Last Sunday afternoon, I was torn. I could continue to read a novel next to the pool. Or I could get on the spin bike. The two committees in my head were arguing back and forth. The first said, "Relax! It's the weekend! Stay curled...
Ella’s school assignment was to make a bridge out of two items we had at home. The bridge needed to stretch across a two-foot gap between two chairs and hold at least 10 pounds. Ella started by moving two chairs to face one another. She then...
Ruth Bader Ginsburg was often asked to share wisdom for living when she spoke in public. In response, she offered advice she was given on her wedding day by her mother-in-law. “In every good marriage,” her mother-in-law had counseled, “it helps sometimes to be a...
In the pre-COVID days, the girls used to be in a weekly swimming class. The swim school was indoors, and parents would sit in red chairs and observe the swimmers through the glass. I often sat next to a woman who had a son in Ella’s...
A 10-year-old boy in Ecuador decided to go for a morning bike ride. A short video shows little Anthony Hernandez walking his small, rusted red bike out to the street, staying safe by keeping the bike close to the curb. His shaggy little black and...
Yesterday I went into the backyard, trying to find Emma to let her know it was time for lunch. She was lying in the middle of the grass, barefoot and splayed out like a starfish, looking up into the sky. I asked her to come...
During the week, our house is busy with the hum of meetings. The girls join their remote classes throughout the day. All day long, I hear the voices of children discussing different subjects. Some subjects they know a lot about; other subjects they don’t. While they...
Our mailman rings our doorbell. I open the door, taking the bulky envelope from his hands. “Thank you,” I say. “Let me grab the rest of your mail for you so you don’t have to get it later,” he says. He jogs back to his mail truck...
In my graduate course on diagnosis and assessment, I sat next to a girl who wore a silver bracelet inscribed with the words “this too will pass” in a scrolled font. For the longest time, I assumed she must be going through a hard experience....
The first day of school (distance learning) was this week. When I woke up, I gave myself a nice long talk and decided that my sole focus for the day would be to get the girls off to a good start – to be there...