Gift Wars: The Shopper Awakens

When seeking that perfect holiday gift for a child, the indulgent adult may step forward gamely with an open heart and wallet and the spirit of the season oozing from every pore. Yet even the most well-intended Giver may quickly be overwhelmed…

Temptations and Toddlers

(Today’s Chronicle story is provided by a guest writer.) They’re here! They’re here! I hear them on the other side of this door. Mom! Come open this door! I’ll keep shouting until you open up. You never come to the door fast…

Soundtrack for a Saturday Morning

It’s a crisp, clear fall Saturday morning, and Small Sister and I are hanging at the park. Her mother’s in a yoga class nearby, and I’m happy to entertain Sis while my daughter gets an hour of stretching and peaceful introspection.…
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Child-proofing: Another term for Don’t Kid Yourself

Quick! Twenty minutes on the clock. Go. Living room: Art pottery whisked off coffee table, stowed on top of fridge. DVR remote up onto mantle, same place each time, in fervent hope I can remember where to reclaim it. Embroidered throw…

A Grandparent by ANY Other Name

When the news came awhile back that my first grandchild was on the way, it was, in all candor, a major shock--a two-step process, like an earthquake and its attendant after-shock. The first-wave tremors brought joy, of course; I knew my…
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Zen and the Art of Negotiating with Toddlers

A brilliant, Harvard-trained Ph.D. who was teaching a business school class on negotiation that I attended not long ago added intriguing dimension to her lecture with an interesting personal anecdote. This insightful strategist, who consults…
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Going Home (Part 3 of 3)

The departures gate creaks open, admitting the mid-day sun and a puff of air into my stuffy front hallway and illuminating the piles of luggage and Absolute Necessities that travel everywhere.  The pile is crowned by the ragged and ubiquitous…
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The Visit (Part 2 of 3)

A good Girl  Scout or former camp counselor probably would have laid out a schedule, maybe even in writing, with proven estimates of time required for each activity, interspersed with breaks for healthy, pre-approved snacks.  Instead,…
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The Arrival (Part 1 of 3)

I don't know if you've ever been smack dab in the path of a tornado, as I once was, many years ago, but it's true what they say:  There's an unsettling, yellow-tinged calm all around, just before the maximum-force winds blast through.  That…

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