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She found coal in her stocking Christmas morning — I must’ve had rocks in my...
“If you’re not good, Santa is going to leave coal in your stocking!” Sure, we’ve all heard it. Said it. Understand the implications of the threat. But have you ever gotten a firsthand eyeful of what...
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The biggest threat (choose one): Muslim extremists, nuclear attack — or our...
It’s deja vu all over again, as Yogi Berra used to say. Howzat? We recently marked the 100th anniversary of the passage and implementation of the Immigration Act of 1917. That’s when we slammed the...
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Saying goodbye to Ted — and realizing death among peers has become a natural...
I call it “in the zone.” Pretty vague, I guess. For me it means you’ve reached the time of your life when it’s no longer a shock when one of your peers — even someone younger than you — dies of...
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Turning 10: A milestone among memories — but hoping she’ll never outgrow her...
10 years old. Double digits. Whoa. I remember standing in the upstairs hallway of the house I grew up in, contemplating my own 10th birthday. “A decade old,” I told myself. Sounded pretty momentous....
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When her feelings turn from tender to toxic, best strategy is keeping my...
What’s bothering her? She’s barely 10 years old. What weight of the world is she carrying? Is there something big going on in her life, or is she simply submerged under a landslide of minor injustices...
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First day of 5th Grade: A year to learn about yourself and make (good)...
First day of 5th Grade. A new school year. A new, grown-up “tween” world view. A new uniform shirt color. She told me at breakfast this morning she felt nervous, an unusual admission on her part....
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By any other name, subtle race stereotypes still haunt us
“My name is TRACEY. You should know that. I’ve worked here for six years.” Embarrassment crept up the back of my neck as I mumbled, “Sorry.” It didn’t matter. she was quickly out of earshot. I...
View ArticleKindergarten: Finding a classroom home during students’ Age of Exploration
Kindergarten? Kindergarten. Kindergarten! If you had asked me a year ago the grade level I’d be least likely to teach, that was the answer. But here I am: In a kindergarten classroom — and loving it....
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Sweet friendship is blind for Birthday girls; meanwhile, one gift is painful...
You know she’s growing up when she hits the birthday when the gifts include only one toy … and a collection of clothing, books, gift cards, a beautiful photo collage of daughter through the years, and...
View ArticleNew memories of Kindergarten, inside looking out: Small students, big hearts
It’s Kindergarten Graduation Time. Again. It’s been six years since Young Daughter made this same step up to 1st grade. It’s the kind of June morning where the mugginess plasters your shirt to your...
View ArticleMoving to Florida: Frustration and chaos, but Daughter’s smile overshadows all
Never has there been such turmoil, such change, such incredibly demanding work. My family’s possessions are scattered: A full storage unit in Florida. A stuffed PackRat trailer stashed in Cherry Hill,...
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Music echoes through time — but now I hear dead people
Breakfast at Tiffany’s, and bottles of bubbles … During our more-than 2000-mile trip, that Arianna Grande pop hit was on some sort of radio perpetual motion machine, playing in every state, every...
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Feeling growing pains — and watching beauty and grace blossoming before me
It was early on a Sunday evening. The three of us sat around the small round table in the area of our house that we have loosely described as the dining room. I can’t remember what we were eating. But...
View ArticleThe 7th Grade Blues, When It Just Didn’t Add Up (for the first time)
It can be a rough tumble from top of the heap to just another face in the crowd. It’s a lesson Daughter and I have both experienced — actually, she’s experiencing it now. Many years ago, I yawned my...
View ArticleFacebook flashback photos take us back in time — but didn’t predict the future
If you have Facebook, it’s likely you get those flashback pictures — “10 years ago” and so on and so forth. It’s supposed to be a feelgood kind of thing. It digs deeper into your gut when a child is...
View ArticleWhen did this change? She couldn’t wait to get braces — but the price...
When I was 13, getting braces was a drudgery no child would willingly anticipate or take on. They were ugly, they made you look different — “Hey metal mouth,” and “Is that railroad tracks in your...
View ArticleFather’s Day: If you’re lucky, you have received — or now you’re giving —...
I know, every (male) blogger with half of a brain feels compelled to write about Father’s Day. I’m no exception (especially the half a brain part). I’m fortunate to be at a time in my life when I still...
View ArticleNobody wants visitors from Florida: Covid-19 means roadblocks at the border
Being 13 years old is a full-time struggle. It’s tough to find friends — 3 schools in 3 years, and a 1,000-mile move. She’s met a few friends since moving to Florida; the 6th-grade friends from a...
View ArticleSuffering social life: Teens need to see each other and get around, but...
Mobility is an important issue at age 13, especially when all of your friends live between 20 and 1,000-plus miles away. Normally, teens can do most of their feeding at the friendship trough during...
View ArticleThere are older parents who bear a painful burden, but step up to stand in...
There is another type of Older Dad, Younger Child in our midst: Fathers who are raising their children’s children. Many causes create the situation: imprisonment, inability to provide care, and in the...
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