Tag: parenting teens

Happy Leap Day!

For most of us, today probably feels like an ordinary Monday. I'm doing my normal Monday routine - working from home, an extra load of laundry spinning as I type. But this Monday is a once-every-four-years event and for some reason this year I feel a particular urge to celebrate. Probably because Leap Day only arrives … Continue reading Happy Leap Day!

Project Parenting

This morning I had a long-overdue cuppa tea with a friend. Of course we talked about our kids. My Teen is a few years ahead of hers, and so conversations in our home run a different course than she has to deal with quite yet – driving, drinking, dating, college, life goals and plans… My … Continue reading Project Parenting

Meatless Monday – “Beyond Meat” White Bean Chicken Chili

It began with a video I saw on Facebook. Some weeks later Guy mentioned he'd also seen it. Interesting concept: this guy who wants to eat meat, while also reducing his environmental footprint, produces a plant-based fake meat that is more convincing than these types of products have been before. And then Tween mentioned yet again how he'd like to … Continue reading Meatless Monday – “Beyond Meat” White Bean Chicken Chili

Thankful Thursday – A New Year

I haven't posted a Thankful Thursday in a while. I also cannot believe we are three weeks into 2016. And yet, I'm already planning for spring, and summer, and fall, and I'm not even sure what happened to Christmas except that it was, in surprising ways, quiet, lovely and crazy, relaxing and somehow just what … Continue reading Thankful Thursday – A New Year

Panic Attack

I arrived home from work mid-afternoon and found Teen seated on his yoga ball hunched over a stack of papers in front of the family room computer, his study spot. I came up behind him and while I was yet two feet away, he abruptly stiffened and threw his hands in a “Don’t Shoot!” position. … Continue reading Panic Attack

Meatless Monday – Roasted Sweet Potato Wedges with Jalapeno Aioli

As Teen gets older I am acutely aware that our time with him under our roof nears an end. We have a year and a half until high school graduation, and though the first year and a half of his life seemed almost interminable (exhaustion, diapers, crying - from both baby and mommy, mind-numbing boredom involved … Continue reading Meatless Monday – Roasted Sweet Potato Wedges with Jalapeno Aioli

Tell the Truth

A few nights ago, just as I realized I had an unforeseen free evening ahead of me, my neighbor popped over to spontaneously invite me to a panel on teen stress at a nearby high school. I said yes. An hour later I fought back tears as a well-dressed dad pointed to a picture of his … Continue reading Tell the Truth

Garage

“Mom, I’m okay, I wasn’t involved, but the police want you to come pick me up.” My heart races at this rush of words through the telephone. Teen and two other boys had permission to spend a summer night at another friend’s house. He has a game room and they wanted to play late into the night. Teen … Continue reading Garage

Good Enough

When I was in high school, Good Enough was good enough. We did our best - and sometimes not - and we did well. Most kids in my middle-class high school were on the College Prep track; we knew a few in the "non-College Prep" classes, and we understood they struggled; we knew a few who took Honors/AP … Continue reading Good Enough

Reading Crisis and Pursuit of Virtue

One of my healthier antidotes to life's Too Much-ness is burrowing inside the covers of a good book. Preferably while also tucked tight into my bed covers at day's end, hot cup of tea at hand, until I can't keep my eyes open. Just one more page, just one more, just one, just... In addition … Continue reading Reading Crisis and Pursuit of Virtue