Summer break has always been a bit of a struggle for me. I go into it wanting my kids to relax and enjoy their time off, and I usually come out of it wishing I’d done more to keep them busy. By [...]
“You're grounded from all electronics for the entire summer!” This is the punishment I blurted out recently after my child had done something for the umpteenth time that I told him over [...]
I always knew I wanted to be a mom, that motherhood would be part of my story. I still remember the night my husband and I sat up late picking our three possible boy names and three possible girl [...]
I can remember the birth of my first son, Dylan, like it was yesterday: the way he looked and smelled, how he felt in my arms, and how unprepared I felt. I’d carried this baby for 38 weeks and in [...]
Note: The following is a real excerpt from my 4th-grade diary. Wednesday, 2-21-90 Dear Diary: Today Sarah, Megan, Mandy and Kathleen were being real jerks. They were making fun of me all [...]
We know Easter isn't about the bunnies, eggs, pastels, and chocolate. (Well, maybe its' a little bit about the chocolate...We see you sneaking some out of your kid's basket, along with [...]
It's simple math. A teenager and a parent + the Never Ending Pasta Bowl + a deep conversation about choices =an amazing breakthrough. At least, that's how it worked out for my son and me. It's [...]
Sometimes one conversation can change everything. When I first found out I was going to be a dad, I became a nervous wreck. My own family didn't give me much of a blueprint for what healthy [...]
I have a new theory about the radioactive nature of relationships. A friend of mine recently shared about how his dad was dealing with an illness that could lead to death. He added, "Of course, [...]
My 8-year old son's world grew larger in a filthy four-foot alleyway space. We'd spent the afternoon passing out clothing to people who lived on the street in Cleveland. It led us to this spot [...]