After a round of email correspondence in 2008, a friend wrote back, “You know, you should really join Facebook. It’s so much easier to communicate with friends over there. I think you’d love it.” I was dubious. I had managed to avoid MySpace and barely understood the internet in general, so I sat resolute in […]
Parents of High School Juniors, I Feel Your Angst
I had been warned this time was coming, but I resisted. Parents of high school juniors used to look at my toddlers and tell me I would miss the days when I could contain them in a crib at night. Parents of teens would stop me in the grocery store to comment how much they […]
I Miss My Silly Weekday Morning Routine With My Teens
Our morning tradition started, much as they often do, by accident. My son had recently passed his driver’s test. He was preparing to drive to my mother-in-law’s home for the weekend. Because she lives two hours away in another state, I was, naturally, nervous about him being on the open highway so far from home. […]
My Teen Is Teaching Me How To Set Boundaries. Yes, Really.
One hot summer day, my family and I were at my in-laws’ house for a family pool party. There was music and laughter and kids screaming with delight as they jumped in and out of the pool. It was a pretty typical scene, really. My children, ages three and five at the time, had very […]
Our Teen Is Driving And So Are His Friends: What The Hell?
Judging from the way my son’s face was beaming, I knew the news before he even got the words out of his mouth: his best friend had passed his driving test. Not only was his best friend now a fully licensed driver, but he had also texted my son to ask just how soon they […]
My Teen Spent the Summer Working A Manual Labor Job
As I entered the job site, I could hear my 16-year-old son before I could see him. The sounds of a radio blaring in an empty room upstairs, combined with the rhythmic thump of a hammer, led me to where he was demolishing a built-in cabinet. He was sweaty, his face covered in dirt and […]
News Flash: Gifted Kids Are Not Always Valedictorians
From an early age, our son was inquisitive, precocious and speaking full sentences by the time he was two. When I was out in public with him, older women would always comment on his verbal ability. And they’d all say the same thing, “Oh, he must be gifted. He’s going to go to Harvard, I […]
The Day My Son Got His Driver’s Permit –and an Unexpected Gift
My son’s interest in toy cars has gradually been replaced by an interest in a car of his own and he eagerly awaited the day he could finally get his driver’s permit. When he was a toddler, he was obsessed with trains and cars. Practically every picture I have of him during those years includes […]
5 Things I’d Forgotten About Being A Teenage Girl
When I was a teenager, I distinctly remember spending an entire afternoon organizing my makeup into a Caboodles case. I spent hours arranging my Cover Girl foundation, blue and green eye shadow palettes, and hot pink blush kits in my carryall. I’m not sure why I thought I was going to need to haul every […]
My Teen Had a Difficult Teacher and He Survived. Yours Will, Too.
Over the years, my kids have experienced a variety of teaching styles in the classroom. And, though most of their teachers have been awesome, my son has had two teachers that made life more challenging for all of us—and learning how to deal with difficult teachers taught us a lesson in resiliency. My son walked into […]
I Graduated from Marvel University…with Honors
I was nine years old when Return of the Jedi hit the theaters. I remember sitting in a darkened movie theater on a hot summer day with a bucket of popcorn on my lap. As I watched the X-wing starfighters fly across the screen, I distinctly remember thinking that science fiction movies weren’t my thing. The Ewoks […]
This Viral Hearing Experiment Proves Teens Can Actually Hear You
Once again, a heated Internet debate is flaring, only this time, it’s pitting kids and teens against parents. And it’s glorious, trust me. Spoiler alert: a hearing experiment that has taken the internet by storm proves teens have been ignoring you since forever. Yes, really. The people of the Internet love a good debate, particularly […]
Don’t Hate Me: My Teens Are Best Friends (Yes, Really)
I hear the slider door of our beach house squeak and the sound of footsteps as they amble down the wooden deck stairs. I can hear them before I see them: my teens are headed out on their summer evening ritual. Every night, shortly after dinner, they grab an ice cream from our beach house […]
My Son’s Senior Year Feels Like Time Is Running Out
I hear the mudroom door slam and the sound of my son yelling, “I’m home, Mah. What’s for dinner?” floats up the stairs to my office. I find him, rummaging in the refrigerator, ravenous after a full day of working on a house renovation for a local realtor. His job this summer has kept him […]