Please Listen
Parents, this poem might resonate with you, as it did with me when I read it today. Actually, it felt more like a big brick dropped on my head, because I very much struggle with jumping right into advice-giving when…
Your Home: A Powerful Arena
This quote on this actual same piece of paper has been hanging in my kitchen for more than 15 years. In fact, it has hung in three different kitchens now. With each move, I’ve packed this piece of paper as…
Being an Aunt
Once a year my extended family gets together for a week-long vacation together. There are nearly thirty of us, and more than half are โthe kids,โ ranging in age between one and twenty-two. It is always fascinating to watch them…
Adoption: Is It an Option for You?
Adopting a child was not something I dreamed about my whole life, and it wasnโt something that my husband and I ever even talked about until seven years ago. We had heard a lot of adoption stories and were always…
Letting Go
This month my daughter Callie will start her freshman year at Mississippi College. In June we spent a couple of days at Orientation, where they wisely separated the incoming freshmen from their parents. The students got to attend sessions on…
Reflection Is Good for the Soul…and the Relationship
A friend of mine has worked with teenagers and parents of teenagers for more than two decades. During the particularly trying times of the teen years in a family, he encourages the parents to get one of their favorite pictures…
Birthday Party Memories
Can you remember all of your childhood birthday parties? Some of them? How about just a memory or two? Think about which memories stand out to you and consider why they made an impact on you. Many times it has…
Setting Sail
This month my firstborn child will graduate from high school, and, as all parents of seniors, I am wondering how we got here so quickly. In lieu of sadness, though, we are choosing to celebrate Callieโs graduation, so she and…
Photos and Perspectives
Sometimes I have a hard time deciding what to write for this monthly column. Itโs not that Iโm not still growing through motherhood; I think that motherhood just keeps me so busy and scattered that itโs often difficult to nail…
Doing What We Need to Do Isn’t Always Easy
I started writing for Parents & Kids Magazine in 2008, and I joined the office staff in 2011. I had been a stay-at-home mom for ten years before taking this part-time job. Since my youngest child was starting kindergarten at that time,…
