I’ve been thinking about recent discussion and comments concerning our kids’ online time. They text, chat, spend hours on Facebook. Frankly – who knows what they’re doing some of the time. And I’ve been considering the remarks that many of us have made about our own (possibly excessive) use of our communication tools and social […]
Candy’s dandy, but…
We all know the expression. Candy’s dandy but liquor’s quicker. Cute, if you’re a consenting adult, but what if you’re a teenager? How susceptible are our kids to sweet-talking, seemingly safe friendships that often begin with faceless technology? Do our kids really know who they’re dealing with? Do we? Or have we lost touch, as […]
No power. No wi-fi. NO FUN!
Terrible storms throughout the night. The dog, circling and scratching. Then, the sound of an explosion, 4 or 5 a.m. Either a tree went through the roof (it happens in our neighborhood), or – more likely – the transformer two houses away blew. My alarm is on AAs; it went off at the usual time. […]
Sultry Saturday night… his or mine?
It’s a sultry, September Saturday, and evening is approaching. I’m… mmm… comment dire… in a certain mood… Wouldn’t it be lovely to slide into a steamy bath, linger awhile, then find a satiny underthing or two… How I’d like to take the time to regale in the feel of fine fabric against my skin, then, […]
Single Parenthood: How Do You REALLY Feel?
I’ve been a single mother for many years. Yet when asked, I define myself as a writer, a parent, a woman, a friend, an art advocate – and many other things. Make what you’d like of the sequence in that definition; but I claim my “single parenthood” fully. I have great pride in what I’ve […]
Radical parenting? About teens, by teens.
Who are the real experts on teens? Teens themselves. We were all teenagers once, but it’s not always easy remembering what it was like. Especially when your efforts are met with grunts, hands in your face for cash, monosyllabic requests for car keys, and mind-boggling mood swings. Truth is (despite my magic powers of invisibility), […]
Left foot red, right hand blue
Remember “new math?” Wasn’t it just old math – with a twist? I can’t recall what the twist was (natch), but I can think of plenty of other twists and twisters… tongue twisters, Twister the movie, and Twister the floor game that’s been around since, uh… when I was a kid! But my latest “twist” […]
Mad Men’s Women: Drugged Debs, Bottles over Breasts
Disturbing, on oh-so-many levels. This week’s episode of Mad Men was an unsettling and somber look at the world of baby-birthing in the 60s, and long before. Setting aside all your opinions of the main character’s ambivalence about her place in society, her marriage, her family and her unborn child, it’s hard not to be […]
Tricky trilogy of questions pushes parents to ponder
Placenta anyone? Not a subject I expected to be discussing with a two-year old. But that was the case, when it came to my first-born. And turns out that was one of the easier topics to get through, and the memories of those conversations are quite vivid! Yesterday was his 18th birthday, and I’ve been […]
Serena Williams a-t-elle « menacé » la juge de ligne?
« Menace. » Un terme puissant, mais est-ce correct ? English version / version anglaise © D A Wolf Dire que Serena Williams a menacé la juge en demi-finale de l’US Open hier soir – voilà qui suggère une scène explosive ! Et voici pourquoi les médias exercent leurs pouvoirs sensationnels lorsqu’il concerne l’art […]