I saw you tonight, at church. Well, not exactly church, but in the v-shaped building behind the church where the kids take religion class. It had been a long day. I argued with my husband, Joe, and around 3:00 my third son, Charlie, started running a fever. I was tired. I stood there, with my […]
I guess I’m wondering what you think of him. I know I shouldn’t care, but I can’t help it. I do. He doesn’t care, not one little bit. In fact, I don’t think he even notices when people stare at him or kids point to him. I don’t care for the reasons you might think. […]
Henry, come on, don’t cry. Come here, sit on my lap. No? You don’t want to? You’re too big to sit on my lap now? Okay, just sit next to me here on the couch. Try to calm down, and tell me what’s wrong. Jack said what? Well, that’s actually—no, no, it isn’t funny, you’re […]
Here’s the thing, Jack-a-boo. Sometimes I’m not really sure how to parent you. I mean, parenting is hard enough as it is. But you, well, you are just the tiniest but different from the rest of the kids. And I mean that in the nicest possible way. How do I mother a child who doesn’t […]
Listen, I get it. He’s twelve. He’s almost as tall as I am and his sneakers are a whole size bigger than the ones I wear. He’s in the seventh grade. His older-by-one-year brother knows. His younger-by-three-years sister is beginning to connect the dots. Quietly, when no one else is in the room, she asks […]
Research tells us anxiety is an emotion, often characterized by inner turmoil, dread, and the expectation of a future event. It is not the same as fear, because fear is the response to a real, actual event. Science says there are six major types; generalized anxiety disorder, panic attack disorder obsessive-compulsive disorder, phobia, social anxiety […]
Do you ever wish you could see inside other people’s marriages? You know, like if they fight about changing the toilet paper roll or who spends more money at the grocery store or whether or not it’s time to throw away the smelly sponge sitting in the kitchen sink? I do. I wish I knew […]
I imagine that, as a teacher, you come across all kinds of learners. There are the eager beavers—the kids who just soak up everything around them and can’t wait to dive into their workbooks and always keep their pencils nice and sharp. Then there are the kids who are very smart but also very lazy; […]
It’s August now. The days are still long and hot and humid, but there is a tinge of autumn in the air, especially at night. Most of you are starting to think about school again. You are reading over your supply list for seventh grade and wondering if your new teacher is nice or strict. […]
