Fourteen years later
How fortunate I am today, that my biggest fear is that I’m wasting my life, that I have a chronic case of just standard existential confusion. How fortunate I am that the child who wouldn’t sleep for love or money 14 …
I walk the line
And so the school year began. The boys are now back to whatever passes for school for them. J is into his first full week of middle school, and Andy has started the first of his online classes. I’m having …
My bully, myself
What do you think of when you think of bullying? Playground taunts? Cyberstalking? Mean girls? Workplace passive-aggressiveness? We’ve been very, very fortunate here in the House of Chaos to have had little bullying come our way. It could have been horrifically life-altering …
Living with a teenage troll
My sons never fail to entertain me. They went on a road trip last week with my parents, gone for a handful of days to visit the Ford Museum in Michigan. Tom and I had an unexpected few days alone …
Invisible does not mean fictional
“I don’t believe gluten-free is as necessary as some people claim. Food sensitivities? No, that’s just a picky eater. You’re being played.” “Chronic Fatigue Syndrome? Oh, that’s just a made up thing. Just get more sleep. I’m tired all the …
Do you work?
My least favorite question in the history of language-based inquiry is “Do you work?” Bitch, please. There is not a woman in the entirety of recorded civilization who hasn’t worked, it’s just not always work that is recognized or valued. …
Hey parents, it’s your week. What do YOU need?
It’s National Parenting Gifted Children Week! The one week a year when we parents of gifted and twice-exceptional kids are honored and respected for the crazy things we do for our offspring. We get parades and accolades, fireworks and gifts, sonnets …
{Book review} Gifted, Bullied, Resilient
Of all the chaos and trauma and drama around parenting a gifted or twice-exceptional kid, the one area we have been so lucky to tiptoe past is bullying. Don’t get me wrong, there were a few minor skirmishes, but when I think …
A day of joys and sorrows
“Jen? Sweetie? I’m sorry to wake you, but it’s 9:15. What time is the funeral?” I start the long, slow process of dragging myself to consciousness, pulling off the sleep mask and yanking out the ear plugs as I mutter …
Selfish, One Week A Year
Later this summer my menfolk are heading to the wilds of northern Wisconsin for a week of Boy Scout camp. Let us now fall to our knees and bow our heads in reverence, allowing the power and meaning of those …