Firsts
On a cold January afternoon back in 2001, at a hospital in Texas, my husband and I looked at each other with a mixture of fear and uncertainty in our eyes. Are they really going to let us take her home?…
For Love of the Game(s)
I played softball in second through twelfth grades, basketball in third through eighth grades, and volleyball in seventh through twelfth grades. (I ran track in seventh grade, too, but that was a terrible experience. I hate running but somehow got…
Family Reunions
So many Fourth of July holidays when I was young were spent driving with my family from our home in Memphis, TN to my great-aunt’s house in Batesville, MS. I didn’t know Aunt Molly and Uncle June all that well,…
Birthday Party Wins and Fails
Since this issue of Parents & Kids Magazine has a lot to do with birthday parties, I thought I’d revisit some of my own children’s birthday party “wins” and “fails” from over the years. Win: My first child’s first birthday party included pretty…
Hard Conversations
Hard conversations are part of life. And for those of us who really don’t like confrontation, these conversations can be extremely taxing. The easy way out would be just to avoid them altogether–to “keep the peace”–, but we all know…
Pain and Perspective
A few Saturdays ago, I had big plans for the day. I had a huge to-do list, since our big yard sale/fundraiser for our adoption was just a week away. I had items to gather, donations to sort, errands to…
Now Entering the Teen Years
It’s official. I am now the parent of a teenager. My daughter Callie turns 13 this month, and I can hardly believe it. Just like every other parent in the world, I find myself wondering where the time went. I…
Boy, Oh Boy!
LEGOs, comic books, football, video games…These all have two things in common. (1) I have never had much to do with them. (2) My son is crazy about them. Caleb Partridge is my only son, and he’s sandwiched between two…
It Takes a Village
I used to kind-of laugh at the saying “It takes a village to raise a child.” But that was before I became a mother and realized how true that statement is. I, for one, could never make it through motherhood…
A Tough Break
“Mama, come quick! Callie hurt her arm!,” Katie ran to tell me. Our family was attending an M-Braves game with another family, and the kids had gone off to play in the grass behind center field. Since I was in…
