Family
May 15, 2013 • in Family

Post Mother’s Day Poem

Happy Mother’s Day
To mothers everywhere
We know that once they come out
There is no turning back
And that it all gets harder with age
Not easier

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May 10, 2013 • in Family

My Wish

by guest blogger Renee James. As a parent, I never realized how much I would kind of want to stop time. I kept track of the milestones and foolishly counted the days. The days until what? No diapers? No car seats? No childhood? That was, I now know, pointless and extremely shortsighted.

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April 12, 2013 • in Family

Breaking the Webs of My Weaving

by guest blogger Renee James. Several years ago, I referenced a poem, “A Wish for My Children” by Evangeline Paterson, in a column I wrote to mark the passage of time as my boys were growing up—living through those exploratory years that bridge the end of childhood and the beginning of adolescence. What I didn’t quite recognize at the time—even though the poem references it so beautifully—is that they were beginning grow stronger—and away from me—already. In my mind, we had so many more years together.

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September 27, 2012 • in Environment

Toxic Back-to-School Gear

by guest blogger Mike Schade. While millions of children across America returned to school this month, many parents were unaware that children’s back-to-school products currently on store shelves contain high levels of toxic chemicals called phthalates, used to soften vinyl plastic. These chemicals are so toxic they’ve been banned for use in toys in the United States because of adverse health effects like birth defects, asthma, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and diabetes, among others.

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August 15, 2012 • in Family

What We Leave Behind

The other day I was up at my brother’s old cabin, which I have taken over to restore as a writing and painting retreat. I’ve let the landscape go wild and crazy, the way it was when he and I first saw it more than 30 years ago. In the morning light I noticed what looked suspiciously like gladiolas over by the old wishing well. There is only one person who could have planted those and that would be my brother, who died of AIDS 27 years ago.

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August 09, 2012 • in Family

How to Undo the Damage
of Negativity

by guest bloggers Harville Hendrix, PhD, and Helen LaKelly Hunt, PhD. Hurtful words in a relationship can be like a drop of red dye in a glass of water that turns the whole glass pink. What starts out as a slip of the tongue, a small slight from one person to another, sets a process in motion that slowly (or quickly) permeates a relationship and begins to define its tone.

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July 02, 2012 • in Family

5 Things I Discovered
while Home Alone

Some strange confluence of activities meant I had my first weekend home alone that I can remember. Probably in forever. I love my kids, of course I do. And I want them all to return home safely. But I must say I learned a lot about myself this weekend that I don’t want to forget.

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