One of Jon and my most effective parenting strategies is playing it cool. It’s not always easy. Sometimes we are, in fact, freaking out inside, but it’s kind of like that classic example where your kid falls and they’re not really hurt but their response modulates depending on your response. If you freak, they wail louder. . . . → Read More: Playing It Cool While Talking to Kids About Open Casket Funerals

One of the awesome things about kids is that they can pull you out of a funk (or two) in about 5 seconds flat.

Yesterday Laurel and I were curled up together on the couch; she was cuddled against me working on an activity book and I was typing in a Word doc on my laptop. She . . . → Read More: What Laurel and My Texts Would Look Like If We Knew How to Text

I’ve always described my parents as traditional or old-fashioned in outlook, particularly when it came to matters of courting (what the hell, I’ll follow suit in terminology). After my first (super toxic) serious relationship (which I completely hid from my parents for three years, knowing the disapproval was guaranteed), I found it rather frustrating that my . . . → Read More: On Death, Strange Parallels, and the Marrying of Families

I’m a little raw around the edges today due to some matters that I’m trying to muster the courage to write about, and also because late yesterday I realized that it was my dad’s fake (but long real to me) birthday and I failed to pay my respects at the cemetery.

You’re probably wondering what the fake . . . → Read More: I Can Only Envision The Chatter

I would say that in general, I’m a positive person on Twitter, more prone to happy and humorous conversation than rant. But the other week, after receiving a bill from AT&T, I couldn’t help myself. I tweeted and Facebook’d:

Right after I finish this peanut butter cookie post I am flexing my wrists to write a strongly . . . → Read More: Brands Are Listening, But Is The Hearing Selective?