The summer I sent my last child off to college seemed to go faster than most. Before we knew it, we were getting ready to send one, then another child off to their respective schools. A week in between move-in days made it possible to focus on each of them, one at a time, but made for a very busy […]
I am at a point in my life where being a cheerleader is a primary parenting role. Now this may conjure up some pretty funny images (I abandoned the appropriate age and body type in the 80s), but nonetheless, it is an apt description. There is little hands-on parenting for me to do on a day-to-day basis; for the most […]
When I became a parent of college grads, I was somewhat surprised to realize that I shed more tears at the high school ceremonies than the college ones. Somehow this didn’t make sense. This may be in part because there were several of “my kids” graduating from high school – my own children, their friends, and those who I watched […]
WISE DECISIONS: A Science-Based Approach to Making Better Decisions by Dr. Jim Loehr and Dr. Sheila Ohlsson is a useful guide to understanding the science behind our decision-making and, more importantly, how to use this knowledge to make even better decisions. This book makes you stop and think. It’s obvious, but have you considered that beliefs are merely opinions? And […]
While I don’t think I’ve done anything special, I sometimes have people turn to me and ask “How did you do it?” They want to know why my kids talk to me and theirs don’t. Why I get spontaneous texts and calls while they barely get responses even when they are the ones to initiate contact. This is often followed […]
My love affair with the ocean began in my teens when my parents became friends with a man who soon became family. He had a boat that he used for pleasure and chartering small fishing trips. Breaking his long-standing rule of “No women on the boat,” he invited the family out for an afternoon (of four family members, three of […]
We all make note of our children’s “firsts:” their first smile, first tooth, first step, first day of kindergarten. Especially with my youngest, as my kids moved on to big milestones (moving from elementary to middle school, for example) I started noting the lasts, with more than a little melancholy. With the youngest, these lasts were also lasts for me. […]
When I first became a mom, I looked forward to doing things with my children that I had enjoyed growing up. It didn’t occur to me then that embracing my kids interests instead would be so rewarding. I first realized that this was not to be when my oldest asked to take ballet lessons. My mother tried for years to […]
Proof of life. Any message, no matter how goofy is acceptable. Since parts of my heart first went off without me (aka my kids going to college), I have had an internal struggle. I want them to stretch and learn and grow as human beings, but also have an almost primal need to know they are okay. I know the […]
As I watched my baby graduate college, I thought about how four years before, I hid behind sunglasses, watching her walk across the high school stadium. I knew then that this milestone would change both our lives, yet was unsure of what exactly that meant. In those four years we both grew. We grew apart. We grew together. We both […]
