Teenage romances are practices for adult relationships. They are almost always temporary. Knowing this, how are we supposed to feel about our children’s dates? I know we can’t have the special person join along on all the family outings. Are we allowed to like the boyfriend/girlfriend of the moment? Is it truly terrible if I […]
We have one car. I spent Monday helping Tommy at LMU and Doug was trapped at home with four children and no car. Me: “Noah, I’m not going to make it home in time to drive you to Scouts. Please call someone and get a ride. I will be back in time to drive you […]
teen: “Can I spend the day at the park with my boyfriend?” me: “The park? That sounds like fun. We’ll bring your little brothers and sister and make a day of it.” tip-tap sounds of texting on phone teen: “We changed our minds. We’re just gonna hang out at the mall.” me: “The mall? We […]
Instead of the “eat healthy, exercise daily, lose weight” lie, I have a “to do” list for 2009. In no particular order, my year is beginning with me: learning a new skill – which is scary, because I’m an old dog who may not be able to learn a new trick, especially with the whole […]
“Why can’t I have a twin? I want a twin.” Amy has a talent for demanding the impossible. I should have told her I gave her a room of her own for 9 months.
One of the children who is old enough to know better went to bed at 8:30 tonight. Earlier than his school night bedtime, during his winter break, without prompting, he tucked himself in bed. Doug and I quizzed him to find out if anything physical or emotional was causing him pain. Eventually, his words revealed […]
We frequently have people tell us, “We can certainly tell that Amy has older siblings.” Doug hears: “Amy is so bright.” I hear: “Amy has a teenager’s mouth.”
The love for Santa and the desire for a Barbie whose shoes will immediately disappear seems normal for a 6-year old. The rest of the letter confuses me. The ride from Santa and the bell can be lumped together and blamed on The Polar Express. Before this letter, The Polar Express was just a Christmas […]
The children have written letters to Santa. The youngest two want rides on his sleigh. The middle child wants a little bit of everything. The teenage girl is asking for things that she shouldn’t have to ask for as a gift. The teenage boy whose first semester at school suffered because of excessive electronic gaming […]
When life was so simple that I could get worked up over things that don’t matter, I complained about the evils of putting small children in beauty pageants. I made sure everyone knew I was boycotting the televised pageants for 18-year-olds. I was very confident and uncompromising in my brilliant pre-parent years. Then, I had […]