“So who has had sex today?” the pretty -- and a little-too-perky for 10:00 am -- tour guide asks. “And sex with yourself doesn’t count.” It was dawning on me that perhaps a “Sex and the City” bus tour of NYC wasn’t such a great idea for a bonding experience with my 70-year-old mother. A few weeks earlier, I was given the opportunity to review a company that provided … [Read more...]
The Way My Special Daughter Told Me She Loves Me
Today I was struggling to figure out what to write, and I fell back on a typical strategy, I begged my kids for suggestions. My 15-year-old daughter -- whose significant special needs make communication very challenging -- looked up at me with her big brown eyes and said I should write that she loves me. “Mom, that’s so sweet. You should do that. You should write the piece … [Read more...]
The Movies That Sum Up Our Parenting Adventure
Before we became parents, my husband and I spent most Saturday evenings cuddled up in a movie theater enjoying the newest release. As each of our three children was born, our movie dates became less frequent. Thanks to cable and our DVR, we can still count on a movie to take us out of our parenting roles, if only for a few hours. Whether it be a drama, comedy, action … [Read more...]
The Real Story About How I Got My Name
When I was growing up, I always loved to hear my mom tell the story of how she picked my name. I would happily curl up next to her and listen intently as she told me for the hundredth time, that she had originally picked the name Christina for me, if I was a girl. And she planned to call me Tina. But, and she would make a big show of the word “but,” giving the word a … [Read more...]
Learning To Say Goodbye
Our son, who will be starting his freshman year in college this fall, met with the school’s counselors last week to set up his class schedule. Why I thought my husband and I would be involved in this process is beyond me. Tom has been handling his own scheduling issues and any other problems that might come his way since high school. He’s quite skillful at it. I knew he … [Read more...]
