Things get buried pretty quick here in the blogging world.  

Here are some of the posts that I consider to be among my best.

12 1/2 Clichés I Want My Kids to Live By: Many clichés are, in fact, the moral equivalent of Tootsie Pops – they have a sweet, chewy truth at their center. So on the theory that “The way we talk to our children becomes their inner voice,” I decided to write down some of the clichés that I want my kids to actually remember and use when I’m no longer around to nag them.

A Lovingkindness Blessing: My oldest son was infected with Lyme Disease and ended up in the pediatric cardiac intensive care unit.  This post is about they unexpected blessing that I received in the hospital.

 

 

The Beauty of Teens: A love letter to my teenage son and his entire generation.

 

 

Forgiveness: What does it take to really, truly grant forgiveness to someone who did something that hurt you?  In a refugee camp in Ghana, I saw firsthand not only the possibility of forgiveness, but the necessity of forgiveness.

 

Haikus With My Daughter II:“I wrote a poem about you today,” I said.  “Well, just a haiku.  But actually, I wrote two.”

 

Hockey Moms OR Marriage Equality Through the Eyes of a 10-Year-Old:  My 10-year-old son comes out of the ice arena, swaggering despite the heavy hockey bag that he carries like a giant backpack.  His cheeks are flushed, his bright ginger hair is damp-dark with sweat. He has an announcement to make. “I’ve got everyone but one kid on my team to be in favor of same-sex marriage. AND two of the coaches.”

 How To Live To 101: When people asked him his secret to living past 100, m Grandpa Olaf  had a standard response:  “Don’t die!”  But truth be told, he had more going for him than just his sense of humor and hardy Norwegian genes.  My grandpa actually DID have a secrets, rules he lived by that help explain his long and good life

How Do You Define Family? Is it common ancestry? Shared experiences?  Mutual commitment? Living in the same household? Common values?  The people you know you can count on for support? The people you know you can get into a knock-down-drag-out fight with but they’ll still love you?  People who you feel deeply connected to even though you rarely see them?  All of the above?  Or none of them at all?

Me & Rosa Parks on the Ellis Island Ferry: My oldest son is studying the life of Rosa Parks in his 6th grade history class.  “I actually met Ms. Rosa Parks once,” I say.  He’s already halfway up the stairs, heading back to the sanctuary of his room. “Did I ever tell you about that?”

My Suffragist Grandmother: I never miss the chance to vote.  Because when I vote, I’m doing it for my Grandma Lillian and all the inspirational people who I’ve met over the years who have risked everything to secure their right to participate in government.

Raising Boys Not To Be Total Jerks: The Ketchup Joke was a call to action for me.  I need to do more to raise these boys to recognize the problem and, hopefully one day, to speak up when they hear someone tell a sexist joke.

Rainbow Looming Our Way to Gender Equality: I first noticed the Rainbow Loom’s gender-neutral popularity last month at a PeeWee hockey tournament.

This gives me hope.

Talking To My Kids About Death: The recent demise of Fat Stanley was met with far fewer tears than that of Kevin Bacon (the gerbil) and definitely far less anguish than that of Tub-Tub, our first dearly departed rodent pet.  It did however, necessitate a discussion about death with my three children. But truth is that, in my line of work, I talk to people about death all the time.