Parenting
A Chat with my 7th Grade Android
Recently, Tech Support has become much more private. About everything. Where my 12-year old son used to willingly spill all the beans at once, now he doles them out in microscopic handfuls. …
How Could We Have Known?
This piece was written for Galit Breen and Alison who asked us to share our “Memories Captured” on film and write about them. My son has never allowed me to put his face on my blog. Today, he gave me his permission….
I'm in Tennessee Today
Are you a namby-pamby pushover or an authoritarian dictator? Which do you think I am? Go ahead. Judge me. I can take it. Probably….
Sex, Avoidance & Facebook: A Twist on Gratitude
Ever since he was really little, Tech Support has chosen to ask me the tough questions when we are in the car. …
Monkey Has Left The Building
“I don’t like it anymore,” my son said, right before he took an enormous bite out of an enormous apple. “What?” He…
To Get Up or to Zzzzzzzz
Monkey started 7th grade this year. I hear him moving around starting at 6:20 AM, and I stick my pillow over my head. Unlike my parents who stayed in bed, confident in my organizational abilities — or never really ever considered whether I had everything I needed or not — I feel totally guilty for staying in bed. …
What Not To Read When Your Child's Fish Tank Has Ich
We are great with houseplants and lawn maintenance. My husband can grow a mean tomato. But pets? Not so much….
My Son's First Concert
When my husband first suggested we take our son to see Steely Dan, live, in concert, I tried to gently suggest it might be a bad idea. “He’ll love it,” Hubby insisted, in that clueless way that husbands sometimes insist on things. What he really meant was: “I want to see Steely Dan in concert.”…
Roots & Wings
Way back in December, a brochure made its way into my house advertising a summer kids’ camp at the Rochester Institute of Technology. Monkey read it hungrily and announced that he really wanted to take a computer programming class….
Gazpacho for Muchacho
A few days ago our family was eating dinner. It was a warm, breezy summer night and we were having our supper outside at our heavy black wrought-iron table, under our umbrella in the backyard. It was a light meal: a little bread, some cheese and fresh fruit. And gazpacho….