We were two months into being empty nesters when our youngest son started sending me a flurry of texts. He was attending a college nearby and desperately wanted my car for the weekend. Instead of responding with a simple, I’m …
Fighting for Your Marriage When Life Beats You Up
In the parenting journey, just as in life, nothing is guaranteed. The unexpected happens to all of us, but there are some things that not only come as a surprise, they turn life on its head. And in those moments, …
And Then There Was Me
I remember being asked to be a MOPS Mentor. At the time, I didn’t know what that entailed, and truthfully, I wasn’t sure I wanted to find out. Still, I decided to watch some other mentors, see what they did, …
How to Play With Your Kids (and Why It Might Be Hard Work)
Playing is fun. At least that is what parents think when we see our kids amongst piles of Legos and Littlest Pet Shop pets. Play is also something adults cease doing at some obscure point in time, replaced with responsibility, …
The First Move Advantage
There is a well-known theory in chess called the first move advantage that suggests the player who goes first is statistically positioned for the best outcome. When I first heard this, I went and found an old chess piece and …
Gird Your Loins
“I have seeds in my balls? How do they come out? Surgery? IS IT WITH A NEEDLE?!” The sex talk went great, guys. Clearly I disarmed the situation like a champ. It all started when we got a new dog. …
Behind the Glasses
I sat in a beach chair and cried. Not legit crying with sobs and shudders. It was subtle – the kind of crying where your tears just turn on, as if they were emotional garden hoses connected to a leaky …
The Routine of Family
I’ve been a single parent for almost 13 years and have learned a thing or two about creating time for my daughter during a busy schedule. When she was 8 years old, I was a full-time graduate student, working two …
Don’t Let the Bully Define You
It started when she was in fifth grade. Suddenly my daughter who had just come out of her shell and transformed from a shy introvert into an outgoing and active child, was being left out and picked on by her …
Those Who Came Before Us
Bringing the gifts that my ancestors gave, I am the dream and the hope of the slave. I rise I rise I rise. Maya Angelou “Still I Rise,” from And Still I Rise: A Book of Poems (1978) It is …