Home & Family
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Here and now
“I wish I had not been in such a hurry to get on to the next thing. Dinner. Bath. Book. Bed. I wish I had treasured the doing a little more and the getting it done a little less.” ~Anna Quindlen A short overnight visit with our two-year-old grandson this week reminded me, again, how important it is to savor the moments we spend with children. I remembered his father’s toddler years (“Dinner, bath, book, bed”) and how quickly they flew. Too often, as Anna Quindlen points out, we neglect to savor the routines and rituals that anchor our lives. There’s always “the next thing” on our to-do lists. Childhood…
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I’m on the radio tonight
I never know which posts or column links will hit home when I hit “Publish.” So I’m always surprised and happy to hear from readers who follow this blog. Earlier this week, I received an email from radio personality Marie Osborne, who is guest-hosting the Mitch Album Show on WJR (AM 760 on the dial) with Steve Courtney. Marie read my recent Oakland Press column about family heirlooms and why millennials don’t want to inherit them. The topic resonated with her and she invited me to discuss the topic on her show. I’m honored to be asked — and looking forward to it. Tune in to WJR this evening at…
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Emotional baggage or timeless treasure?
“If a gift has come to you wrapped in obligations and tied tightly with a ribbon of guilt, then it’s not really a gift at all.” ~Peter Walsh, professional organizer Organizing an estate sale is probably one of the toughest things we have to do after our parents die. If your folks collected as many family heirlooms as mine did, you’ll face the emotionally loaded task of deciding which items to keep and which ones to sell or give away. And what happens when your grown kids don’t want to inherit the family treasures? For starters, it helps to learn and understand the generational differences in what we value. My…
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A new season of parenting
A shaky child on a bicycle for the first time needs both support and freedom. The realization that this is what the child will always need can hit hard.” ~Sloan Wilson Note: This essay was published earlier this year (“A New Season of Parenting”) in Metro Parent magazine. It was written especially for friends whose children will be starting college this fall… It’s going to be a roller coaster year for a friend whose youngest child will graduate from high school in May, then head out of state to college in August. My friend is already working through some conflicting emotions. She gets a little teary at the thought of…
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Mother’s Day “Ideals”
Ideals magazine was launched in 1944 with a Christmas issue compiled by Van B. Hooper, a public relations manager for a Milwaukee, Wisconsin, manufacturer. Over the years it has featured the writings of well-known authors such as Edgar Guest, Sue Monk Kidd, Chris Bohjalian, Susan Allen Toth, Garrison Keillor, and many others. Now produced by Guideposts, the magazine continues its celebration of American holidays with timeless stories, quotations, poetry, recipes, and fine art illustrations. Since 2008, several of my own essays (including a few from my book, Writing Home) have been published in several issues of Ideals and its hardcover gift anthologies. This spring, my essay describing my son’s first year away from home (“Field…
