The shore line is jagged and the water level lower than I expect. The boat, with no visible damage to my untrained eye, is now docked nearby. The kids are quieter than normal, all six of them, piping up with an occasional joke, but their voices and body language, clearly subdued. The lake is very […]
10 Tips On Teens (And Lessons Learned)
He’s grunting in response to my questions, and staring straight ahead. Here we are again, I tell myself. Me, at the wheel. Him, in the passenger seat. Adult annoyance meets adolescent angst, yields one part migraine, two parts morning misery. And where is my kid? The one I raised? I shouldn’t complain. Really. Relatively speaking, […]
Teenage Sex At Home?
Teens having sex on the sly, or under your own roof?
Them’s The Breaks
You know when you’re sitting and waiting, and there’s nothing you can do? You know what I mean – one of those situations that’s entirely beyond your control. It happened to me last evening when my site went down for a few hours, due to something that came up with my provider and required a […]
Challenging Kids, Knee-Jerk Reactions, Band-Aid Responses
Who doesn’t want to scream when it comes to their kid? At least now and then? In the past 24 hours, one of my sons tried my patience over a long-running issue. I lost my temper – though he admits to seeing that I was holding back – but I went for a more hard-line […]
Eighth Wonder
No. Definitely not a pyramid. (I would’ve heard the dragging of stone and moaning of exertion.) Couldn’t be the Colosseum. (Insufficient ceiling height.) The Taj Mahal? (No reflecting pool.) I was ticking off the list of wonders in my head, trying to recollect each and every one in its splendor and significance. Seven, right? Surely, […]
Parent Teacher Association
Summer is here and classes are over! Well, for most of us that is. We’ve got school-aged kids revving up for camp or neighborhood play, vacations in the works, and likely a list of activities awaiting. Then again, we may have teenagers milling about – snatching up the car keys, leaving a trail of dirty […]
Pick Your Moments
When it comes to effective communication – especially with kids – discretion can certainly be the better part of valor. In other words, don’t embarrass your children in front of their pals, think before you speak, and pick your moments – carefully. The same could be said for spouses, co-workers, or friends, but they’re adults […]
Small House Record (Seventeen!)
Seventeen. The magic number, apparently. One backyard, one clear night, 1100 square feet, and seventeen kids. No, this is not a commercial announcement for a crazy new reality TV show, though maybe it ought to be. No, this time I didn’t “just say no”. I said yes – to… count ’em… seventeen sleeping in my […]
Report Card
It’s approaching the end of the school year, and as my son prepares for a variety of exams and final papers, I think about the report card. Not his. Mine. As he continues his last push toward graduation, I find myself wondering what sort of marks I would receive as his parent. Of course, I […]