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…
future
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…
Seasonal Bucket List… Or Activity List?
Are you working your way through a “Winter Bucket List” right now? Have you been putting ideas down for a “Spring Bucket List”? It’s time we set the record straight on seasonal lists and what we call them. Because the name really does make a difference – in what goes on the list and in…
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…
Miracles Amidst Devastation
Midmorning on November 17th, 12 tornadoes tore through the Midwest, ripping homes off of foundations, tossing cars into fields, and causing chaos for hundreds of families. Our city suffered only heavy winds and rain. But the local television stations ran continuous footage of devastation not far away. When our church put out a call for…
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,…
Turn Back-to-School Blues into a Promise For the Future
It’s school time again. I find that among the moms I talk to there are two sharply contrasting reactions to the start of the school year: glee and sadness. And frankly I think many moms, whether they’re anticipating sending the kids off to school or dreading it, feel a mixture of both. If you’re sad…