It was the start of first grade for my youngest child. I remember standing among the other camera-wielding ‘mamarazzi’ waving to our children as their stubby legs, barely visible below bulging backpacks, stumped their way in a line behind their new teacher into school. We all lingered there, suspended for a few minutes. The swoosh…
Choice
Why You Need to Rethink Social Media This Spring Break
We’re a connected society. Ellen DeGeneres’s record-breaking 2014 Oscars Twitter selfie is just one proof. We text, tweet, pin and post our way through our days. We browse, troll and read too. It keeps us in touch and informed. We can be supportive and get support. But there comes a time when social media usage can…
One Way to Accomplish More in Your Life
Bucket lists are funny things. We are all proud to have one (in our heads). We love to chime at the mention of a cool exploit that we envision ourselves completing one day (and hence would include on our theoretical list). We like to tell the stories of things we have done and adventures we…
Balanced List, Balanced Life
Do you feel like you spend your weekdays waiting for the weekend only to spend the weekend exhausting yourself with a packed calendar? Are you enjoying time as a family but often have a nagging feeling that you’re missing something or missing out on something? It may be because you have an imbalanced list of…
It’s Time
One question for you as we approach the new year: what is it time for? Instead of setting yourself a list of self-improvement goals that are bound to produce more guilt than change (if the statistics are right), take an optimistic approach. Think about the different goals or outings or classes you’ve had in mind…
Why You Should Face Your Fears
I hate haunted houses. Actually, I’m adverse to anything scary. No horror pics, Stephen King novels, or Fright Fests for me. For one reason: I scare easily. When my daughters agreed to play the role of zombies at the big All Hallow’s Eve event at our city’s living history museum, I was asked to help…
Permission to Think of Yourself, Mom
What do you want to do? What is your biggest dream, your highest hope? No really. What do you, mom, want to do most in life – today, tomorrow, next month? Can you tell me off the top of your head, without needing to hear other people’s answers first? I ask this question because I…
One Way to Improve Your Kids’ Decision Making Skills
So much to do. So little time. But do you ever make your children choose? And could making them choose under the pressure of “not enough time for it all” backfire? It’s easy to want to avoid making our kids choose between activities. We don’t want them to miss out. We don’t want to shortchange…
Living Into Your Longings
Sometimes as parents, and especially as moms, we deny ourselves the fulfillment of our longings. We mistake being a good parent with making life all about our kids, as if every one of our hopes has (or will) come true in them. Or we believe we don’t have or don’t deserve the space, time, energy,…
The Bucket List Life Manifesto
You are an adventurer. You know that, right? If you are a parent, then you signed up for a life of thrills and chills, unexpected turns of events, situations that test your wit and courage, and unparalleled moments of joy. Don’t miss the adventure of life with kids. Because every day is an opportunity to…