We’re Related Now (But I Still Don’t Know What to Call You)
Now that we have in-law children, we also have in-law families: parents, siblings, grandparents, aunts and uncles, both related and honorary. What we lack is an easy way to refer to all of them. As I’m anticipating hosting the extended…
The Great Zucchini Debate
Some Families Debate Politics, We Argue Over Vegetables “Look at the size of this one!” Many summer memories on my in-laws’ farm featured Dad emerging triumphant from the garden, holding an enormous zucchini aloft. Mom, on the porch, admired and…
33 Lessons from Marriage
Every anniversary is a milestone Milestones mark significant points along a journey. In the case of marriage, the “milestone” anniversaries are generally the decades, or the quarter or half centuries. But I prefer to believe every anniversary is a…
The Toothpaste Test
Living in harmony starts with the toothpaste test As another wedding anniversary looms I find myself thinking back to those early years of learning to live together in harmony. The difference between deciding to marry and living everyday life together…
Memories Hide Within the Clutter
Why do we keep the stuff we keep? I alternately wage war and make peace with the clutter in my house. Occasionally my tolerance of “stuff” reaches critical mass and I go on a rampage against it. In those…
The Huge Boss, the Small Boss, and Dogs That Don’t Listen
Some days, I just want to be the huge boss Our family roles have been defined since my son’s preschool days. According to his 4-year-old reckoning, Dad is the huge boss and I am the small boss. Since this…
