Lisa writes: Sandy…well that knocked us for a loop. Mary Dell and I live in Westchester County, NY and while we know we did not see the worst of the storm, and have in mind those who did, we are without heat, light, water, electrify, telephone, cable...you get the idea. The beauty of a hurricane, if there is one, is that unlike say an earthquake, there is a bit of time to prepare. And while we thought and read, studied and prepared, we found there were a few dos and don’ts that we missed. ... View the Post
Now I am Hearing Voices
Lisa writes: Lisa writes: My kids shared a single bedroom. It was a big bedroom and they are all boys, so for our family, it worked. One of my greatest joys was listening to their chatter at night as they joked and laughed, ridiculed each other endlessly or, on a good day, helped each other with homework. Often there was the thudding sound of a ball banging against a hard surface and the inevitable crash of a desk lamp. When the older two left for college, those joyous sounds were ... View the Post
How to Celebrate Your Teen’s Golden Birthday
I had never heard the words “Golden Birthday” until our daughter recently clued me in, “Mom, that’s the birthday when your age is the same as the date on the calendar. So, when I turn 17 on November 17th, it will be my golden birthday.” My Golden Birthday In anticipation of her upcoming GBD, I began thinking about birthdays past. When my sister and I were little, our parents hosted traditional parties at home with our school friends and neighborhood kids, cake and ice cream. During my ... View the Post
The Tragedy Behind my Class Reunion
There are reunion people and non-reunion people and I am one of the former. The invitation arrives and, almost immediately, I add my name to the list of attendees. I returned for my 30th class reunion last weekend, like I have done every five years, not only to see my former classmates, but also to revisit the painful and tragic memory of one friend, in particular. She is the reason I think I will never miss a gathering. For her, in memoriam, I can only offer tears. We were members of a ... View the Post
Teaching Teens to Drive is Driving Me Crazy
As we write this we are teaching our youngest children to drive. This is a path we have been down before, but as our impulse for self-preservation is undiminished, we still find it a bit frightening this last time. Learning to drive may be one of the great adolescent milestones but, for parents, it represents a major push back from our kids as they claim their independence from us. Truthfully, the whole process is driving us crazy. Mary Dell is teaching a daughter and Lisa is teaching a son, ... View the Post
Mom Bloggers Would Have Made Me a Better Mother
“Is that normal?” was the first, second and probably third question I asked my pediatrician every time I walked into his office. Normal. Young moms are looking for normal but, in truth, we don’t know what it looks like. Enter the internet and Mom bloggers. My kids were born in the 1990s and my access to online information was limited in their early years. Had I been able to consult this tribe of supporters, I would have learned that “normal” looks like a lot of different things and that my ... View the Post