Day to day graces

August 22, 2020

How I Survived My Son’s First Year Away From Home – Without Annoying My Friends

Sending my eldest off to college was hard, I’m not gonna lie. I dreaded it his whole senior year and had all the usual angst-filled thoughts (“this is his last…”,”we won’t do this as a whole family ever again”, “he won’t be here for this next year” ). The whole time I was trying not to be a drama queen in front of my friends who weren’t there yet, or who had already survived. No one likes the obsessive droanings of a first-time parent or a new college student’s parent! Right? Looking back, I did make a nuisance of myself […]

August 7, 2020

That time of year

Because I’m taking my son to school this weekend, I’m rerunning this post from a year ago – it is still true, especially this crazy year! Enjoy, and I will see you again next week. There’s a unique melancholy for the parents of an almost-grown child at back-to-school time. Those ungrateful teens have no sympathy for our desire to help! They want to go get their own clothes and office supplies. No longer do they smile cheesily for the first day of school picture — you’re fortunate to get a forced grin. They may sneak out just to avoid it, […]

Day to Day Graces almost-grown 2 min read

July 31, 2020

It’s Coming, Parents of Preteens!

Ready or not, the day you drop off your kiddo at either college or boot camp or first apartment comes quicker than you think it will. Dr. Harley Rothbart, author of No Regrets Parenting, has done the math – there are 940 weekends between birth and 18. That’s a lot of pressure to “make memories”. And preteens are hard, we all know that, right? They don’t want anything to do with you at that age. Just when you are beginning to get sentimental that high school is coming, and then graduation, and then… Boom! They turn into creatures from outer space that […]

Day to Day Graces family life 6 min read

June 29, 2020

Sidewalk chalk and Stain-Glassed Windows

Remember the days we nagged and ordered and pleaded for our kids to get off their devices and be creative, or go outside, or just do something else! Experts have told us that it is good for our kids to be bored, so they can learn to amuse themselves and so that their creativity can be whetted. Now they have all the time in the world and the world as they (and we) know it has changed. What a blessing in disguise! (Full disclosure: my youngest is still on his device way too much, but the “no electronics until you […]

Day to Day Graces family life 1 min read

June 20, 2020

Summertime, Covid-style!

(I hear MC Hammer singing that title, don’t you?!) Well, here we are – longest day of the year, true beginning of summer. It feels a bit flat around here. No vacation, many things are closed or restricted. I’m trying not to be bummed out, but some days it hits me. And our teens are especially prone to moan “I’m bored!” So let’s make plans for our stay-cation, shall we? Yes, I know the whole spring felt like a staycation, but work with me, people! Choose a few from below and do one or two or three each day. Some […]