Teenagers

The future is bright. I know this, because I witnessed the future in action last Saturday at the Colorado State Marching Band finals, and it was a beautiful thing. Marching Band is exhausting. Grueling. FUN.  When it all comes together, marching band is a...

Catastrophic, they say. Heartbreaking, I say. I visited what is arguably the world's most famous church during a summer foreign exchange program in high school. Notre Dame Cathedral is more than just a building to me. It's a visible...

One minute you are rocking your one year old at 3 am, counting the lost minutes of precious sleep away. Praying and begging God to teach your child to sleep, for a coffee and breakfast in bed fairy, or...

It was love at first sight…   Of a MySpace picture.    I fell for his perfectly crafted black-and-white portrait right then and there. I didn’t even know his last name, but I didn’t need to. That was of little concern to my...

I am very much a “one-and-done” kind of parent. It is by very deliberate choice that I have an only child. The reasons for this are numerous and maybe the topic of another blog. Because I only have one...

Okay, I’m going to be honest. I couldn’t even type the title without tearing up. There’s a very good chance that while writing this, I’m going to go through a whole box of tissues. I went to my daughter’s end...

If I am driving them somewhere in the car, having a friend along deems me completely invisible! Suddenly, I am privy to all the dirt on the latest music, fashion, boy/girl crushes and other very fascinating information. This can help me understand my kid in ways that my direct questioning never does.

I sat on the floor at home, snapping Legos together, not knowing quite what I was building.  My son sat across from me, building as well, and talking away about his day.  As we sat there chatting, my mind...

No one says parenting is easy, but we make it harder on ourselves when we choose discipline that brings the whole family down. So… Next time you’re fuming, stop and think, “Will this punishment be a bigger headache for me than for my child?”

When my son was 16 years old, he threatened to blow up his school. He spent a few days in a mental health hospital, then was sent back to me. Still broken. Still confused. And still needing help. We,...