I love Thanksgiving, not only for what it is, (a day to reflect on our blessings, spend time with family, and of course, eat large quantities of comfort food) but also for what it is not. Aside from the menu, it’s a fairly low-pressure holiday witho...

Not long ago, I received a facebook friend request from a former classmate followed by this message: “Hi Becky, it’s Son from Mrs. Hamilton’s fourth grade. Wonder if you remember me?” His name didn’t ring any bells, so though I was embarrassed, I ad...

We live in a land of upgrades. It’s not like this in most of the rest of the world, but here in America we upgrade our french fries, our carwashes and our puppy insurance packages. (Most of the rest of the world doesn’t have puppy insurance either, ...

Our eldest daughter has taken an interest in researching our family’s genealogy. I thought it was a nice idea, but I didn’t share her enthusiasm. I didn’t really see the relevance or meaning in tracing our family line and finding out the names of re...

It was like a bad scene from an episode of “Law and Order.” I was the relentless interrogator, and my 6-year-old daughter was the accused criminal. A day earlier, after having signed her up at the library for the summer reading program, and returnin...

My husband, Bernie, and I always said that our first two daughters had strong personalities. Then our third came along and we realized that there was more room on the right side of the strong-willed spectrum than we had realized. To put it another w...

She handed the book to me the way you present someone with a gift, and I guess it was a gift of sorts. My 18-year-old niece, Abby, had been visiting for Easter weekend, and before leaving she’d asked me if I wanted to borrow her signed copy of “The ...

Recently I noticed something interesting about my Q-tips box. On the back of the box are suggestions for various uses (complete with photo illustrations), such as applying ointments, cleaning the grout in your shower, and dusting your computer keyb...

Last year for Father’s Day, I tackled some “Dad myths” in this column, so it seems right to address a few of my own “Mom myths” as well. Here goes … Ÿ My child is a direct reflection on me. While it is true that our children pick up on our habits, p...

One of our daughters received an “F” on a math assignment, and her father and I congratulated her: we were so proud! Not because of the grade, of course; that was the result of not reading the instructions thoroughly, and consequently making the sam...