Cassandra just turned two. She’s a typical toddler–full of energy and wonder. The world is an exciting place for her. Each new thing is exciting and worthy of her exploration. This holiday season has been no different. She has become our little investigator, making sure each holiday tradition meets with her approval.
Christmas Magic
Cassandra just turned two. She’s a typical toddler–full of energy and wonder. The world is an exciting place for her. Each new thing is exciting and worthy of her exploration. This holiday season has been no different. She has become our little investigator, making sure each holiday tradition meets with her approval.
Taking Care of Mom (or Dad)
Admit it! No matter how much you love your kids, it’s not healthy to concentrate on them every moment of every day. I can already hear the groans of some of you. “Why have kids if you don’t devote your life to them?” And, I agree – one hundred percent. I also think that some time devoted to your own interests makes for a much more interesting and able parent.
Taking Care of Mom (or Dad)
Admit it! No matter how much you love your kids, it’s not healthy to concentrate on them every moment of every day. I can already hear the groans of some of you. “Why have kids if you don’t devote your life to them?” And, I agree – one hundred percent. I also think that some time devoted to your own interests makes for a much more interesting and able parent.
Dealing with Severe Mental Illness
The majority of parents are lucky. Most of us never know what it’s like to live with a mentally ill child. Even among those who have family members who suffer from mental illness, most of those cases are not severe.
Balancing Act
I will admit it. I’m an overachiever. I grew up in a home where excellence was expected and I worked hard to meet those expectations. These days, I’m in charge of my own schedule, but old habits die hard. I work hard at my job and often balance different types of jobs. Even when I’m home, I’m doing something. I always have a project of some sort brewing.
Upside Down Parenting
I realize this is supposed to be a column about parenting. And, I realize that I’m generally supposed to write about parenting children. Normally, that’s my topic. Today is different, however. Today, I’m going to talk about parenting our parents.
The Tears of Defeat
I was an overscheduled child. By the time I hit high school, I was on the cheerleading squad, swim team, in the marching band, pep band, pit band, jazz band, drama club, concert choir, women’s chorus, auditioned choir, youth in government, all kinds of school committees, and half a dozen other activities. I was a busy kid, to say the least.
Terrible Twos
Many of you know the story of our youngest Cassandra. She was born addicted to eight different substances and spent weeks in the neonatal ICU for detox. That was followed by months of medication to alleviate the symptoms. She is currently over a year completely drug-free.
Other People’s Kids
As parents, we all like to think that our kids are perfect. We love every developmental milestone passed. Our kids are the cutest and the brightest and the best behaved– except when they’re not. I’m that mom. I’m the mom who cringes when my kid says something inappropriate. I’m the mom who seems too strict. My kids have some serious behavior issues. Not all of them, of course, but many. They came from bad situations and complicated lives. They brought that baggage into our home and it doesn’t just go away, like many people seem to think. So, we’ve learned […]