Calm Amid the Chaos

It’s true: It’s sometimes harder to notice change that occurs right in front of you. Being around my kids every day, I am aware of the changes taking place of course, but sometimes it takes an event — discovering an old box of photos, a visit from a relative, an annual event, or a milestone […]

On ‘This Is Why’

I titled Monday’s guest-post “This Is Why,” (If you haven’t read it yet, please do so. I promise it’s worth your time. Read it here) and it occurs to me I never alluded to the title in the post. I think that is worth revisiting. There were so many things that struck me about L’s […]

Social Currency on His Feet

A few weeks ago, Ryan said he wanted a pair of Air Jordans — a by-product of sitting with a different group of kids at lunch, and wanting to be like them. Veronica and he browsed the Nike Web site and found the perfect pair — a retro model the was kinda/sorta in San Jose […]

How They Help Each Other

My children are 20 months apart. Ryan, the older one, is trying to figure out social norms and learn where he fits in. Riley, the younger sister, is barreling into tween-dom at light speed. They are often headed in opposite directions. They fight like cats and dogs. It’s rarely anything serious, just standard age-appropriate name […]