I’ve just returned from a funeral. A friend’s husband, father of five, died way before his time was up.   And it was a five Kleenex affair. My mirror neurons, the ones that make you match the emotions of others, were hard at work. (You know when someone yawns,... Read more...

Summer time and the livin’ is easy…well, sort of. The Dog Days are laced with so many expectations—relaxed schedules, lazy days, warm evening bar-b-ques, no homework, lighter responsibilities, and vacations.  Many parents have memories of fabulous family vacations from their youth. And for the kids, vacations are usually... Read more...

First Night Away From Home (Franklin Watts, 1960) was one of the many books written by mother, Myra Berry Brown.  In this sweet story, we follow 5 year old Stevie from proudly packing his suitcase to noticing, as bedtime gets closer, that “David’s room looked different at... Read more...

   Way back in February you sent in the deposit. Sleep-away camp, here we come!  It was going to be fantastic—swimming in the lake, roasting marshmallows by the campfire, pillow fights in the cabin.  Just weeks before opening day, your son’s excitement fills the air. I get... Read more...

“Mother always liked you best” claimed Tommy Smothers of the old comedy duo of the 60’s and 70’s, The Smothers Brothers.  They were comedians, but that gag struck a chord, as the audience laughed and cried at the same time. “Who do you love the most?”  No matter... Read more...

The emails were all the same:  “I just can’t stop crying…my daughter hasn’t even been gone for 24 hours, and I miss her already.” wrote the mother whose ten year old was off to sleep away camp for the first time.  “The house is so quiet. At... Read more...

It’s hard not to love the movie Babies. That’s what I chose to do for my Mothers’ Day observance.  It was kind of like eating chocolate… all good! There were none of the not-so-fun parts of babies, like colic and diarrhea and sleepless nights. Just one... Read more...

With your first born child, it’s pretty easy to control his diet of everything—sugar, television, war toys, choice of friends—for the first few years anyway. But then he hits school age, somewhere after five years old, kindergarten age, and the once controlling parent begins to question some... Read more...

With Valentine’s Day always comes lots of talk about love.  I love you, Mommy.  I love my teacher. I love chocolate. I love making Valentines. Kids are exposed to the word the moment the cord is cut in the delivery room.  And it is reinforced and expanded over... Read more...

This time of year when teachers ask their young children what each is thankful for, a good 90% respond enthusiastically, "My mommy!"  It's not only that kids are copycats, saying just what the child before him has said,  it's also that kids get it. They really are thankful... Read more...