Michael isn’t much of a reader yet. Years ago, his mom and I held out high hopes. At the age of two he knew all of his letters and their sounds, and was spelling out words he saw: EXIT, STOP, OFF, WALK, etc. We assumed he was going be reading Dostoevsky and Joyce in no [...]

Same stepdaughter in an exchange with her mom: Mom: “So what’s your schedule tomorrow?” S: “I dunno.” Mom: “Aren’t you going to the movies with your friends?” S: “No, I’m not!” (delivered with the sort of derisive tone only a teen girl can properly construct) Mom: “But didn’t you tell me yesterday you were going [...]

Over the summer, Michael had a month-long vacation from his normal daycare schedule. His mom and I thought it would be good for him to have a restructuring transition period at home with each of us before heading off to kindergarten. We would provide a fairly structured routine that would include plenty of activity and [...]

One Saturday in recent history, sister B asked if she could have a friend over for dinner. A boy-type friend. “Yes, but you’ll stay down stairs,” I admonished her. “What if I keep the door open to my room?” “No. You stay down stairs.” “All right…” she said, reluctantly. And they did, staying down stairs [...]

It’s the morning rush; daddy is making coffee in preparation to head out the door to work. Michael is playing with mommy on the couch. I’m trapped at the coffee maker and can only listen to their interchange. “Are you going to take me to church camp, mommy?” “Yes, in just a little while.” “Can [...]

This morning Michael’s Mommy left early for a dentist appointment, leaving me with Michael and two of his sisters snoozing away. The plan was that one or both sisters would be in charge of Michael in between the time I left for work and his mom got home. Luckily for his sisters, the little guy [...]

“Mama? I want candy.” “Okay, Michael. What kind of candy do you want?” “I want these:” “Oh, okay. Let’s see… ah, here they are:” “Yep. Thanks, mom!” Daddy was witness to this little exchange while we were at the store yesterday, but has given up trying to figure out how she was able to interpret [...]

This is what happens when the kid finally runs roughshod over your very last strand of parental judgment, and then does his victory dance: To all the moms out there, we understand. We hope you had a very happy Mother’s Day anyway.

Recently Michael’s mommy brought him to Ms. K’s in the morning, taking over my burden as I had to get to work extra early. He usually clings to her quite a bit, probably thinking that if he latches on hard enough, he can keep her from leaving him. She ended up carrying him inside. He [...]

Michael’s was “helping” his mom with dinner. Being vertically challenged, it’s not a simple task for her to reach the box in the top cupboard, given the depth of the cupboard and the amount of other items blocking the box, so she needed a step stool and a helper. “Michael, hold the box of macaroni [...]