Who doesn’t love to fantasize about days gone by, romanticizing a period in history that seems more glamorous, more exciting, or simpler? As an avid fan of AMC TV’s Mad Men, I’m as susceptible to the appeal of this award-winning drama as anyone. The portrayal of life in the 1960s is seductive, surprising, and accurate […]
Why We Sweat the Small Stuff
When the small stuff adds up…
Parenting Without a Safety Net
Your credentials, please? Parenting may be a profession – and certainly is, in my view – but there are no guarantees, no cap and gown after years of study. No diploma. No certification. Just a physician handing over a squalling little creature that owns your heart. And then it’s off to the races, figuring it […]
When Marriage Ends And You Don’t Know Why
Why a marriage ends: Sometimes not knowing is worse than knowing.
What Do You Do When There’s Nothing You Can Do?
Sometimes, all you can do as a parent of teens is sit back and hold your breath.
Courage
Sometimes our children surprise us. Really surprise us. I remember my older son defending his much littler brother against a bully, a kid who was beefier than both of them put together. But my first-born threw himself into the fray without hesitation, and got the bully to back off. Flash forward nine years. That bully […]
Bread Crumbs, Stale Crusts, Potions: I Don’t Talk About My Ex
They aren’t lies, exactly – the things I say to my children about their father. I don’t talk about my ex much – not with them, and certainly not here except obliquely. Yet you may sense him in the background. An occasional presence, a haze, a storm brewing. You
“But Dad – You Promised!”
Making promises to kids that we don’t keep…
Single Parent Guilt, Seth Godin’s Egg
If you’re a parent, then you feel guilty. About something. Especially if you’re a single parent. So, can anything good come of parental guilt? Is guilt telling me something I need to hear?