Category: parenting

Suffering social life: Teens need to see each other and get around, but parental taxi service piles up the miles

July 19, 2020

Mobility is an important issue at age 13, especially when all of your friends live between 20 and 1,000-plus miles away. Normally, teens can do most of their feeding at the friendship trough during school, with the occasional weekend sleepover. These are not normal times (pardon my understatement). This pandemic has a ripple effect in … More Suffering social life: Teens need to see each other and get around, but parental taxi service piles up the miles

Facebook flashback photos take us back in time — but didn’t predict the future

May 12, 2020

If you have Facebook, it’s likely you get those flashback pictures — “10 years ago” and so on and so forth. It’s supposed to be a feelgood kind of thing. It digs deeper into your gut when a child is involved. Over the past couple of weeks, I’ve received several of those Facebook flashback moments. … More Facebook flashback photos take us back in time — but didn’t predict the future

New memories of Kindergarten, inside looking out: Small students, big hearts

June 7, 2018

It’s Kindergarten Graduation Time. Again. It’s been six years since Young Daughter made this same step up to 1st grade. It’s the kind of June morning where the mugginess plasters your shirt to your back, between the shoulders. Parents wave paper programs, coaxing a hint of a breeze. The children are restless. The teachers are … More New memories of Kindergarten, inside looking out: Small students, big hearts

First day of 5th Grade: A year to learn about yourself and make (good) memories that last

August 28, 2017

First day of 5th Grade. A new school year. A new, grown-up “tween” world view. A new uniform shirt color. She told me at breakfast this morning she felt nervous, an unusual admission on her part. Reason? She didn’t know who (which friends) would be in her home base/fine arts and content classes. She will … More First day of 5th Grade: A year to learn about yourself and make (good) memories that last

When her feelings turn from tender to toxic, best strategy is keeping my mouth shut

June 6, 2017

What’s bothering her? She’s barely 10 years old. What weight of the world is she carrying? Is there something big going on in her life, or is she simply submerged under a landslide of minor injustices and irritants? Tender queries reveal two answers: “No,” and “Nothing.” Stomp. Slam. It must be hard growing up in … More When her feelings turn from tender to toxic, best strategy is keeping my mouth shut

She found coal in her stocking Christmas morning — I must’ve had rocks in my head

December 30, 2016

“If you’re not good, Santa is going to leave coal in your stocking!” Sure, we’ve all heard it. Said it. Understand the implications of the threat. But have you ever gotten a firsthand eyeful of what happens when this nightmare becomes reality for a child on Christmas morning? Sure, it had been a little rougher … More She found coal in her stocking Christmas morning — I must’ve had rocks in my head

This year’s Santa Claus: Hoping her beliefs evolve – not vanish

December 19, 2016

To believe, or not to believe. Last year, we wondered if it was the last Christmas for Santa Claus with Young Daughter. It’s bittersweet, since she’s been a fervent believer since she could recognize the jolly old fellow. We’ve watched the Polar Express the past few years, hoping it will ease the transition. I tell … More This year’s Santa Claus: Hoping her beliefs evolve – not vanish

More Daddy-Daughter dynamics: Thawing the Cold Shoulder (if you can put your finger on it)

November 13, 2016

What am I really supposed to do when we see each other in the hallway or the library or the cafeteria? The first time this became an issue, I never saw it coming. I was trying to land a job at my daughter’s charter school. There was nothing too terribly wrong with my current job. I was working … More More Daddy-Daughter dynamics: Thawing the Cold Shoulder (if you can put your finger on it)

40th Class Reunion pits memories vs. ambivalence; what’ll it be like for her?

October 11, 2016

Forty years. Sounds like a long time. That’s probably because it is a long time, even if you’re one of those Galapagos turtles. There’s a Pink Floyd lyric that’s always been lodged in my brain (taking up room that should be devoted to more important matters): “Then one day you find, 10 years have got … More 40th Class Reunion pits memories vs. ambivalence; what’ll it be like for her?