In my house, Saturday night prime time television shows were sacred in our house. My brothers and I would put on our pajamas, make popcorn in the air popper and crowd around on the floor while my parents settled in on the couch. I can still feel my teenaged brothers elbowing me to make room […]
Five Not So Secret Ways To Convince Your Teen To Communicate
It’s an age old trope: teens, by nature, don’t communicate and it’s impossible to get them to open up once they turn 13. You hear rumors from other moms that raising a teen means accepting that he or she will clam up for the entirety their teenage years. When my kids approached their teen years, I […]
I’m Just Going To Say It: High School Was Better (and Easier) in the 90s.
On my way to my bedroom late one night, I saw the familiar sliver of light coming from my son’s room. Burning the midnight oil again, I thought. When I cracked the door open, I found him hunched over his computer, eyes bloodshot and tired, furiously typing on the keyboard. I ruffled his curls and told […]
My Teen Is Dating And I’m Pretty Sure I’m Embarrassing AF
I knew this day would come but I didn’t think it would happen so fast. It seems like just yesterday my little boy was sitting next to me, in overalls and holding a Thomas train, gazing at me with love and affection. The day he promised to marry me made my heart sink because I […]
The Day I Realized I Was Too Strict With My Teens Hit Me Hard
As I dug around in my purse, looking for my keys, I yelled, “Let’s go! We are going to be late!” at the kitchen ceiling. Trying to herd two teenagers out the door to a doctor’s appointment on a day off from school is no easy task. I waited for the familiar sound of stomping […]
I Parent My Teens Through The Lens of Grieving. And It Sucks.
My teenaged son walked in the door from school and I caught a glimpse of my father. It was fleeting, lasting only milliseconds, but for a tiny moment in time, I could see the way my father’s features had melded with my son’s. And, as it happens during those moments, my heart broke a little […]
The Day I Realized My Teen Daughter Had a Voice (and A Mind) of Her Own
She was the baby who almost wasn’t. When I was seventeen weeks pregnant with her, I was in a devastating head on car accident. The relief my husband and I felt when we saw her heartbeat, wild and strong, at the hospital where I was treated was palpable. Our girl was a fighter. She came […]
I Can’t Remember A Time When My Teen Didn’t Wear A Hoodie
To live with a teenager means you are familiar with the esteem in which they hold their hooded sweatshirts. Just take a walk down any crowded high school hallway and you’ll find that pretty much every teen is wearing some version of a hoodie. In fact, they wear them all day, every day. The fires […]