This Week I Learned Our Children ‘Feel’ Even More Than We Realize

Weekly Lesson #001

Earlier this week our children’s elementary school went into lockdown. I don’t know all the details, but the pieces of the story that I’ve gathered suggest that a note was found in the boys bathroom claiming someone brought a weapon to school. When I was in elementary school — more than 25 years ago (yikes!) […]

Surviving the Firsts

How My Dad Set An Example 27 Years Ago That Helped Me Get Through My First Christmas Without Him

Six months. One hundred eighty-two days. A half a year. However you want to slice it it’s a number that knocks me over today. That’s how long it’s been since I last hugged my dad. I talk to him every day. And sometimes I hear him talk back. But it’s been exactly twenty-six weeks since […]

Want Progress? Here’s What We Must L.E.A.R.N. First

An audacious path to conflict resolution.

I tend to write most often about issues that live within the four walls of a family. Sometimes, I focus even more specifically on the four walls of the reader’s head. I like to think that’s helpful to people. But I also know that sometimes you have to take a step back and look at […]

Getting Unstuck: How One Piece of Gum Actually Saved My Day

Being hypocritical is not a requirement to become a parent, it’s more like a symptom of becoming one. Still, hypocrisy is one of my major pet peeves, so I try hard to avoid acting that way. It’s not always easy. I don’t think all people who act hypocritically do it on purpose. Not all the […]

10 Perspective-Shaping Reminders for all Imperfect Parents

Whether your child is two weeks old or two decades, by now you’ve probably realized something: you’re not perfect. No parent is. I know it may seem like some are. But remember this: that house you’re visiting — you know, the one that’s immaculate and without a single toy or loose item strewn about — […]

It’s Like Riding a Bike, Eventually

Fast results. Quick responses. Minimal effort. We want everything to happen sooner than right now. We latch onto overnight successes and laud their “sudden achievement” rather than acknowledge their climb up the dark side of the mountain. We fail to recognize the momentum that swings them into our awareness during their moment of glory. It […]

Spoiling vs. Rewarding: The Time I Toed The Line

The basic nature of parenting is that we want to give our children better than we had. Whether it’s financial, emotional, physical or anything else, we want their lives to be better than ours. No matter how fantastic our childhood, we’re always trying to make things better for them. Usually that is a very noble […]