My son stood at the window, staring out from the kitchen at the backyard of the only house he’d ever called home.
He’s 11, and will show you how tough of a kid he is at any turn. But even the toughest kid has his soft side. I approached him. “You OK?”
I read an article recently about a study in which researchers analyzed the brains of teenagers. In this experiment, they had the kids listen to a 30-second clip of their mother criticizing them. Here is a sample of one of the critiques: “One thing that bothers me about you is that you get upset over minor issues. I could tell you to take your shoes from downstairs. You’ll get mad that you have to pick them up and actually walk upstairs and put them in your room.”
As is required by federal columnist law, the following is my annual list of things I am thankful for. This year has been one of enormous change for my family, as I took a new job and moved to a new city. My family has had to adjust to the biggest change we have ever undertaken, with a new home and new schools and generally new everything in their lives. And we have done this was amazing support from friends and family who helped us take this leap of faith that has turned out pretty darn well for us.
If there is one things kids love, it’s canned speeches that they hear over and over and over again.
They particularly love these when they are in response to the laments of how woeful their lives are.
Because it’s kinda how it’s drawn up in the manual, my kids are a pretty solid combination of my wife and me.
My daughter looks like my wife, which is fortunate, because no 14-year-old girl should have to go through life looking like me.
It was a harrowing experience, but I am so thankful that I have a fierce, brave warrior of a wife who able to face down one of life’s toughest challenges and emerge unscathed, if not even stronger.
I love fairy tales. In particular, I love the happy ending of fairy tales, where everything works out in the end and life is super-dee-duper perfect at the end of the story. I am a bit of a sentimental sap in this manner. I want the good guy to win. I want karma to be exacted on those deserving, both good and bad. And ultimately, I want the protagonist to live happily ever after.
I’m not a real physically affectionate person.
Sure, I’ll give my kids an occasional passing pat on the head, and my wife and I have a firm handshake goodnight at the end of each evening. But that’s really quite enough.
For the past few years, I have had the task of taking pictures of my kids and my two nephews for my mom’s annual Christmas card. While technically this is my parent’s Christmas card, it has become known as Grandma’s Christmas Card, because of its origins.
So I was sitting at a restaurant recently with my family when I heard the blare of a siren.
Naturally, I did what any person would do and began looking around wildly for my chance to rubberneck. Ambulance? Fire truck? Police and a live performance of “Cops!”? Oh the possibilities!