If your kids think you're cool, you must be doing something wrong…
If the holidays and holiday parties are meant to be infused with joy and cheer, it’s ironic that sometimes,
thanks to gift exchanges, people can leave those parties feeling kind of…well…mad, or at least a bit sour. Kind of like Jim Carrey’s Grinch when he receives a used electric shaver at Whoville’s
Present Pass-it-On…I’ve seen these emotions a few times at adult parties and a LOT at kids’ parties.
First of all, most gift exchanges I’ve seen or participated …
Not just a dash— now it’s a mad dash
Remember my September post about the passing period between high school classes, about how at our kids’ school it’s so quick, kids don’t have time to use the restroom or go to their lockers any
more? Well, I did bring up the subject to the Director of Health for our school district, who chairs a committee of which I am a member. He told me he would bring it …
News Flash to all Uncool Parents (and those on the verge): When you say something to your teen and they answer back with
“Dude!”, don’t get upset—get excited. It means—and don’t faint—that they are AGREEING with you! No kidding! And it’s becoming widespread, so no doubt Webster’s will be putting it right up there
with “bromance” and “frenemy” in the very near future.
I’ve noticed it in Allison’s speech over the last couple of months but …
Yes, it’s birthday time again, and for those of you who don’t already know, ALL of our family birthdays fall […]
When was the last time someone told you they’d die for you? Before you start thinking back to some star-crossed […]
Ah, the topic of age and trick-or-treating has been in my life a lot these days. First, I heard the story on
the radio last week about Mark Eckert, the mayor of Belleville, IL, who has banned teenage trick-or-treating in his town (as some other cities have done). Although Belleville rarely
issues the fine for this, it’s $100 if anyone over 12 is caught trick-or-treating. I didn’t give the story much attention. Like the newscasters, I thought, ‘Hah—that would be a
…
I got out of bed this morning with feet that ached so badly, I had to
“hobble” across the bedroom floor. Was it age finally setting in? No, just fundraiser burnout. I worked 3 ½ hours yesterday morning at a drill team bake sale, 4 ½ hours in the afternoon at the
elementary school carnival/auction, and an hour and a half selling “latecomer” tickets at a high school choir concert. I definitely wore the wrong shoes.
We humans may have found a vaccine for Polio, landed a man on the moon and invented the Twinkie, but we sure
have a long way to go in getting a handle on school bullying, don’t you think? Just like our parents did many years ago, modern parents still (unless we are rabid helicopter parents) just shrug
our shoulders and say, “That’s human nature” and tell our kids to “stand tall” if they are teased/bullied. More phrases in the time-worn parent …
We had a great vacation, but like Emmie says, the packing and traveling parts are the worst. And the unpacking. And, I would have to add, the “vacation withdrawal”. Oh, I’m glad to be back with my
sweet dog and my comfortable bed, healthier food and not getting lost everywhere we drive…but when you’ve had a wonderful time being away, getting back to reality is tough.
…
I once mentioned the book A Day in the Life of America in a blog post, a popular book of photographs
taken across the U.S. all on the same day, 5/2/86. What I didn’t mention was how much I like that concept, of recognizing all the things that can happen at the same time on one day, or
at one moment. My children and I have even played a “Right Now” game a few times instead of a bedtime story, where we each …