As a mother and teacher, I have had a difficult time trying to get my head and heart around the Sandy Hook Elementary shootings. For me, the most challenging part has been trying to understand how such an evil act could prevail against our most vu…
After learning the final 2012 Presidential Election results, I was faced with the uneasy feeling of an impending game change. It was not the game change you’d expect, though. Yes, the election indicates there is a change in American culture happen…
Growing up the youngest of five children, I was not only referred to as the “baby,” but I was also treated as such. As the baby, I never worried about much because my parents and older siblings handled all of my life’s details while I just, well, …
If anyone had asked me to express my thoughts on reproductive rights in this country thirty years ago, I would have pulled the Twizzler from my mouth, adjusted my knee socks, and asked through a toothless sneer for the question to be repeated. Or …
Since I was young, I was taught never to be indebted to anyone. Somewhere in that lesson I came to believe that my ability to succeed on my own was a sign of strength, and alternatively, my reliance on others for any success was a sign of weakness…
I once complained to a psychologist friend about a certain person in my life who made me act in ways I didn’t like. As I listed all the annoying habits of this person who forced me to act like someone other than the kind (and certainly perfect) pe…
When I received an invitation to my twentieth high school reunion several months ago, I admit I was intimidated. It is not that I didn’t want to spend time with my dearest high school friends. We were at one time inseparable and had kept in touch …
Having collected three years of reward points on my credit card, I recently decided it was time to redeem those points for a weekend trip to New Orleans to with my best girl friends. Our aim was to visit various Catholic cathedrals, see some attra…
The magic of the Fourth of July came a bit slowly this year due to some family division. The divide began when my husband and the older children started shooting store-bought fire works through our heavily-wooded back yard. Always a bit on the par…
Summer does not always provide the blissful, beach-filled moments that offer relief from school-year demands. In fact, when young children are involved, summer can actually provide the kind of sibling overexposure in a household that results in no…
Because I have spent my summer days in the company of all four of my children (ranging from ages eight to one), my main objective has been simply keeping everyone alive. Thus, when we’ve spent time all together in the family swimming pool, the dev…
Father’s Day is a day of celebration for the dads out there who help raise our children, provide for our families and offer the kind of love and emotional support we women need. Having to come up with a gift idea and provide a meaningful card for …