Thanksgiving is a few days away. Everyone I know is putting the finishing touches on menus for the big holiday feast. Recipes for the perfect turkey, gravy, and pumpkin pie can be found in magazines and on TV talk shows and blogs. But, nowhere have I ever seen a recipe for preparing the most crucial element of a great holiday meal: Your kids. After celebrating 18 years … [Read more...]
Learning to be Your Own Fairy Godmother
When I was seven years old, I saw the Disney version of Cinderella, and the inner princess in me was born. I loved the sewing, singing mice, and the fairy godmother who turns rags into a beautiful gown and a pumpkin into a coach pulled by six white horses. And I couldn’t resist when Cinderella met her handsome prince and lived happily ever after. But I wasn’t raised … [Read more...]
Dear Santa: A Mom’s Christmas Wish List
Dear Santa: Hi, I hope this letter finds you and Mrs. Claus in good health. I bet you’re wondering why a middle-aged married woman with two teenagers and a tween would feel compelled to write to you. After all it’s been quite a few years since I even really believed in you. (Sorry about that by the way.) But as I’ve been looking through catalogs and searching … [Read more...]
I Had to Say Goodbye to a Dear Friend This Week
“Please, please, please, tell me that’s not my toddler running around our front yard in a diaper. We just moved here. What are the neighbors going to think?” I said this as my husband and I were pulling into our driveway. I was tired and cranky. My routine OBGYN appointment for my second child had dragged on for a four-hour ordeal of ultrasounds and blood … [Read more...]
When Dad Does Everything Better, A Mom’s Lament
I’ve been a parent for almost 19 years. For 12 I’ve been the mom of three, and I’ve never minded when my kids occasionally tell me they hate me. In fact I’ve been known to thank my little detractors whenever they utter these three words. I know it’s my job as the primary scolder-in-chief to put the kibosh on building swimming pools in the basement or using a sibling’s … [Read more...]
