My mother drove me crazy at times. She had to talk to everybody, be it the mailman, the Schwann’s man, or the bum on the street. She could strike up long convoluted conversations with absolutely anybody. Perfect strangers ended up telling her their life stories, their deepest fears, and their secret ambitions. And she […]
In January of 2003 I began to search, in earnest, for my father. A task made no less daunting by the fact that he had died in February of 1978. Only 55 years old at the time of his death, I felt dad was much too young to depart this world–one of the few matters
Demolish Temper Tantrums Children usually have temper tantrums about age two. These little, but mighty, toddlers assert their independence by saying no.’ It’s not uncommon to see them lay on the floor to kick and scream if they don’t get their way. A parent can usually redirect their thinking and the tears turn off immediately.
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It is FebruaryValentine’s Day is creeping nearer and nearer and the cliché “love is in the air” is perhaps not a cliché, but a real, tangible wind. We cut up little hearts with cute messages on them or buy red roses or sulk and relish in the “Single’s Awareness Day.” We think of our love
IT’S THAT RAREST OF OCCASIONS: For a time, Shilly-Shally is content to sit on our bedroom floor and play while I work at the computer. This doesn’t mean that I can really concentrate. For one thing, she interrupts me at least every two minutes. For another, she’s in one of her “opera” moods, singing as she
Glad to be Dad: Your Child Read More »
Realize your in-laws are different people with different ways. There may be times when you disagree with your in-laws, but that is because they are from a different time and grew up with beliefs that you may not have. Respect what they stand for. Don’t be afraid to speak your mind, but do it civilly
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As parents, I think we can all agree that we have limited power over our kids. Sure, we can obviously teach them and hand out consequences and discipline them, but that’ll only take us so far. The one thing that we, as moms and dads, don’t have the power to do, in spite of all
If Only Parents Could See the Future Read More »
If you want to create some magical moments with your children while they are young, plan a few minutes of reading time together each day. Set aside the electronics, cozy up together, and let the world slip away as you share a favorite book. Here is a unique list of Read Aloud Books our family
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One of the most common clichés in action movies is the gag line that follows a killing. And several recent films are continuing this dubious tradition, from Tom Cruise in “Jack Reacher” to Arnold Schwarzenegger in “The Last Stand” to Jason Statham in “Parker” to Sylvester Stallone in “Bullet to the Head” to Bruce Willis
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Teens stress about homework Students get homework almost every day, whether or not that’s just answering some questions or studying for a test you might have tomorrow. So homework is a pretty common problem that every teenager has to go through. But we don’t just get one piece of homework. That would be too easy.
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