Once I saw a great illustration of the difference between men and women. It was grossly simplistic, of course, but like all great illustrations, it captured the core of so many things in a single image. Actually, there were two images. The first image was of a rectangular box. It was completely covered in dials, knobs, levers, and latches. The heading on the image was “Woman.” The second image was of the same rectangular box — but with only a single on/off switch in the middle. The heading on the image was “Man.” I remember laughing out loud when I … Continue reading →

After being on his feet for the last three hours, all Gordon wanted to do was find a nice, quiet bench and sit down. Of course, that wasn’t an option. Under other circumstances, this simple request would seem logical, but they were on vacation, and Peggy had made it abundantly clear they were going to take full advantage of every second. But it was the Smithsonian, for heaven’s sake! You could literally walk around for days and not see all of it. That hadn’t deterred Peggy in the least, nor did it appear to deter Rachel, who was going strong, … Continue reading →

Teenagers are quick to press that they are young adults and should be treated as such. That has some validity with older kids, but younger teens are simply not young adults. When you’re in the midst of your eighth free-fall plunge in three weeks, this time because he didn’t get the part he wanted in the school play or she found out an unflattering picture was posted on someone’s Facebook page, I understand the draw, the temptation, for weary parents to want to see the adult light at the end of the teen tunnel prematurely. I understand you can be … Continue reading →