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CALL OF (Parental) DUTY: Part I
It’s pretty rare that a national debate mirrors so exactly one that is raging within my own family circle. But in the wake of the recent tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary – and subsequent comments by...
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CALL OF (Parental) DUTY: Part II “Freedom To Game Is Important”
This is the second in my series of CALL OF (Parental) DUTY posts about the discussion we are having in our house about violent video games. Today is my 13 year-old son Sevrin’s chance to share his...
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“So Shines A Good Deed In A Weary World”
I spent the last few hours of a waning 2012 with my son Simon’s hockey team. Not on the ice, but instead in the nondescript, suburban warehouse where his Squirt hockey team was volunteering for a...
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Weekly Photo Challenge: Beyond
Everything is possible. One of the things that I love about this photo of my daughter is the background. While it looks like the sky, it is actually the reflection of the sunset in the still waters of...
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Marriage Equality, Through the Eyes of a 10-Year-Old
With the Supreme Court hearing arguments in two cases related to same-sex marriage, much has been written – and said and thought – this week about marriage equality in the United States. No matter how...
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One Day in Zanzibar
A little more than 10 years ago, I had a rare moment of clarity. I was sitting with my second child, who was 9 months old, on my lap while my 2-year-old danced and swayed around me. Everyone else in...
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Weekly Photo Challenge: The Sign Says
The WordPress Weekly Photo Challenge: The Sign Says this week hit right smack dab on one of my favorite hobbies. Wherever I go in the world, I take pictures of interesting signs that I see. Here is a...
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The Regular
“I’ve been coming here since the beginning,” he said conspiratorially, leaning towards me from the stool next to mine. I had noticed the white haired gentleman earlier, as he was shouldering his way...
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Haikus With My Daughter
I haven’t written a poem since I was in elementary school. But today I wrote tw0- not one, but TWO! – haikus in response to the WordPress Weekly Writing Challenge. My eight year old daughter was the...
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Haikus With My Daughter II
“I wrote a poem about you today,” I said. “Well, just a haiku. But actually, I wrote two.” This caught my 8 year-old daughter’s attention. She put down her Monster High doll, the one she just bought...
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Haikus With My Daughter III: Girls Rights
My heart yearns for you To live – equal – to your full human potential. It’s a challenge to raise a daughter in a society that innundates us with countless hidden messages about how girls should look...
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The Meaning of Mandela
When Nelson Mandela died last week, I was struck by the somewhat impersonal nature of the “continuous live” media coverage. In the United States, I heard interviews with reactions from world leaders,...
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12 1/2 Clichés I Want My Kids to Live By
You’ve heard ‘em all before. Clichés are a popular form of expression used throughout the world. There are many sayings that are so overused that we barely even notice them anymore. I started to...
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How Do You Define Family?
A Few Reflections On How We Define “Family” We had just dropped off my old friend Erik and his unwieldy crew at the airport, when my daughter Eliza let out a dramatic sigh from the back of the minivan....
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Abandoned Buildings in Post-Conflict West Africa
Hotel Africa in Virginia, Liberia The Hotel Africa, built in a beach resort area north of Monrovia, was once a 5-star grand hotel. It was built to impress as the location of the 1979 Organisation of...
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Adventure on an African Road
Motorcycle taxis speed toward Douala, Cameroon’s major port and commercial center. Just getting around can be an adventure in and of itself in many parts of the world. In Cameroon, the motorcycle...
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A Lovingkindness Blessing
Just over a year ago, my oldest son was infected with Lyme Disease. There were no telltale symptoms, no fever, no bullseye rash. We never even found the tick that bit him. Those nasty little...
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The Signs of Sandwich
Nestled between the Lakes Region and the White Mountains of New Hampshire, the Town of Sandwich is classic New England. Settlers began moving up from Boston in the 1760s and the town was incorporated...
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