventure, but my second son, William, actually needs it. Adventure feeds his soul. He is always the first one to jump into a body of water fully clothed, to get dirty, climb higher, stay …
Let’s Get Real: Imperfection Is the New Perfection
We live in a time where online is king and we can pretty much order anything we need at the touch of our finger tips. Most of us have shelter, technology, ongoing Amazon orders to keep the kids busy (sure, …
Without an Escape: Blended Life in Quarantine
Given the COVID-19 stay home mandate, blended families without an escape hatch may find themselves experiencing heightened conflict or taking steps backward in the fragile path toward progress in relationships. Universally, we are learning to cope with loss during this …
Teacher Tips on How To Teach From Home
The new COVID-19 landscape we’ve entered has many of us parenting from home, while also working, eating and exercising all in house. And now it’s expected that our children actually learn something (besides how to fix themselves a snack)? Having …
Tips for Getting Through “Survival Mode”
If your home just turned into a full-time office for two, a school for reluctant and messy kids who miss their friends, and a live-in chef and cleaner wasn’t part of the deal, then something has to give, no? And …
There’s Freedom in School Choice
“Scoot together and say cheese!” I said, pointing the camera in their direction. The girls scrunched their bodies closer, chocolate dripping from their chins, doing their best to control their silliness long enough for a quick photo. It was the …
The Day I Got Schooled by Maya
I met Maya Angelou in New York at an event for the last book she wrote, Mom and Me and Mom, in 2012. I waited for about an hour in line to meet her and as I was waiting, I was …
The Unfurling
He’s looking at me with that look in his eyes, the one that holds the monsoon. The tears are coming, the fit, the fight. I think about just giving in, giving him another snack before dinner. I see his lips …
How Homeschooling Turned Me Into a Writer
The smell of ancient paper still makes me want to sob, the way spines line up like soldiers on the wooden shelves of small-town libraries. I know they would defend me if they could, those armies of words. I grew …