What makes a man? Lately, I’ve read a number of rants on social media about how men are becoming weak, babied by their moms. Statements about what makes a man read like something out of the Stone Age or the Wild West. And of course moms are to blame. Men should be stronger, vigilant, protective… Continue reading What makes a man?

On NPR today during a show on gun control, the host asked for survivors of school shootings to call in and talk about their experiences and how the experience has impacted them. I couldn’t imagine that there were that many people tuned into the NPR show. Perhaps 14 million listeners tune in for each of… Continue reading I stand with the children

Life should not be a competition. And yet this is how we raise our children. First steps. First words. Solid Food. Weaning. Potty Training. Milestones, and yet we compare. Who does what first? Who wins? Whose child is surpassing everyone else’s? And whose is left behind? Life should not be a competition. Who reads first?… Continue reading Life should not be a competition

It should never be that our children are afraid to go to school. But they are. Not for the reasons we feared at their age. Not for the social awkwardness. Not for the test so woefully prepared for. Not for wearing the wrong clothes. Not for anxiety over public speaking. Not for the horror of… Continue reading Fear

How could she know that pancakes would forever be linked to her grandchildren’s memory of her? When losing someone is a process, memories come slowly flowing back, regardless of age. As we lose my mother-in-law to the quicksand of Alzheimer’s, each of us remembers differently her personality, her love, her place in our lives. And… Continue reading A simple memory