Category: Parenting

The good news is that the newsletter today has no references to the life-lessons bestowed on those of us unfortunate enough to be obsessed with running. The bad news is that there is a home appliance repair metaphor. Our good old reliable Artisan Series 5-quart Tilt-Head Stand Mixer, repository of

“You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means” suggests the incomparable Many Patinkin as Iñigo Montoyo.  I read *Can’t Hurt Me* this week. It’s not just one word. I don’t think the entire book means what the author thinks it means.  David

My request last week for vignettes about your children was met with an overwhelmingly pleasant response. Here is one of my favorites: On the first day of school, the teacher noticed one of her new first-graders packing up and starting for the door at noon.  The teacher asked him what

“Human life is everywhere a state in which much is to be endured, and little to be enjoyed” suggested Samuel Johnson, father of three 18th century children. And indeed parenting can be viewed as a slog from 2:00 am diaper changes through 9:00 pm, “can we go to the store

You are about to enter another dimension, a dimension not only of sight and sound but of mind. A journey into a wondrous land of imagination. Next stop, the Twilight Zone! Or possibly a location much closer to home, the school down the street. The school where your children attend

It took a while, but she looked in the mirror Then she glanced at the license for my name A smile seemed to come to her slowly It was a sad smile, just the same… suggested Harry Chapin in his lyrical and poignant 1972 “60 % biographically true” song about

A buddy of mine did some amateur boxing before his laid up his gloves and devoted himself to plodding along in the dark with us. Our exercise—running—admittedly doesn’t have a great deal to recommend it, but we do manage to avoid being punched in the face on a given day.

I could not help but overhear one of my neighbors having a lengthy dispensation with their 40-pound, brown, boxer mix: “We’ve spoken about this before, Ignatius,” she began. “How many times do I have to tell you not to pull so hard on your leash? You know I hurt my

“I wasn’t sure what book you might prefer so I picked a book I was certain I had enjoyed” suggested my high school English teacher who has been blessed with the exquisite task of describing an enticing read to the 11th graders. For younger participants of this blog, I hasten

Five adolescent friends in thigh-high waders are standing in a shallow river in Montana. Allen is focused on the gear, fascinated by the lures he has spent hours creating. He marvels at the flies he has fashioned, how realistic they look. He wonders how the trout perceive his handiwork, whether