by Stephanie | Dec 5, 2013 | family life, motherhood
My favorite memories from childhood almost always involve some beloved ritual or tradition. As a slightly anxious, non-thrill-seeking child, the types of experiences that stirred me were ones that, while perhaps sprinkled with a bit of magic and mystery, were firmly...
by Stephanie | Nov 21, 2013 | family life, motherhood
I try to make gratitude a daily practice. I am not a religious person, and I do not consider myself to be a “pray-er.” But every night before I go to bed, I reflect on the things I am grateful for and visualize what I’d like the following day to be...
by Stephanie | Nov 14, 2013 | family life, parenting
Sometimes I think my husband and I are polar opposites. When I try to mentally catalogue our differences, I’m amazed we can tolerate each other at all. They tell you opposites attract, and that balance is everything, and I guess they are right for once. Because...
by Stephanie | Nov 7, 2013 | parenting
When I was a kid, I thought that if I repeated the same made-up prayer every night, warding off every possible misfortune, that I might be able to prevent bad things from happening to me. Please God, don’t let anyone in my family get sick and die, or get...
by Stephanie | Oct 27, 2013 | family life, parenting
The Brilliant Book Club is back, and we are finishing our discussion on Hilary Levey Friedman’s book, Playing to Win: Raising Children in a Competitive Culture. For more information on Brilliant Book Club, start here. Before I continue, let me explain something...
by Stephanie | Oct 24, 2013 | motherhood
I have always loved Halloween. Sure, it was great to be a kid, trick-or-treating around the neighborhood, collecting candy with my friends, and carefully selecting my costume each year. But it was even better when I was in my 20s. That’s when I found my...